This website and other news outlets across the internet have decried the breakdown in work-life balance over the past several years. Since many people now work remotely, some are expected to be on call after traditional working hours, and this has eroded the sanctity of personal time. Let me say unequivocally that I am in favor of work-life balance and believe that people should not need to work during nights, weekends, and holidays unless thy want to. Since I am self-employed, I often need to work during times other people traditionally have off, which is acceptable to me because of all the benefits I receive from self-employment. In any case, lawyers can be much more efficient working over the weekend than during the workweek for a number of reasons.
Earlier this year, I was on the receiving end of two dispositive motions filed on the same day in two cases I was handling. I am the type who likes to get his arms around a project as soon as possible so that I have a clear understanding of the law surrounding a given legal issue. Since both of the dispositive motions involved issues I had not tackled recently, it was going to take me considerable time to conduct enough research to get a grasp on the issues involved in the dispositive motions. I also knew that if I started responding to the dispositive motions early, I would be able to get a jump on all of the other ancillary steps — like getting certifications from clients — involved in responding to the summary judgment motions.
In order to start on my opposition papers to the dispositive motions, I set an alarm for 5:45 on Saturday morning, and when the alarm went off, I immediately got to work. I was amazed at how efficient I was at handling tasks over the weekend in ways that would be impossible during the workweek. Perhaps most importantly, I did not receive a call, text, or email from any clients or adversaries during the entire weekend, which meant that I could keep my focus on the legal tasks I set out to complete. During a typical workday, I am bombarded with all types of communications from stakeholders involved in the matters I handle, and this can be distracting, and make it difficult to keep focused on a given legal project.
Moreover, during the weekend, I did not need to devote large blocks of time to any other tasks. For instance, in the week before I designated an entire weekend to get work done, I attended a mediation and had an in-person court conference. For each of these appearances, I needed to travel to and from a location to participate in the proceeding, and I spent roughly a half day on each of these functions.
Over the weekend, lawyers typically do not need attend functions that can be draining on their time during the week. Sure, during the weekend, people have personal commitments that can limit the time people spend on work tasks. However, personal commitments are often much easier to reschedule or otherwise navigate than professional ones within the legal community. Indeed, I doubt a lawyer would ever request an adjournment of an appearance simply to help them spend more time on pressing matters rather than a genuine scheduling conflict. Individuals naturally have more flexibility with their scheduling over the weekend, which can be helpful.
People also just naturally have less stress over the weekend, which can help individuals be more productive. From Monday to Friday, I am constantly looking at my email, and I often dread the sound of a new email since it might mean that a fire needs to be put out. I also need to make myself available for calls and other communications with stakeholders during work hours and this can itself be stressful. Moreover, many people are with their friends and family over the weekend, which can be a lot less stressful than work colleagues.
Again, no one should feel compelled to work during the weekend, and I do not want any of my comments to be construed as endorsing a relaxation of the work-life balance. However, setting aside days over the weekend for work tasks can have a number of benefits since many people might be more efficient while working over the weekend.
Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothman.law.