LAWFUEL – LegalWeek reports that most UK lawyers believe badly-behaved partners are beyond the reach of human resources (HR) departments, according to new research.
More than half (59%) of business lawyers think HR professionals have very little or no influence when it comes to dealing with difficult partners, according the latest Legal Week/EJ Legal Big Question survey. Just 12% maintain HR has a ‘great deal’ of influence.
The results follow a strong response to a recent Career Clinic question posed on legalweek.com in which an associate complained they worked for a partner whose behaviour was totally unacceptable when measured against the firm’s commitment to diversity, gender balance and collegiality.
Nearly a quarter of Big Question respondents (23%) said firms only pay lip service to addressing issues such as diversity, collegiality and fair treatment of staff, while the remaining 77% thought such commitments were achieved only to a certain extent.
Berwin Leighton Paisner head of international structured finance Tamara Box commented: “The reality is that most firms, if paying any attention at all, will come down very considerably on this behaviour, but what HR can do has to run through the partnership.”
