Pinsents trials alert system when lawyers regularly work excessive hours

Hopes to reduce burnout risk

Pinsent Masons is in the early stages of testing a new system that will alert management if lawyers are at risk of burnout due to excessive work hours.

The time management system is part of a broader package of wellbeing measures implemented by the City law firm following the death of one of its partners who suffered “an acute mental health crisis”.

It will track the hours logged by lawyers and staff, alerting the firm’s management if these hours regularly become excessive, The Telegraph reports.

Former Pinsents’ partner Vanessa Ford was reportedly working 18-hour days, even during her holidays, on the sale of Everton FC to a private equity firm. A coroner concluded that she had consumed a significant amount of alcohol while experiencing an acute mental health crisis before stepping onto the tracks near the Dalston Lane road bridge, where she was struck by a train.

A Pinsent Masons spokesperson said:

“We are in the process of trialling new resource management tools and aligned processes for our resource managers. These are aimed at giving us greater transparency over the lifecycle of projects and to better share work and provide alerts to any consistently high working hours.”

“It is still early days, but using technology like this will help increase our visibility of colleague workloads, the time being spent on client work and those people who have capacity and can help busy teams,” the spokesperson added.

Exclusive Legal Cheek research conducted last year shed light on the working hours for trainee and junior solicitors, revealing that some frequently worked 12-hour days.

The news of the trial comes after Pinsents announced it is testing a compressed workweek. This schedule allows employees to finish by Friday lunchtime without a pay cut, as long as they meet their client, team, and work obligations

If you are struggling with the stress of work you can contact LawCare via its helpline or live chat.