DLA prepares to launch UK contract lawyer unit

Following the example of Allen & Overy and its Peerpoint initiative, DLA Piper plans to set up a flexible working team - to suit both clients and staff - by the end of the year.

DLA Piper has come under pressure to take the move as more young lawyers show their unwillingness to work long hours as a matter or routine. The project is being pushed forward by co-chief executive Simon Levine after research from Peerpoint last winter found that nearly two-thirds (63%) of general counsel had used contract lawyers over the previous year.

Contract lawyer agencies

A DLA partner told Legal Business that the new unit would be similar to Peerpoint and added: 'Not everyone wants to work 80 hours a week so this will give us the flexibility to keep our talent from going to one of the host of contract lawyer businesses that have been formed in recent years'. Source: Legal Business