Stretched and stressed out: the challenge of mid-career lawyer recruitment and retention in civil society organisations

There is a strong professional legal identity for lawyers working in civil society organisations in the UK. As a result of cuts to legal aid funding and related wider pressures in the system, funding for not-for-profit legal practice now comes from increasingly diverse sources. Changes have necessitated new ways of working, informed by shared values, a “calling orientation” towards work and strong professional networks. These factors underpin motivations for working in the sector and tend to explain why lawyers choose to stay. However, large numbers of lawyers at the “mid-career” stage choose to leave, which has considerable knock-on impacts for civil society organisations working in certain areas in terms of meeting legal needs and training new early career lawyers. This paper draws upon research conducted as part of a learning partnership with a philanthropic funder in the space as well as relevant findings from a recent legal aid workforce survey to identify key issues and challenges. Relying on “career anchor” theory, it thereafter suggests proposed solutions for strengthening the sector in future.