Wish you were here

Lawyers are perhaps better known for their hard work than their ability to relax.

But this time of year it is a struggle to find a lawyer who has not swapped the office chair for a deckchair.Despite the long-hours culture of law firms, the summer holiday is as much a fixture of legal life as it was at school.

And firms are increasingly shunning the 'bill till you drop' work ethic.Rather sensibly, relaxation is a priority for many lawyers.

The classic beach holiday remains a firm favourite, especially for those with families.

But as with so many things in the law, it is horses for courses.

Some prefer a Caribbean island, while others would rather spend their well-earned free time in a Tuscan villa.High-profile media lawyer Mark Stephens, a partner at London firm Finers Stephens Innocent, jokes that he is planning to camp in Anthea Turner's back garden for his summer break.

He describes the Mediterranean as 'naff' and says the 'smart people' are now holidaying in Cornwall.He says members of his firm have taken holidays in a variety of destinations this summer, including Malaysia, Iceland and Tuscany.

Mr Stephens himself has already visited the Inca pyramids and Jamaica, where his wife Donna's family has a home.

But he admits it can be difficult to persuade others to take a break.

His method is simple and effective.

'I go and tell people to bugger off,' he says.Barry Pritchard of lawyers' support group LawCare says it is essential to cultivate a culture in law firms in which people are encouraged to take their full holiday entitlement.He says holidays 'are not important, they're absolutely vital.

I'm a firm believer in getting a good work/home balance in life, because if people don't get their breaks at the end of each week, during the day or at the end of the year, they end up over-tired and stressed.

It becomes a vicious circle because you become convinced that you are too busy to go on holiday.'Andrew Young, head of private client at City firm Lawrence Graham, agrees.

He says it can still be a problem to get people to take their full holiday allowance of six weeks, but that his firm does urge staff to take the time off.

'People work so hard.

If they don't take their holidays they will end up not seeing the wood for the trees.'Mr Young argues that the increasing acceptability of vacations is a sign of the times, pointing out that three years ago when the economic boom was at its peak, a long holiday would have been out of the question for many lawyers at the big firms.'Now people are much more interested in lifestyle,' he says.

'You hear more people talking about not wanting to be in a sweatshop, although there are still a lot of macho control freaks who just won't take a holiday.'Mr Young says holidays are treated seriously at his firm, where Tuscany is a popular setting, with south-east Asia the location of choice for those without families.For him, rejuvenation is an important aspect of holidays.

Mr Young is about to set off for Monaco on business, but spent the summer at Lake Taho in northern California with his new wife and baby George to visit his in-laws, and then headed to Maui in Hawaii.He tacked the holiday on to the end of a business course at Harvard Business School.'When I got back I thought: I can conquer the world.

I had 1,001 ideas, although things do get back to normal pretty quickly.

But it's a great way to recharge the batteries.'Not only does an August holiday fit in well with bank holidays and the school timetable, but City lawyers, who have been rushed off their feet for the past few years, can also take advantage of the economic slowdown to take a deserved break.With many in-house lawyers on three-week vacations, there seems little point in hanging around on stand-by in case the economy picks up.

But it is not just a City exodus.Graham Riley, of Southport firm Graham M Riley & Co, went to Antibes for three weeks and was particularly taken with Juan les Pins and Cannes, although his anniversary dinner was marred by a food poisoning incident involving oysters.

He also managed a four-day break to New York earlier in 2001 and is considering a further trip to Hawaii or Corfu later this year.He says with three partners and 16 junior lawyers, there is always someone to cover.

'Our policy is to look after ourselves.

If you work hard you have to play hard too.'Mr Young agrees that no one is indispensable.

'Life does go on without you,' he points out.Partnership expert Ronnie Fox, senior partner at City firm Fox Williams, says the advantage of being in a partnership is that other partners can look after your clients while you are away.He concurs that taking time out is 'absolutely vital'.

He has just returned from a week's break in Seville, and says boat cruises and sailing holidays remain popular in the profession.

The gadget-loving Mr Fox adds: 'If I'm away for an extended period of time there is always IT.

I can always phone into the office and I've got an excellent secretary.

I've got lots of people who can cover for me.

Nobody's indispensable.'While larger partnerships can always look to others within their firm for cover, smaller partnerships and sole practitioners depend on freelance lawyers for cover.

Hiring locums does affect the bottom line, but Mr Pritchard argues it may well be worth the cost.'There's a perception that it's difficult to take holidays.

It's much more difficult for sole practitioners.

And there's a reluctance to use locum services when you go on holidays.

Obviously it's sensible if you are going on holiday for three weeks to make sure your practice is looked after in the meantime.

It would be nice if firms were prepared to use locums more frequently.'Mr Pritchard says high street practitioners no longer benefit from seasonal fluctuations in work - it was once the case that conveyancing would drop off in the autumn while probate work increased as the cold weather took hold.

'Now if you have more work, it is on top of your existing workload,' says Mr Pritchard.But down the high street at criminal practices, it is a different story.

Franklin Sinclair, a partner at Manchester-based criminal firm Tuckers and chairman of the Criminal Law Solicitors Association, says that although he managed a short trip to Gambia early in the year, he is not planning to take a summer break.'Criminal defence lawyers are too poor to take holidays.

A number of them are in serious difficulties,' he says.He explains that criminal contracting has had a disastrous effect on the already low pay of criminal solicitors, and that the campaign against criminal contracting has been 'rudderless and weak' since the Legal Services Commission brought in the new scheme in April.

'I wouldn't be doing what I'm doing now if I was 26,' he says.Mr Pritchard says that the LawCare hotline had its heaviest call rates this July, but that the number of calls has dramatically decreased as the summer has progressed.

He says that although the spread of stress and alcohol-related calls remained proportionate, with two out of three calls relating to stress and a third resulting from alcohol problems, the overall number rose by more than 300%.And holiday enthusiasts are clear that taking a break can help improve these statistics.

However, horror stories still abound, especially in relation to the long-hours work ethic still rife at US firms.

One lawyer reported a conversation with a partner in a top Wall Street firm, who had been charged with investigating the sudden clock-watching antics of a fellow partner.

The partner had begun turning up at nine o'clock and leaving at five on the dot.

When challenged, the 3,000-hours-a-year partner replied: 'Just get off my back, I've been on holiday the past couple of weeks.'The problem is that this sort of behaviour has a knock-on effect.Mr Pritchard says junior lawyers are often influenced by their seniors, who set a bad example by skipping holidays.

'I've heard stories from the younger end of the profession of people being pressurised not to take their full allowance,' he says.

'The younger ones are seeing partners and senior partners not taking their holidays, and that in turn has an effect.

There is an element of fear that comes in that it could affect promotion prospects or even their next reference.' Lawyers are under a lot of pressure to show their commitment to their firms by working long hours, through weekends, and through their holidays.

But there is clearly a lot of support for escaping for a couple of weeks in the summer.And as lawyers, many of whom have been pulling in record amounts of fee income this year, are returning from ever more exotic locations, it remains to be seen whether they will be forced back to their more modest gites in France next year.Anne Mizzi is a freelance journalist