Blog: Friday 10th January 2025 - Deborah Evans, LLG CEO

New Year’s Resolutions for the Legal Services Workplace in 2025

As we step into 2025, New Year’s resolutions are a fantastic way to set meaningful goals for both lawyers, governance officers and legal teams. Here are some workplace resolutions to consider for a productive and fulfilling year ahead.

1. Prioritise Mental Health and Well-being

The past few years have highlighted the importance of mental health in the workplace, particular as workloads increase and the speed of change ramps up with government reforms to law, policy, and process. In 2025, prioritising the well-being of your team is not just a tick box exercise; it’s essential. Make sure to encourage regular breaks (whether in the office or at home), offer mental health resources (particularly for those in challenging areas such as childcare), and create a culture where employees feel safe discussing challenges. Lead by example, maintain work-life balance, and wellbeing as a cultural norm should follow.

2. Embrace Sustainability

Sustainability is more than a trend; it’s a responsibility that Councils take extremely seriously. Lawyers will be delivering the big-ticket items – green energy, electric buses, biodiversity net gain, but what can be done within the legal services team? Lawyers can set goals to reduce waste, lower their carbon footprint, and adopt eco-friendly practices. For example, embrace IT solutions to implement paperless workflows, ensure deeds and archives are digital, and encourage remote working to cut down on commuting emissions. These efforts contribute to an efficient, healthy workplace and resonate with younger employees who value environmental goals.

3. Focus on Training and Development

With legal reform continuing at pace (procurement and planning reforms…..virtual meetings…..standards reform….), lawyers will need to top up their skills, knowledge and understanding if they are to give good advice. This, coupled with the continued integration of AI and other technological advancements, means that 2025 is the year to invest in wider learning as well as the law and governance. Councils should commit to give training opportunities to lawyers and governance officers, whether through conferences, online training courses, regional and national lead meetings, workshops, or development programs such as LLG Inspire. For employees, committing to developing new skills—be it in specialist legal knowledge, good governance, or leadership—can lead to career growth and job security in an ever-changing market.

5. Foster Inclusivity and Diversity

Diversity, equity, and inclusion should be at the forefront of workplace priorities in 2025. Resolve to create spaces within legal services teams where everyone feels valued and included, regardless of their background. This could mean reviewing hiring practices, offering unconscious bias training, or holding safe space conversations should issues arise. Diverse teams bring fresh perspectives and drive innovation, making diversity, equity, and inclusion an essential part of long-term success.

6. Focus on Communication

With many legal services teams operating in hybrid or fully remote setups, effective communication is vital to build team spirit, share goals, and foster a feeling of belonging in the workplace. Make it a resolution to enhance team communication and collaboration in regular meetings. Encourage engagement on Teams channels and ensure no one is isolated; particularly important for those at the start of their career. Regular check-ins and one-to-ones, transparent decision-making, and clear feedback can ensure everyone understands the expectations, desired behaviours and feels included.

7. Celebrate Achievements

Acknowledging achievements—whether it’s winning a difficult case or completing a challenging contract—boosts morale and motivation. In 2025, resolve to celebrate both team and individual accomplishments through sharing stories. These shared moments build a positive team culture and strengthen employee retention. They are particular helpful for the development of skills and understanding of trainees and apprentices.

New Year’s resolutions for the workplace are more than just a list of goals; they provide a positive intention for 2025 built on personal reflections and shared conversations with team members, leading to a more fulfilling and successful year.

Here’s to a positive start to 2025!

Deborah Evans

CEO

LLG