Being a Manager Just Comes With the Job: Managerial Challenges Law Firms in Sweden Face

Purpose: A lot has been written on the topics revolving around management, professionals and workplace attractiveness. However, the knowledge is fragmented and there is no research that links these three together. The overarching aim of this exploratory research is, therefore, to see how they come together. This will be done by studying a few law firms in Sweden to identify what managerial challenges these firms are facing and how these challenges might affect law firms in becoming an attractive workplace. Research Questions: • What are the main managerial challenges at law firms in Sweden? • How do these challenges affect law firms in becoming an attractive workplace? Methodology: This research is a multiple case study with an exploratory and qualitative approach. The exploratory approach gives a thorough understanding of the unexplored phenomenon that is being studied. The case studies were conducted through semi-structured interviews with eight lawyers working at Swedish law firms. The semi-structured interviews allow for the researchers to learn the interviewee's view on the management in place, as well as getting to know if the information received from interviews confirm the information and insights that the researchers already hold. Findings: The managerial challenges identified in the literature are, seen as a whole, confirmed by our study. However, a few additional managerial challenges have been identified. Furthermore, a connection between managerial challenges and workplace attractiveness has been identified. Conclusion: The managerial challenges that literature had identified; the lacking knowledge management, the billable hours, the partnership structures, the lack of long-term vision and the lack of female partners were through this study confirmed at the Swedish law firms studied. The additional managerial challenges of managers attitude towards managerial tasks and the gap between generations were also identified, and connections between the challenges have also been identified. Furthermore, indicators of these challenges affecting the law firms in becoming an attractive workplace have been found