Work/Life Balance
More Flex Options for BigLaw Women to Make Partner
Posted Jan 17, 2008, 04:28 pm CST
By Martha Neil
Increasingly, BigLaw firms reportedly are offering a variety of flexible options to allow women lawyers to make special arrangements they may need during early child-rearing years, yet still stay on a pathway to partnership.
For Gabrielle Higgins, for instance, that meant an 18-year partnership track, due to her decision to sidestep it while she was raising two of her three children. When she walked into a Boston conference room in November to sign her partnership agreement at Ropes & Gray, however, she was happy to see that seven of the firm's 10 new partners, including herself, are female, reports the Recorder, in an article reprinted by New York Lawyer (reg. req.).
Higgins, who works as a litigator in the firm's Palo Alto, Calif., office, didn't pursue a special schedule after her third child was born because her husband, former Ropes & Gray partner William Steinmetz, initially went part-time to care for the now 18-month-old girl and then retired to become a full-time dad, the article says.
Today, women who want to make partner at a law firm partner have more options for scheduling flexibility than ever before, and are increasingly willing to take advantage of these options, Higgins believes. Among the possibilities: remaining on a partnership track while working either on a regular schedule or part-time, extending the partnership track or even stepping off for a time and getting back on later.
"I think all these options are available. It just depends on the woman and how she chooses to handle the work-life balance issues," she says.
Related Stories
- Lathrop & Gage to Open Calif. Office By Merging With Spillane Trial Boutique
Nov 21, 2008, 05:26 pm CST - Layoffs at Big Immigration Boutique; Fragomen Says Hiring to Be Curtailed
Nov 21, 2008, 04:43 pm CST - Deputy Calif. DA is Charged in Alleged Rape of Colleague
Nov 21, 2008, 01:15 pm CST - Is Law Degree a Liability for Nonlaw Job Seekers?
Nov 21, 2008, 01:05 pm CST
Commenting is not available in this weblog entry.
Comments
Posted by alvin d. chimpunk - 10 months, 5 days, 17 hours, 37 minutes ago
Hurray for thiswoman. She can do both the mommy track and the partnership. But look closer…Hubby is a partner. That makes a big difference. Most women don’t have a hubby partner at the firm, let alone one who plays Mr. Mom for the kid. You need this extra boost many times to get over the hump. But for those who have it, hurray for you! The kid, pray tell, may well become a neurotic listening to the parents blathering law all the time. That should be noted as a shortcoming of 2 lawyer families.
Posted by momflextimepartner - 10 months, 5 days, 14 hours, 18 minutes ago
It sounds like the 18 year track worked for this woman and her family, and we should all do what works best for us. However, my experience has been that soemone on such a long non-partner track is often treated badly at BigLaw firms. I was full time for 8 years; had second child and went to a reduced schedule at AMLAW 25 firm. Firm expressly does not permit reduced schedule partners and requires you return to work for TWO full years before you are considered eligible. For someone who operates like a partner (has clients, bills, collects, etc), this doesn’t really make sense. Why should someone not be a partner if they have business and a client following simply because they do not want to bill 2000 hours. So, I got a recruiter and found a firm that would accomodate my request for 1400 hours; was able to bring several clients and expand the business. Some firms are smart and understand that partnership does not have to mean a strict formula. My point is that there are many different arrangements out there now (thankfully, much different from when I started 15 years ago), and women lawyers should empower themselves to find firms that suit their needs. And, do not believe firm propaganda. Many firms will say they are family or women friendly when the reality is very different. You need to talk with people in and outside of firms. It’s also true that women attorneys who have portable business will have more options. Money talks, as they say. So, even if working reduced schedule or busy with kids, you need to do what you can to continue to build your client base—stay in touch with clients, send them information that may be of interest, in other words, cultivate your friends, your colleagues, your former colleages. I know I would not have had the options I did without the ability to bring business with me.