How many lawyers does it take…
Featured Guest Blogger May 19th, 2008
Lawyers may be the butt of many a joke, but one thing that might not be as funny is how they are faring in terms of their work-family balance. The work-family pressures for lawyers can be too much to handle, particularly for attorneys who work in larger firms.
Keith Cunningham-Parmeter wrote about “the law firm’s failure of the family” in the Stanford Law Review (2001, vol.53, p.967). He focuses on the gap between law firms’ policies for working families (flexible work schedules, etc.) and the use of such policies. Other authors have noted similar findings – lawyers tend to feel too much work pressure from “on high” to be able to take advantage of family-friendly policies and programs.
Additionally, attorneys may learn how not to act while watching what happens to their colleagues who have opted to use family-friendly policies. Associates in law firms have commented on witnessing the penalization of their fellow associates who work a flexible schedule or take leave; they are often given a lower quality of work and are not considered for advancement as readily. Lauren Still Rikleen writes a lot about this in her book, Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women’s Success in the Law . The message is simply this: if they want to make partner, which many of them do, they cannot be seen as a family-dedicated softy. Do you feel that the work-family policies at your organization are for the taking?
