Work-life programs have become a necessity in today’s business environment, recruiters and managers say. Over the past few decades, the makeup of law firms has changed dramatically, forcing firms to become more flexible to keep their attorneys happy.
by Karen Dybis
As a law student, finding a balance between the classroom and time with friends and family may seem like an impossible mission.
So it can be hard to imagine what will happen when you become a working professional. How can you create equilibrium between your billable hours and your building social life?
A growing number of law firms are helping their employees do exactly that, and they say the rewards are significant for both sides.
Thankfully, it is easier than ever to locate the best law firms for a work-life balance. Over the past two years, several new rankings have emerged that outline which firms are the most progressive in this regard.
Thanks to magazines like Working Mother and groups like Building a Better Legal Profession, students can quickly determine a law firm’s commitment to issues such as parental leave, gender equality, part-time partnership opportunities and the like.
Winston & Strawn, Jones Day and Hughes Hubbard & Reed are just three of many firms in New York that received an ‘A’ for work-life balance by Building a Better Legal Profession in their 2008 ranking. This new set includes an expanded market of firms in northern and southern California, Chicago, Boston and Washington, D.C. See page 30 for firms in each market.
Choosing the right firm to work for is both a personal and professional decision, said Irene Hahn, a Stanford Law student and member of the Building a Better Legal Profession executive board.
“Law students are beginning to demand more out of their workplaces — to demand a certain quality of experience rather than quietly grinning and bearing whatever they are handed,” Hahn said.
Work-life balance
The situation is indeed critical. The legal profession is in a work-life crisis with 78 percent of associates leaving law firms by their fifth year and nearly half of women lawyers leaving the profession at some point in their careers, according to Working Mother, which recently produced its second annual list of the best law firms for women.
“We hope that by recognizing the pioneering firms that have already moved the needle, a paradigm shift will follow,” said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media.
Work-life programs have become a necessity in today’s business environment, recruiters and managers say.
“Retention of good lawyers is just good business sense,” said Ira G. Rosenstein, a partner with Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP’s Employment Law Group.
Generally, firms agreed that the top management has to view work-life issues as a priority to make the programs work.
“The firm is a more collegial place for everyone when work-life balance is a shared value,” said Lisa Pirozzolo, a partner in WilmerHale’s Litigation and Controversy Department and co-chair of the firm’s Work-Life Balance Committee.
“The management of the firm has been tremendously supportive of these initiatives, as have the leaders of the firm’s departments,” Pirozzolo said. “This results in an atmosphere where lawyers can discuss and address work-life balance issues openly and therefore more effectively.”
Work-life advocates like Hahn believe that employees — especially those new to the profession — are key to making balance a priority in the legal industry.
“Law students do have market power. Law firms depend on associate labor, and they can’t function if law students aren’t coming into the associate ranks,” Hahn said. “Law firms are not going to change overnight, but it helps the legal profession overall if each law student can think of themselves as an engine for change.”
Plus, it just makes for a better place to work, said Karen P. Kimmey, a partner in Farella Braun + Martel LLP’s Business Litigation and Intellectual Property and Technology Groups.
“We have an interesting and personable group of lawyers who are able to have a conversation about topics other than the law,” Kimmey said.
However, attorneys must be cautious when seeking work-life balance on the job, said Deborah Epstein Henry, founder of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. These programs are not entitlements, Henry cautions. Instead, they are a reward for providing top-notch work no matter how many hours you spend in the office.
“It’s about creating a win-win situation,” Henry said. “The more talented you are as a lawyer, the better negotiating power you’ll have and the more flexibility you’ll be able to garner. Employers will want to retain and promote you.”
Innovative programs and services
A broad look at the nation’s top-ranked law firms for work-life balance shows there are a variety of innovative programs and services available to attorneys at all stages of their personal and professional lives.
At Bingham McCutchen LLP, attorneys are encouraged to participate in outside activities whether it is travel, volunteering or participation in civic organizations, said Fiona S. Trevelyn, national director of legal recruiting.
Their lawyers have taken time to do everything from coach Little League to working for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to rowing in the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event.
“People are multi-dimensional beings,” Trevelyn said. “Ensuring that our people have the opportunity to lead healthy lives outside the office as well as grow and develop in an exciting and fast-paced legal environment is an important part of both our recruiting and retention efforts.”
The firm believes its work-life emphasis has allowed its attorneys to thrive and succeed, Trevelyn said. Internally, there are examples such as Siobhan Mee, a mother of two who made partner while practicing part time.
“Externally, we’ve been recognized as a destination firm known not only for its leadership and success, but also for the quality of its work environment,” Trevelyn said. “These recognitions … confirm that our investment is paying off on the recruitment and retention fronts.”
Childcare is one of the most pressing work-life issues for attorneys, both male and female. As a result, firms are coming up with creative ways to maintain their workforce during an attorney’s child-rearing years.
Because women often are the primary caregivers, many law firms have developed specialized retention and development programs for them specifically. Their goal, legal professionals said, is to give women a variety of on and off ramps throughout their careers. This helps them stay on the job or in touch with the profession.
Kirkland & Ellis has a women’s leadership initiative to help working mothers excel in their chosen profession. As part of this program, Kirkland sponsors firm-wide events for its women attorneys, including a day-long curriculum taught by Harvard Business School professors.
At Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, the progressive return program helps men and women who are coming back from parental leave. The attorney can come back at a reduced schedule to help them ease back into projects, Rosenstein said.
The firm also created an Alternative Work Program for its attorneys who need flexibility in their working hours. The firm sees the program as a way to help high performers find the right schedule for their needs, Rosenstein said.
“We look at each situation as a unique circumstance and design a program that’s going to meet the attorney’s needs and the firm’s needs,” Rosenstein said.
For example, the firm had a male attorney whose wife worked for the United Nations and traveled often. He asked for a work schedule where he could regularly work from home to help care for the couple’s children. He remained productive, and the firm retained one of its best attorneys, Rosenstein said.
To maintain the program’s integrity, each person in the Alternative Work Program is assigned a mentor. The mentor, typically one of the firm’s partners, helps work out issues internally and externally. So if a person finds they are being worked too many hours or being pulled in multiple directions, Rosenstein said, their mentor can step in and help find a remedy.
Kirkland & Ellis also helps its attorneys throughout the parenting journey. It starts with a generous leave policy, which gives caregivers the time they need to bond with their newborn or adopted child, said Jay P. Lefkowitz, one of the firm’s litigation partners and member of its management committee.
Then there is the firm’s backup childcare, Lefkowitz said, which helps working parents ensure there is always someone available to care for their children if an emergency should arise.
At WilmerHale, parental leave is popular among women and men. Men are eligible to take the newly expanded 18-week “primary caregiver leave” to stay at home with a young child. (If they are not the primary caregiver, they can take a 4-week leave).
In the past two years, 47 male attorneys have taken parental leave, Pirozzolo said. Of those, 83 percent took the leave as a secondary caregiver and 17 percent took a primary caregiver leave.
“Our leave and part-time policies have been very important to our efforts to recruit top talent and to retain and promote women into the partnership,” Pirozzolo said. “As more women in the firm successfully work with significant family responsibilities, they serve as role models, mentors and supporters of other women trying to do the same thing.” n
Karen Dybis is a freelance writer based in Detroit, Mich.
