Women Lawyers--Back on Track

Programs help female lawyers return to work force

The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette has an article about women lawyers re-entering the workforce after an average of a three year break--what I like to call my "hiatus from the law".  Some of the statistics in the article (italicized in the excerpt below) are eye opening.

The article takes the position that the existence of re-entry programs is evidence that the legal profession is slowly, but surely, adapting to accommodate women lawyers (and their apparently "unique" and heretofore unheard of (at least in the legal arena)  reproductive cycles and childbearing years).

While I think that the programs are an important step, I'm not entirely convinced that law firms purport to participate in the programs are offering up anything more than mere lip service.

But, I could be wrong.  In fact, I hope I am.  Time will tell.

From the article:

Female lawyers who leave demanding careers to raise children or care for family members might want to jump back in to their profession a few years later but often don't feel confident enough or prepared to return to the practice of law.

Although it's an issue that's left many female lawyers searching for answers, there are signs that the legal industry is beginning to take steps to tap into a vast female talent pool they've largely ignored, said a legal consultant who specializes in work-life balance issues and the retention and promotion of women attorneys...

About 42 percent of female lawyers nationwide take time off from their careers apart from their maternity leave during the course of their careers, Ms. Henry said. On the average, they stay off the job for three years, she said...

Some law firms also have begun to develop re-entry policies for "talented alumni they could potentially recruit back."

With women comprising about half of all law school graduates, "this issue has to be at the forefront of law firm management," she said.

Forget the Recession, Now Is Time to Go Solo

The New York Law Journal recently highlighted Carolyn Elefant, blogger (My Shingle and Legal Blog Watch), writer and lawyer extraordinaire, in an article whcih focused, in part, on her new book, Solo By Choice, which is listed as a resource in the lefthand sidebar of this blog.

The article, and the excellent book, which I recently finished reading and highly recommend, focuses on the benefits of going solo, such as being in control of your own practice, schedule and destiny.  This how-to guide provides the attorney considering going solo with factors to consider when making  and implementing the deicision to go solo.

If you're a lawyer and are thinking about making a change in your career, or even if you're simply unhappy with your current job situation,  you simply can't afford to pass this book by.  It provides a wealth of useful information, trend analysis and advice from the perspective of someone on the cutting edge of the legal profession.

From the article:

Ms. Elefant, whose practice is focused on energy regulatory and enforcement law, suggested in an interview that this is a favorable time for solo practice - not merely for independent-minded attorneys but for law firms and clients as well.

"In the past 10 years or so, more and more large-firm lawyers are thinking seriously about leaving and taking a piece of their practice with them - not poaching or stealing clients, but maybe taking those not able to afford large-firm rates, or else clients conflicted out due to firm mergers," said the "Solo by Choice" author. "There have always been lawyers who've done that, but now because of technology it's easier for younger associates to do it."

Ms. Elefant's said her notion is buttressed by data in a recently released study of 4,000 law school graduates conducted by the American Bar Foundation and Harvard Law School's Program on the Legal Profession that show apparent dissatisfaction among young lawyers at commercial firms.

The study found that large firms lose up to half their associates within as few as four years, though not because of dismissals or layoffs; nearly two-thirds of the defections are the result of associate choice.

Work/Life Balance CLE

On March 3, 2008 at 5:30 pm, what appears to be a very interesting seminar will be held at Suffolk University Law School in Boston.  It's called "To Opt In or Opt Out--That is the Question."

The following issues will be covered:

• How to approach career decisions relating to work-life balance
• How the legal profession is adapting to address work-life balance
• How much law firms should do to accommodate an attorney's need for work-life balance
• The perceived or real need to leave large firm practice for a smaller firm or go solo to achieve work-life balance !Whether solo and small firm practice provides work-life balance
• How the work-life balance trend towards gender neutrality will affect the future of the legal profession

Further information can be found here.