Moms, Law and Change
They say that necessity is the mother of invention. But motherhood itself is also the mother of invention – or more accurately, the engine behind creative, entrepreneurial ideas to make motherhood more compatible with legal practice. This article, The Lawyer Moms, Boston Globe (5/8/05) reports on on such mom-lawyer-inventor, Patty Campbell Malone, who along with law partner David Lewis, has started a practice that will rely on stay at home mother lawyers as a primary source of labor. The article doesn’t discuss whether Malone with stick with this model permanently – or whether it’s just a way to keep a hand in the law until her children are older. But no matter what the future holds, Malone is able to enjoy “face time” with her children now.
The concept of mothers striking out on their own when their profession won’t accomodate their schedule is not unique to the legal profession. This Business Week article (5/4/05) notes this trend:
Working mothers who can’t get employers to offer flexible working arrangements are striking out on their own. “Women are starting businesses at twice the rate of all businesses,” says Sharon G. Hadary, executive director of the Center for Women’s Business Research, a Washington (D.C.) nonprofit. The center also found that from 1997 to 2004, employment at female-owned companies grew by 24.2%, more than twice the rate of the 11.6% logged by all businesses, and the pace of revenue increase was also higher — 39% vs. 33.5%.
I know many moms who believe that by working grueling schedules at law firms, they set an example for their children, particularly daughters, that women can succeed. Maybe so. But the message that I’d rather send I hope is one better: not just that I can succeed in my legal career, but that I can do so on my own timetable and not someone else’s.
Working parents, law and change — How to make every day Mother’s or Father’s Day
Six years ago, the CEO of Women.com, Marlene McDaniel, walked into my cube, picked up my jangling cell phone, and turned it off.
I am a (lawyer) father who works part time. I cannot imagine how you can work at home with a kid if you are sole carer – I honestly don’t think its fair on the kid (ie ‘go over there and play for 15 minutes’ – could easily become ‘go and watch tv for 4 hours’) let alone being fun for the adult.
But, having said that, it seems bizarre to me that more lawyers cannot work part time. After all, it is almost the ideal profession – you just take on less files.
Admittedly I think you need to work at least 2 and probably 3 days per week to keep things going and not over burden other staff. You also need a good assistant and other peope in the office to whom you can delegate. And, finally, there are certain areas in which you can’t work (those with high turnover, those with quick turnaround). But litigation, for example, is ideal – you know well in advance when the case will be on, when depositions or other court appearances are required. So long as the number of cases you have is reduced, there is very little difference in service quality.
Why this isn’t more often recognised is strange.
Thanks for the comment. To begin, I want to note that I didn’t intend for my post to overlook fathers who work part time (or stay home) with children; I had focused on moms since it was Mother’s Day.
I do agree that law readily accomodates a part time or partly home schedule. One of my sisters is a college professor engaged in scientific research and who runs a lab. There are times that she must physically be at the lab – she cannot do her work virtually. But that’s not the case for lawyers. And there are many practice areas that accomodate a schedule – a few litigation matters, appellate work is another.
I think that many people who choose law tend to be less entrepreneurial and creative and are looking for a stable career. Thus, they are less adept at thinking creatively about how to make a part time schedule work. But I do believe that is changing.
I am glad to see that other dads have the same idea. My oldest (of 4) suffered a brain injury, so either my wife or I must keep close contact with him. For a variety of reasons, we decided that it was best for me to stay home. I am now developing an estate planning practice from my home. It works well because drafting and printing are easily completed at home on my time. Face-time with clients is in their homes, either in the evenings or on weekends. My wife is also my notary, so she is available for document execution.
I’m a 3L whose about to take her last final exam tomorrow. I’m also the mother of two children, a 2 year old boy and a 6 month old girl. This fall I’ll be joining a large law firm in Washington DC, where I’ll be working a reduced schedule (80%), but it doesn’t quell my sense of impending doom that I won’t be happy there and that the sacrifice (being away from the kids) won’t have been worth the money. It seems ironic that even though, as a graduate of one of the nation’s top law schools, I’m supposed to have all these opportunities, making lots of money in a big law firm seems to be the only viable route. My friends in private practice, though child-less, are quickly getting burned out. What will become of me? This article is very inspirational to someone like me. The message that I don’t have to settle for being the fringe participant in the law firm community is a powerful one. I have the ability to chart my own course. But this requires a certain confidence, a certain lower level of risk aversion.
I guess we’ll see how it goes.
I found your lead quite accurate. I got married in 1995, and, since I planned to have children, in 1996 I started my own legal research and writing practice out of my home. At that time, the technology that facilitates this kind of practice was in its infancy: many of my clients didn’t even have e-mail, and I had to pull them kicking and screaming into the internet age. I now have a successful home-based practice that gives me a decent amount of “face time” with my 7 year old daughter and 2 1/2 year old son. The most important consideration is that, because I work for myself, I have a great deal of control over my workload.
That said, I am somewhat concerned about the picture presented by the Boston Globe article. If a mother (or anyone else who works at home) wants to be taken seriously, she still needs to separate work and home to a certain extent. A boisterous “kitchen office” does not seem conducive to in-depth legal thinking. Also, if you have young children and plan on working full time, child care is a must.
The ABA Journal addressed the topic of “lawyer-moms” with home offices in its November 2004 issue. The article is available on my website at http://www.questionoflaw.net/ABAJournalNovember2004.pdf
As Lisa and other commentors have pointed out, one can’t work seriously from home without a stable childcare arrangements, which might range from an in home sitter to preschool programs or joint arrangement with other working parents. It really depends upon how much you’ll be working. Certainly, working with children running around does not benefit either parents or the children, though sometimes in a pinch, it’s necessary. And for parents who really want to do nothing more than follow trends to keep a foot in practice while their children are young, stable childcare might not be necessary.
Also, as the comments bear out, many of these “ideal” work-home set ups that we read about don’t just “happen.” They require advance planning and creativity – in other words, they require moms to invent a future and bring others along.
Twenty two years ago, when I began my career, the comments in this post would have been unthinkable. Back then, women with top ranking from top law schools who chose to go the large firm route had to do it all. My two year old daughter was relegated into my sister’s capable care — while I threw myself full force into partnership track. My sister was the first to experience the usual milestones of my daughter’s development. During my pregnancy with my second child I continued to work against doctor’s orders, often working all night, sleeping in the women’s bathroom and buying new clothes the next day.
It was not until my third daughter was born that I realized that making partner was not worth the compromises I had been making. And the only regret I have about that decision is that I did not make it sooner.