A few years ago, my mailbox was regularly filled to the brim with CLE offers. In fact, the only type of mail that I received with more regularity were invitations to bridal showers and weddings. Whether it was due to geothermal tides or something in the water, my peers were all getting married at the same time, and my summer weekends were dominated with wedding-related functions to attend (as visions of CLEs danced in my head). Lately, the trend has changed. Although I still receive mass quantities of CLE offers (because some things never change), those missives are now accompanied by baby announcements and invitations to baby showers.
Until recently, I had ob-served that the post-wedding lives of my friends were not dramatically different than they were before. Other than a tan from a tropical honeymoon and new crockpots, all appeared “status quo ante.” But now that my friends are expanding their families with miniature renderings of themselves, that is all starting to change. Although my pregnant attorney friends continue to plug on with their careers for the moment, I wonder how much longer practicing law will hold its charm.
Research from the University of Chicago, by economist Jane Leber Herr, reveals that within 15 years of lawschool graduation, approximately 25 percent of lawyer moms leave the workplace. In contrast, only four percent of women lawyers without children left the workplace in the same period. Today, many men are taking a greater role in child-rearing, so I suspect that child raising may affect the exit rate of the male version of the lawyer species as well.
Another interesting tidbit revealed by Herr’s research was that women with medical degrees did not leave their practices as much as women with law degrees left theirs – under 6 percent. Of the 94 percent of female parents with medical degrees who did not leave the workforce, some continued to work part-time or with flexible hours.
Unfortunately, the Herr statistics don’t tell much of a lively story, and Herr’s research only tells part of the tale. The more interesting questions remain unanswered:
Did the “JD Moms” want to go back to practice after taking a hiatus but were unable to?
Why did the JD Moms leave the practice in the first place? Was it to have the child, raise the child, or was it just coincidence?
What was the household income of the JD Moms who left the practice compared to the income of those who continued to practice?
As I mentioned before, what effect does fatherhood have on lawyers – or “JD Dads”?
What about the practice of medicine appears to make it (at least statistically) more compatible with motherhood than the practice of law?
Is part-time or flexible work as available for female lawyers as it is for female doctors?
How do I stop, or at least limit, these CLE offers from clogging up my mailbox?
Whatever the answer to those questions might be, I happen to know both lawyers and doctors who are new to motherhood. I have a dog myself, who is pretty much like a child. Whenever I need to really focus, I put her in her crib – I mean her crate – for a few hours.
Recently, a Boston lawyer sued his former firm for paternity leave discrimination. The complainant, Ariel Ayanna, claimed he elected to take “Family Medical Leave” to be with his child during the early months, and was derided by members of the firm for taking on a traditionally female role. He also alleged that he was then fired four months after his return from FMLA leave. The complaint states, “two of the top and most senior associates in Ayanna’s group, both of whom later became partners ... regularly bragged about how little time they spent on family obligations.”
Anyone who has made it through the first semester of law school knows the famous Joseph Story phrase, “The law is a jealous mistress.” Many relatives of lawyers are familiar with the Story phrase as well, or at least the real world experience it describes.
There is always more work to be done – and there is the lure that a devoted courtship to the mistress can pay dividends. Still, after reading about the Ayanna case, I feel sad not just for Mr. Ayanna – who apparently suffered a job loss and ridicule – but for the senior associates who had bragging contests about the lack of time they spent with their families.
It can be very difficult to strike a balance between home life and work life, but it’s still a balance worth seeking. Having no balance in your life and having no desire to spend time with your newborn child sounds like one version of hell. If the braggarts were telling the truth and not just trying to sound “cool” or “dedicated,” they would seem to be living a life they will one day regret.
Whether or not my peers make the choice to continue to practice law – or medicine – with their new additions, my hope is that they choose a life they do not regret. Otherwise, they will end up living the saddest story of them all.
© 2011 Under Analysis LLC, Michelle St. Germain. You can reach Under Analysis LLC in care of this paper or by e-mail at comments@levisongroup.com.