Criminal Defense and Investigations

Women Lawyers Can Succeed as Mothers and Partners

By Wendy Beetlestone

Is it possible to have it all - to be a mother, to be a lawyer, to be on the fast track, and to be a partner in a law firm? My answer is a qualified "yes."

However, for many women attorneys early in their career who are grappling with the balance between raising their children and giving their all to a law firm where their all is not always enough, the answer has often appeared to be an unqualified "no." Given the demands at home, women often feel that they have no real choice but to give up their job, to take another, less demanding position, or to go part-time.

Whatever the reason, the combined effect of the individual decisions of thousands of women has had a significant impact on the legal community by depriving us of a rich source of legal talent. There are fewer women than men still working in law firms when partnership decisions are made, and for those who have worked parttime, it can take years longer to make partner - if they make partner at all (which is far from guaranteed as their part-time status will often work against them when it is time for each partner to cast a vote). The result is shocking, given the huge numbers of women graduating each year from law school - only 18 percent of law firm partners in Philadelphia are women.

While there is no doubt that a part-time schedule is sometimes the only tenable option for a working mother, it should certainly not be considered an entitlement, and neither should young women lawyers with children believe that it is the only way for them to achieve the dual goals of motherhood and a fulfilling career.

It is no walk in the park to become a partner in a law firm. In fact, it takes a huge commitment of time - sometimes away from the family - a tremendous amount of often grueling effort and a great deal of careful career strategizing. But there are many successful female partners in Philadelphia law firms who are mothers and who have made it without going parttime. There are also many male partners who have taken or are taking significant roles in raising their kids and running the household, and who have made it into the partnership ranks.

They have done so by recognizing that it is tremendously difficult to have it all, but it is possible to structure a life that allows time for most of what needs to be done. As a working parent, it may not be possible to attend every single meeting of a group that the lawyer is targeting for business referrals, just as it may not be possible for him or her to go to their children's every school event. It may take a little longer to develop a thriving practice if one is committed to having dinner every night with the kids. It also might take working late into the night after the kids have gone to bed. But life is full of choices, and all of us - both men and women - including attorneys who want to make partner, have those choices to make.

If we are lucky, we are supported in those efforts by the wisdom of our firm's leadership. A firm that has a real commitment to ensuring that each attorney has the opportunity for a full life outside of the office - and which does not merely pay lip service to the concept - is investing in its future.

An attorney who is involved in his or her community through service on nonprofit boards, political or civic engagement, or even through organizing the annual harvest fair at his or her child's school, is an attorney who is making contacts and who will be able to use those contacts to bring in business to the firm. An attorney who has a fulfilling family life will be a happier and, hopefully, more productive lawyer.

The firm that supports an attorney's commitment to his or her family and understands the value of community, political or civic engagement is a firm that has an eye firmly on the future and is committed to the growth of productive partners and rainmakers, whether they be women or men.

This article is reprinted with permission from the January 6, 2006 issue of The Legal Intelligencer.  Copyright 2006 ALM Properties, Inc.  Further duplication without permission is prohibited.  All rights reserved.