[co-authors: Megan Sterchi Lammert*, Clinton Turley**]

Parents who work outside of the home are not an anomaly today – especially when it comes to parents who work in the legal industry. There have been many advances made in recent years to further support and ultimately ensure inclusion of working parents in many different industries, including the legal industry. However, there is always room for exploration of new opportunities to continue to foster support and inclusion of working parents and help them succeed at work and at home.

We briefly touch on two topics below: Advances in Technology, and how the same has advanced or otherwise assisted in these working parents’ careers, and consideration of a Ramp Up/Ramp Down period, discussing how such a policy could further bolster and support working parents. While these topics may not be new to many, we believe it is important to continue to place these discussions at the forefront of individuals’ and companies’ minds. Doing so will help to continue positive progress and change in our places of employment and provide support, inclusion, and, in turn, retention, of valued employees.

Technology

The COVID-19 pandemic gave litigators at least one gift: advances in and an increased use of technology. This is certainly true for lawyers with young kids and even more so for households with two working parents.

Before the pandemic, a 9:00 a.m. status hearing two hours from home might require an early alarm clock and cashing in brownie points with one’s own parents or siblings to help get kids to daycare or school. Adding to the chaos, the actual hearing may last all of three minutes and, depending on the client, you might not even get paid for the full five hours you spent driving to and attending the hearing. But the litigation world has changed dramatically. Now, many courts allow for in-person or videoconference attendance, providing much needed relief to already chaotic mornings.

Taking advantage of advances in technology, lawyers are working from home more than before. Although the efficacy of working from home is not the focus of this article, it has changed litigation. It changed the way we hire: candidates now expect some type of work-from-home setup, regardless of how often or consistently they use it. It has provided us with more flexibility: it is now much easier to make that standing athletics or music practice on Thursdays at 4:00 p.m. and make up the lost time from home, the car or elsewhere. It has even helped new parents better transition back from parental leave (more on that below) and provide more flexibility when children inevitably get sick or have a daycare/school closure.

Not everyone will agree on the benefits or use of such technology, but it seems to be a driving force in the industry that will require some level of adaptation. Time will tell us how many of these changes are here to stay. Discuss with your firm colleagues what is best for your firm. Get ideas from other industry professionals. Whatever you do, understand this is not the litigation world of yesteryear.

Ramp Up / Down Period

As we look to more ways to help the working parents in legal industries, and more specifically at law firms where billable hours remain a requirement, one idea that law firms should consider implementing on a more standard basis is that of a “ramp up” or “ramp down” period to help their working parents return to their work from parental leave or prepare to go on leave (e.g., for birth or adoption of a child).

This concept is not necessarily new to the legal industry, but it does not appear to be the norm for it either, especially at smaller to mid-size law firms. Essentially, a “ramp up” period would allow the firm’s working parents flexibility in returning to their place of work, working at a certain percentage rate (e.g., 70-80 percent) for the first 2-3 months (with a preference for three months), without being penalized for less work, until they could proceed with working at their previous 100 percent rate after 2-3 months (whatever the policy would be of the firm). A “ramp-down” period applies during a certain number of weeks prior to the parent going on leave where the firm either implements or the working parent requests to have their billable hour expectation reduced by a certain percentage, but there would be no reduction in the attorneys’ base compensation during that time. For example, one firm’s policy that we found, articulated the following ramp up/down policy:

• Ramp Down:
  • Applies to 4-week period immediately prior to leave
  • Attorneys may request to have their billable hour expectation reduced by 30 percent during that time period with no reduction in the attorneys' base compensation during that time.
• Ramp Up:
  • Attorneys may take up to 3 months for this period when returning from leave
  • Goal is to assist attorney in ramping back up to their regular billable hours expectation, to ease and balance work and home life:
  • Ramp Up Monthly Reductions in Billable Hours Expectation:
    • Month one: 30 percent reduction
    • Month two: 20 percent reduction
    • Month three: 10 percent reduction
  • No reduction in the attorney’s base compensation during this period.

Another way of thinking about this is that the firm could “de-escalate” billable hour requirements prior to and coming back from parental leave to ensure success for that employee as they adjust to their new life circumstances. While we do not have studies to present at this time, we have received feedback and read success stories of how having such policies and/or programs have a significant positive impact on the overall well-being of firms with working parents, hopefully decrease burn out and increase employee satisfaction and, in return, increase retention.

Closing

The goal of this article is not to convince any firm to change the way it operates but rather to continue discussion of these important topics. We are all better served through industry-wide collaboration. We encourage you to reach out to colleagues in your firm and across the industry about these topics.

* Baker Sterchi Cowden & Rice

** McCausland Barrett & Bartalos PC