National Jurist - October 2008 - (Page 30) A+ for Work-Life Balance When it comes to work-life balance, these firms get an ‘A’ in their respective market. Northern California Littler Mendelson (San Jose) Morrison & Foerster (Palo Alto) Howard Rice Nemerovski Canady Falk & Rabkin (San Francisco) Baker & Mckenzie (San Francisco) Bingham Mccutchen (Palo Alto) Heller Ehrman (San Francisco) Morgan, Lewis & Bockius (San Francisco) Howrey (East Palo Alto) Cooley Godward Kronish (Palo Alto) Boston Fish & Richardson Seyfarth Shaw Ropes & Gray Wilmerhale Goodwin Procter Mcdermott Will & Emery Chicago Mcdermott Will & Emery Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal Ungaretti & Harris Katten Muchin Rosenman Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg Mcguirewoods Washington, DC King & Spalding Dla Piper Us Arent Fox Sutherland Asbill & Brennan Howrey Hogan & Hartson Wilmerhale Arnold & Porter Covington & Burling Venable Llp - Baltimore Beveridge & Diamond Southern California Sidley Austin (Los Angeles) Seyfarth Shaw (Los Angeles) Latham & Watkins (San Diego) Christensen, Glaser, Fink, Jacobs, Weil & Shapiro (Los Angeles) Jones Day (LOS ANGELES) Source: Building a Better Legal Profession 2008 INNOVATIVE PROGRAMS AND SERVICES A broad look at the nation’s top-ranked law firms for work-life balance shows there are a variety of innovative programs and services available to attorneys at all stages of their personal and professional lives. At Bingham McCutchen LLP, attorneys are encouraged to participate in outside activities whether it is travel, volunteering or participation in civic organizations, said Fiona S. Trevelyn, national director of legal recruiting. Their lawyers have taken time to do everything from coach Little League to working for the Make-A-Wish Foundation to rowing in the Head of the Charles Regatta, the world’s largest two-day rowing event. “People are multi-dimensional beings,” Trevelyn said. “Ensuring that our people have the opportunity to lead healthy lives outside the office as well as grow and develop in an exciting and fast-paced legal environment is an important part of both our recruiting and retention efforts.” The firm believes its work-life emphasis has allowed its attorneys to thrive and succeed, Trevelyn said. Internally, there are examples such as Siobhan Mee, a mother of two who made partner while practicing part time. “Externally, we’ve been recognized as a destination firm known not only for its leadership and success, but also for the quality of its work environment,” Trevelyn said. “These recognitions … confirm that our investment is paying off on the recruitment and retention fronts.” Childcare is one of the most pressing work-life issues for attorneys, both male and female. As a result, firms are coming up with creative ways to maintain their workforce during an attorney’s child-rearing years. Because women often are the primary caregivers, many law firms have developed specialized retention and development programs for them specifically. Their goal, legal professionals said, is to give women a variety of on and off ramps throughout their careers. This helps them stay on the job or in touch with the profession. Kirkland & Ellis has a women’s leadership initiative to help working mothers excel in their chosen profession. As part of this program, Kirkland sponsors firm-wide events for its women attorneys, including a day-long curriculum taught by Harvard 30 THE NATIONAL JURIST October 2008 Business School professors. At Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, the progressive return program helps men and women who are coming back from parental leave. The attorney can come back at a reduced schedule to help them ease back into projects, Rosenstein said. The firm also created an Alternative Work Program for its attorneys who need flexibility in their working hours. The firm sees the program as a way to help high performers find the right schedule for their needs, Rosenstein said. “We look at each situation as a unique circumstance and design a program that’s going to meet the attorney’s needs and the firm’s needs,” Rosenstein said. For example, the firm had a male attorney whose wife worked for the United Nations and traveled often. He asked for a work schedule where he could regularly work from home to help care for the couple’s children. He remained productive, and the firm retained one of its best attorneys, Rosenstein said. To maintain the program’s integrity, each person in the Alternative Work Program is assigned a mentor. The mentor, typically one of the firm’s partners, helps http://www.betterlegalprofession.org
For optimal viewing of this digital publication, please enable JavaScript and then refresh the page. If you would like to try to load the digital publication without using Flash Player detection, please click here.