Opt-out

May 6th in Chicago: NAWL's 3rd Annual "Ready to On-Ramp?" program on re-entry

Submitted by jessie

Jenner & Block's Chicago offices host this year's NAWL program specifically designed to help lawyers develop their own personal strategy for re-entering the workforce. Looks like it will be a great program - especially for the bargain price of $30!

Topic: Firms and the Private Sector
Optional tags: Opt-out, NAWL, chicago

"Opting in" means choosing legal culture over Indian culture

Submitted by Geeta Naidu

After finals, after the end of school year celebrations and the spring barbeques, I drive to Illinois to start my summer of living with my parents and working at Prairie State Legal Services. I have a few days before my internship begins and I spend it running errands for my mother and grandmother. I spend long afternoons driving around the suburbs of Chicago, stopping at the houses of family friends to drop off mango pickle, pick up pan leaves and Telugu VHS movies that have been copied and re-copied until the movie has a clear picture or a clear sound, but not both. At each house I chit-chat with aunties and they all ask the same question: "When are you getting married?"

After completing my first year in law school, I thought my family would ask me what classes I took, what type of law I want to practice, or maybe what kind of lawyer I want to be. I have answers sketched out for those questions, five-year plans with short and long term goals. At orientation, the dean of students warned us against giving legal advice to friends and family. There were no guidelines in the student handbook about how to respond to prying aunties, maternal pressure, or phone calls from pregnant cousins overseas asking, "What are you waiting for? It's your turn now."

Topic: Balancing Private and Professional Life
Optional tags: Opt-out, Opt-in, International, Indian, India

"Opt -in" -- The new buzz word?

Submitted by Peg

Heller Ehrman, a big San Francisco-based law firm, has a new project called "Opt-in." A very telling and optimistic statement on the project's website says, "We do not see a conflict with professionals seeking both fulfilling lives and rewarding careers, and we recognize that in helping all professionals find this balance, our industry will not only be able to recruit the best and the brightest, but also retain them."<

Topic: Firms and the Private Sector
Optional tags: Work-Life Balance, Opt-out, Opt-in

A shift in focus from the "opt-out" to the "opt-in"

Submitted by Kalokagathia

Both Lawjobs.com (via law.com) and NYLawyer.com have recently reported new programs at Hastings and Pace University which are designed to bridge the gap and ease re-entry into the legal market for professionals who have taken a year or more off of work.

Not surprisingly, most of the individuals enrolling in such programs are women who have taken time off to have/raise kids.