No formal vacation means, well, no formal vacation

Recently, as I was contemplating taking a couple of days off work when the school year ends for my kids in June and I got to remembering when I first started as a biglaw associate.  In a session on one of the first days, we met with junior associates who were supposed to answer all of our questions that we didn't want to ask in more formal sessions.  Quickly the question came up about how to ask for vacation days and I remember the others that I was starting with being almost giddy about the fact that there wasn't any formal approval process and that we didn't need permission to take time off and even that it didn't seem like anyone was keeping track of it.  I also remember being a little relieved that it didn't seem like vacation had to be something that one planned far in advance and didn't need to be coordinated with the entire office.  Afterall, it seemed nice that you could take vacation whenever your work scheduled allowed.  Ha!-- what a misnomer that whole idea is.  See, the schedule of a junior associate in a national law firm, will never allow vacation.  Instead, one has to force vacation into a riduculously busy work load and take it regardless of whether you have time to take it or not  -- or not take it at all, an option that many see to go for.

Also, I have come to learn that the fact that vacation is very informal for attorneys means, exactly that -- it is informal.  The truth is that vacation in general is a very loose concept.  I've tried to take a grand total of 4 vacation days since the beginning of this calendar year and have actually only been able to take 1 vacation day where I didn't work, although I was not in the office for the other three.

I was reminded of this today when reading a post on The Glass Hammer.

Congratulations to the winners of the Ms. JD & PAR essay contest!

Ms. JD and the Project for Attorney Retention received fifty-four passionate, well-written arguments for better work/life balance in the legal profession. Our organizations co-sponsored the contest to generate dialogue between Baby Boomer partners and Millennials. Essentially, we asked entrants to explain why lawyers who place a premium on work/life balance are not slackers. Ms. JD awarded $1,000 to the winning essayist as judged by PAR attorneys.

Lori Johnson, a 1L at the University of Mississippi, won first prize with her essay, Bridging the Gap on Work-Life Balance. Johnson previously studied accounting and finance at Texas A&M, then spent four years as a CPA for Ernst & Young.

 

Davida Brook (1L) and Andrew Bruck (3L) of Stanford Law School co-authored the second place essay, describing their work with the group Building a Better Legal Profession.

 

 

Sabrina Ursaner, a 1L at NYU, won third place with an open letter that begins, "Dear Baby Boomer Law Firm Partner..."

 

Jodi Rosenberg, of Greenbaum, Rowe, Smith & Davis LLP in New Jersey, earned Honorable Mention reflecting on fifteen years juggling as an attorney and mother of three. Rosenberg received her JD from Boston University in 1993. She also serves as an officer of The Valerie Fund, an organization that assists children with cancer.

 

The contest entries were inspiring and thought-provoking. We look forward to sharing them with you in coming days. Congratulations to all who entered!

They just don't get it

Somewhat tangentially related to my last disappointment in the older but wiser generation's lawyers and their attitudes about young-ish attorneys came this priceless nugget...

In consulting with an "expert" about what a symposium on the issue of work-life balance should focus on, the expert's first piece of advice was that our speaker should tell people what work-life balance really is because "it is [his] experience that today's young attorneys don't really know what it is." What? Excuse me? Why don't you just go ahead and tell me what my priorities are or should be while you're at it?

[More after the jump]

Last Chance to Win $1,000 by THIS FRIDAY [Work/Life Essay Contest with No Minimum Essay Length]

If you marked your calendar to write a few words about work/life balance, the clock is ticking... entries to win $1,000 are due this Friday, February 29th. Hey, "leap day" is an extra day in the month anyway, right? Take 10 minutes of it (or a bit more) to try for $1,000. The maximum word count is 1,500--and there's no minimum word count. Ms. JD and the Project for Attorney Retention just want to hear what you have to say.

Remember, the contest is open to attorneys as well as students. So all you working moms who post here--you could have $1,000 bucks extra for your child's education, just like that.

Here's the writing prompt (pasted below) and a link to the essay contest application.

Ms. JD and The Project for Attorney Retention promote work/life balance in the legal profession. When recent law school graduates push for more part time, flex time, or balanced hours, they are sometimes dismissed as "slackers." The message is: if you don't want to put in the work, pick another profession.

What would you say to a baby boomer law firm partner who thinks young lawyers are lazy and don't understand what the profession is all about? What would you say to a senior colleague who says she had to put in the work, so why shouldn't you? In short: what's your rationale for work/life balance reform in the legal profession?

You might contrast the work styles, lifestyles, or priorities of recent graduates with preceding generations of lawyers; compare the practice of law with other professions; assess the economics of work/life imbalances; or share persuasive personal experiences. Or, feel free to get creative and write us an argument unlike any of the examples we just mentioned.

Please limit your response to a maximum of 1500 words.
No minimum word count is required.

Your essay will be judged anonymously by a panel of distinguished, practicing attorneys. The judges include Joan C. Williams, Cynthia Thomas Calvert, Natalie Hiott-Levine, Linda Marks, Linda Bray Chanow, and Manar Morales. Good luck!

Just in time for Valentine's Day, dating & relationship expert declares, "profession-wise, women lawyers are the worst"

Maine newspaper syndicate SeacoastOnline publishes one of those ubiquitous dating/relationship columns that sets people up then reports on their dates. In that spirit, the paper's (female) food critic submitted to a "dating quotient" evaluation by columnist Steve Penner. He was asked, "How datable is Rachel Forrest?" To answer, he talks through her age, marital status, politics, etc. Then he gets to her occupation:

Profession-wise women lawyers are the worst. Writing professions are good, creative professions are good if you want an intelligent man. [Emphasis added.]

Hat tip to Women in Law Daily for the link. W.I.L.D. blogger Grace reacts, "What is that supposed to mean, 'the worst'? I love my women friends who are lawyers. I hope that the single men out there give them a chance and don’t become intimidated by my girls. They make good money and provide for their families and friends. They are thoughtful and considerate. Give them a chance!"

Seriously. Happy Valentine's Day, Mr. Penner. Hope karma bites you on the butt.

Children's Books Featuring Working Moms and Families Who Juggle [Clippings]

Looking for role models more modern than Disney princesses? Sara Schaefer Munoz over at the Juggle Blog asked readers, "Where are the Working Parents in Children’s Literature?" Responses suggest and describe a number of children's books and DVDs. The Ramona series by Beverly Cleary (featuring two working parents) is one of my favorites, especially Ramona and Her Mother.

Legal recruiter answers the question: will taking maternity leave in my first few years as an associate derail my career?

Ann Israel, a New York legal recruiter with nearly 30 years' experience, answers the question: "Will taking maternity leave in my first couple of years as an associate derail my career permanently?" Her unspoken answer seems to be "yes," although she offers tips to mitigate the problem. Part of me wishes she'd come out and say it--we need frank advice, so we can work around obstacles and eventually get into positions to improve the system.

When I was asked to speak to some undergraduates at a "women in leadership" conference a few months back, my panel got the same question about fitting a pregnancy into a career trajectory. I feel like Ms. Israel, however well-meaning, is disingenuous to advise that if you just work hard enough beforehand, "hopefully... you will be sorely missed" by senior partners. The best time to have a baby if you're a woman in law, the lawyer on the panel agreed with me, is before you leave law school, in the spring of your 3L year. It's the lightest part of law school, in terms of juggling coursework with mood swings and morning sickness. And nobody expects you to be working 90 hours a week the summer after you graduate--that's when you're taking the bar.

My classmates have voted with their feet (or, uh, their wombs?) on this one: there is a mini-epidemic of pregnancy among my 3L friends and acquaintances. Seems like everybody with a committed partner decided to get pregnant in September, and many of them succeeded. Now they're all just starting to show!

[More after the jump]

Book ToDo: The Undomestic Goddess

Okay, so I'm calling this a "ToDo" instead of a "Review". First, I don't want to seem too serious about this. I'm no literary critic. Heck, I don't even read that much besides my law school textbooks these days. Second, I don't get any benefit from writing this ToDo. I had to purchase the book like anyone else but you could probably check it out from the library. Summer is approaching so I thought I'd pass on a fun book that I read last summer and thoroughly enjoyed.