Balance? What Balance?

It's no secret that law is a demanding profession. At least, I don't think it's a secret. Although, as I think about it, I had no idea just how demanding it was until I got to law school and even that does nothing to prepare you for what it's like to actually practice law. The only lawyer I knew growing up was the lawyer from Lloydminster, (SK/AB, population 17,000) who came to our small town every Wednesday and worked out of the same office as my dad. He was there at 9 or so and usually left by 5. I had no idea what his hours were like the rest of the week; I just assumed that's how all lawyers worked. Ha ha.

So it's been quite a struggle for me to try to fit into a profession that demands so much when I always knew that my family would come first. I never aspired to be a stay-at-home Mom - I worked hard for my education and want to put it to good use - but I also don't ever want my kids to think that they came second to my job. I was kind of lucky because when I graduated from law school, "work/life balance" was a term thrown around by all the firms (all of whom insisted that their firm was the only one that "really meant it.") and I guess I believed them. Still, I didn't even apply to work at any of the BigLaw firms because I knew that lifestyle wasn't for me. I've been fortunate to work at places where I can keep fairly regular hours and still get my work done.

So it was with interest that I read Jordan Furlong's column today over at Law21. Most of the time I agree with Jordan's analysis of an issue, but this time I'm not so sure. He says that the term "work-life balance" will soon be a phrase of the past, and that it's always been about the choices that lawyers have to make, not something that firms really have to adjust too. While I agree with his assessment that the idea of work-life balance has a lot to do with trade-offs, I don't think that it's just young lawyers starting out who are denied the ability to make this choice in the first place.

I know that there are several female lawyers - mothers - at top-tier firms who have managed to make it in private practice without sacrificing their family life. At least, I don't know that they haven't sacrificed their family life. But there aren't many. Study after study has been commissioned to try and figure out why women are leaving private practice to go work in-house or for the government. It's not rocket science. Any mother practicing law who is either single or part of a two-earner household has probably had to manage the collision between their professional and personal life at least once, likely several times. If firms want to keep these parents on staff, they are going to need to be more flexible in what expectations they have of their employees. It doesn't necessarily mean that these lawyers will have lower billable hour targets or anything, but it does mean that firms open themselves up to things like telecommuting. After all, I'm sure the client doesn't care where the work gets done, as long as it's done. And if the firms don't adjust? Well, then I guess we'll all lose because a lot of great legal talent will go work elsewhere. As a profession, we'd have no one to blame but ourselves.