The Goddess Speaks
Melissa Pavlicek
Firm’s holistic view
validates lawyer-momsThe University of Hawaii's law school admitted women from the day it opened in 1973. Soon after, women comprised about half the law students, besting the 50 percent mark today. Yet women account for less than a third of Hawaii's practicing attorneys. Why? One reason is that the profession remains largely inhospitable to a sizable group of women lawyers: mothers.
Consider this bleak pronouncement from a prominent partner in a Bishop Street law firm and mother of five years: "Once pregnant, a woman can never be as good a lawyer as she once was." Or this from a managing partner at one of the state's largest firms: "No part-time work arrangement will be approved on my watch" (despite that firm's claims to be "family friendly").
The demands of childrearing are too distracting and time-consuming to support peak professional performance, this line of thinking goes. Their views are held by many.
Yes, raising a child -- or more than one -- is difficult at times. But those who choose to do it and choose to do it with thoughtful, caring attention can be deeply enriched, both personally and professionally. Highly organized, more "other" focused, with a wider world view and more grounded in practicality, mothers -- and fathers who care for their children, too -- can bring new skills and a fresh commitment to lawyering. Witness a detail-oriented group of type-A "mommy lawyers" who meet monthly for lunch: Name tags are color coded to indicate ages and gender of children; and there are agendas, guest speakers, minutes and e-mail chats. These women are not on cruise control.
It's not the distractions that vitiate a mother's professional career, but a the lack of foresight and flexibility by people who employ lawyers. Inflexible minimum required billable hours, "face" time at the firm and in one's office, a pervasive perception that a "mommy" lawyer is less serious (despite all evidence to the contrary), contribute to many women lawyers leaving the profession once they have children. The specific demands of the profession only add to the general difficulty of finding suitable childcare and the ever-present expectation that mothers more than fathers are responsible for the kids.
IT DOESN'T HAVE to be this way. At Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing, a 38-person Honolulu law firm with significant litigation, environmental and business practices, the partners take a more holistic view of their lawyers' careers. At any given time, as many as half a dozen of the firm's attorneys may work part-time hours. They do it for any number of reasons: teaching a course at the law school, working to get a fledgling nonprofit corporation off the ground, taking on a complex pro bono case, caring for elderly parents or new babies.
Though temporarily off partner track, no stigma, no "mommy track" label is attached. At the same time, an equal number of lawyers are likely to have their best year -- the most hours, new clients, successful resolution of client matters. And in time, given the firm's support during tough times, the part-time lawyers frequently come back strong.
The firm takes an equally holistic view of each attorney's day, making it easy and efficient to get work done whether at home, in the office or on the road with a firm-paid home computer purchase program, a printer on every attorney's desk and round-the-clock computer support. Do these extras improve the quality and the quantity of work produced? You bet.
My career has benefited from these supports. While working part time during my son's first year, I brought to the firm a significant client and several smaller ones, established a new practice area and serviced many of the firm's existing clients. I am at least as prolific and profitable as an attorney as I've ever been. Other lawyers with children in the firm have chosen to continue hard-charging, high-volume schedules. The point is that there are choices. And the bottom line is that the firm's bottom line hasn't suffered.
Certainly there are jobs outside the legal field that are equally inhospitable to motherhood. But for a profession premised on fairness, justice and equality, it seems ironic that a "one size fits all" approach to work load, time pressures and balancing a home life prevails.
In thinking about mothering and lawyering, an old adage comes to mind: "When you need something done, ask someone busy." Law firms and governmental agencies seeking lawyers who can solve complex legal problems, efficiently and seemingly effortlessly, shouldn't overlook accommodating the schedule of a lawyer who is a mom. Solving problems is her stock in trade. If she was a good attorney before becoming a parent, don't be surprised if she is an excellent lawyer now.
Melissa Pavlicek is an attorney at Alston Hunt Floyd & Ing. Her practice emphasizes business transactions and government affairs. She is co-chair of the Hawaii State Bar Association's Committee on Diversity, Equality and the Law and a former president of Hawaii Women Lawyers.
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