Blog #37: Status of Women in Law

The report, Charting Our Progress, by the American Bar Association was very similar to the other readings that we have been reading.  They talk about the increases in women in the legal field, which is always a great thing, but creates an issue when it comes to the work/home life balance that many working mothers face.  There were many similarities between English's findings and the report in terms of the struggle to balance things such as a career and child care or elderly care.  

Many law firms and legal organizations understand that this balance is difficult and often provide part-time schedules to accommodate their employees with children at home.  Although this would be a great option for many women, they often are not inclined to take advantage of these schedules because they have been afraid that they will not be as valued as the full time employees that can devote more time to their firm.  They are afraid that they will not be given the same opportunities as the other employees because of this.   They are also concerned about something called "schedule creep" which is when someone is working part time for part time compensation but consistantly being asked to take on more work and work longer hours without being compensated for the extra work.  This can be a big problem for many of the attorneys because they would assume be employed as a full time attorney being paid a full time salary instead of being classified and paid as part time and working full time hours.  

Many New York attorneys are asked to put in about 2,400 billable hours per year, plus an additional 600+ non-billable hours.  This would be an extremely hard schedule to work if you had children, especially if this is what is expected.  This type of work commitment forces someone to choose between their career and their home life, which often is not a choice.   They aren't able to participate in the extra activities that are needed to be a successful attorney such as attending meetings, etc. so they are looked down upon.  

Technology is something that a lot of women use as a way to get around the hectic hours that are expected of them, however this creates a problem.  If you have the ability to take calls and emails where ever you are you don't have the ability to separate yourself from work and you are constantly deemed available by your clients.  This will take away from your family time and you will log many more non-billable hours that you are not being compensated for.