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What is part-time really like at D.C. law firms?
Below you'll find some comments by attorneys who have worked or currently are
working part-time. If you would like to add your own comments, please
click here.
From a female attorney who is counsel at a D.C. office of a
national firm:
I am very happy with my part-time arrangement. I worked
full-time for about four years, and have worked part-time for about nine years.
There are several people in my department who work part-time. Some people have
come to the firm because they could work part-time here. My firm pays me a
percentage of the full-time salary that is equal to the percentage I work (e.g.,
70% pay for 70% work). I get good assignments and good performance reviews, and
I don't feel like a second-class citizen the way I have heard some part-time
attorneys at other firms feel. The only downside is that my firm won't make me
a partner while I am part-time. Right now, that is okay, but I may feel
differently in the future. I feel indebted to my firm for giving me the
opportunity to do exciting legal work and also be the kind of parent I want to
be.
From a female attorney who used to work part-time at a
medium-sized D.C. law firm:
I worked full-time at first, and then switched to part-time
after my first child was born. Everything changed once I moved to part-time. I
was taken off all firm committees, and one partner didn't want to work with me
anymore ñ he said it was because I couldn't travel, although he never asked
me if I could still travel. I was given work in an area in which I had no
background. It was a type of work that the other associates hated. After a
while, the partner in charge became more supportive of me, once he saw that I
would still work hard to meet deadlines. Eventually, though, it became harder to
stay at a firm that viewed me as a second-class citizen, and I left.
From a woman associate in D.C.:
At [one large Washington law firm] where I was being heavily
recruited, the firm sent me to lunch with two women. I believe both were
married. One had children and raved about how wonderful the firm's part-time
program was. Yet she also explained that to take advantage of that program, she
had to leave her former specialty and go to another group. She explained with a
smile on her face that the practice area didn't really interest her, but that
was the group where most of the part-time moms went because there was a partner
who was "very accepting." She thought she was selling the firm. I was
mortified. At [another large Washington law firm], one of the people I
interviewed with was a part-time woman. As soon as my chaperone left the room,
this woman was almost frantic to "be honest with me" about the
realities of part -time work at her firm. She complained that she really worked
just as many hours as she used to, so she was going to decrease her 'official'
hours even more so that her true schedule would approach the number of hours she
really wanted to work. She seemed angry and, for lack of a better word,
betrayed. I could tell she was trying to hide it, but she was very unsuccessful.
After these interviews, I thought to myself, "How blind must these firms be
to the realities of their part-time programs to be presenting them to a person
they are trying to convince to join the firm?" Obviously the firms had no
idea how these women felt.
From a D.C. lawyer:
Eventually, the head of the litigation department decided that
the best way to use someone in my anomalous (part-time) position was to assign
me sole responsibility for the smaller, less sophisticated matters (or, to put
it more bluntly, the "dog cases") that the litigation department took
on more or less as a favor for clients of the firm's business department. Once
I figured this out, it wasn't long before I started looking for another job.
From a woman associate:
I love my schedule and the flexibility I have. The people I
work with are all pleasant. The problem is that I am the last in line for
projects because I am part-time and there is a real desire to keep the other
full-time associates fully occupied. I think my schedule adversely affects the
work I receive and my status in the firm. I am considering leaving.
From a woman associate:
I work a part-time schedule. My reviews have all been very
good. But I am not eligible for bonuses or a promotion to counsel. These are two
new policies which have made me feel disenfranchised.
From a woman associate:
I work almost a 60% schedule. Pro bono, business development,
required administrative work, etc. are done on my own time. I usually am in the
office 6-7 hours a day but usually take some time for lunch and occasional
personal matters (up to an hour a day). I am not eligible for promotion to
counsel (or partner). I am thinking about leaving the firm.
From a former woman partner:
I hate to admit it, but I did very little business
development, bar work, or pro bono while part-time. I was always so busy doing
my billable work at the office and I had little time outside the office to get
the nonbillable work done.
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