|
NEW!
INFORMATION
FOR AND BY STUDENTS LIKE YOU!
How to Find a Job that Allows for Work/Life
Balance
Preparing for law firm interviews can often be overwhelming. How
to Find a Job that Allows for Work/Life Balance offers resources
to help you prepare for interviews, as well as strategies for
asking difficult, but important, questions on work/life balance.
Knowing how, when, and what to ask during a law firm interview
is a crucial first step in finding the right work environment.
PAR
Law School Project's "Mythbusters"
-
"Work/Life balance is a women's issue."
- "Law firms lose money on part-timers."
- "Clients won't work with attorneys who aren't available
24/7."
Employers
rely upon these and other myths when refusing to implement flexible
work arrangements in their workplaces. "Mythbusters"
will help you respond to and dispel these and other misconceptions
about the nature of part-time work. Only by engaging in an active
communication with employers can you impact the direction of the
legal profession.
The Project for Attorney Retention (PAR) Law Student Project
A
recent study by NALP found that more than 70% of law firm attorneys
reported having moderate to major problems meeting their personal
and health needs, handling family, parental, and household responsibilities,
and finding time for cultural and leisure activities. With job
satisfaction this low, and with law firm attrition consistently
on the rise, it's no wonder that legal employers are beginning
to take notice and offer the environment and lifestyle that overworked
attorneys are demanding.
The
news isn't all good, however. At most firms, work/life balance
is the official party line, but real life may be quite different.
At some firms part-time programs are a dead-end street; at other,
part-timers have as good a shot at partnership as do full-time
attorneys. How can you as a law student job seeker know which
firms are which?
The
resources on this page are designed to help you research and identify
legal employers that can offer you a challenging and rewarding
workplace that also supports a healthy work/life balance. Long-term
career potential and a fulfilling life outside of the office shouldn't
be mutually exclusive.
The
PAR Law School Project works with other organizations, such as
Law
Students Building a Better Legal Profession and Ms.
JD, to provide you with resources regarding work/life balance
in the legal profession.
PAR
provides information to law school career centers and placement
offices and PAR staff are available for presentations at law schools
and law firms. If you want us to contact someone at your law school
or want a presenter, contact us.
How You can Partner with PAR
PAR
can be a terrific resource for you and you can be a terrific resource
for PAR.
Check out The Scoop
-- information about part-time and balanced hours programs at
law firms. Not only does PAR include information on the number
of part-time attorneys by level and gender at particular firms,
it also includes the inside scoop on firms in its comments section--the
real deal behind the policies and the numbers as reported by the
firm's attorneys. PAR posts and seeks information about what the
firms are doing right as well as the areas needing improvement.
Don't
see info in The Scoop about a firm you're interested in? Send
us an email at scoop at pardc dot org and let us know -- we may
have some information for you that hasn't been posted yet, or
we may be able to add that firm to our list of firms to research.
Once
you're hired, please be sure to send us information about your
new firm's part-time program (whether from personal experience
or observation) so we can keep The Scoop current and accurate.
Also - we're interested in the experience you've had as summer
associates with law firms. Please send us information about that
too.
PAR also identifies, researches and posts best
practices on its website and soon will be featuring firms
that we believe have developed new models of legal practice. If
you think your firm employs a best practice or has an innovative
practice model, let us know. PAR will follow up on your lead and
research it.
Finally,
check out PAR's weblog, Up
to PAR, where we comment on the latest news regarding PAR
and work/life issues. We encourage you to share your thoughts
by posting comments.
Partnering with PAR in these ways--the Scoop, best practices,
new models, and commenting on our blog--will ultimately benefit
you as you enter the legal profession. Thanks for your input and
for utilizing PAR as a valuable resource.
|
