Darling Hill

Family-friendly is S-L-O-W-L-Y becoming an uber cool buzzword in the legal profession. It's used in legal job advertisements. On Law firm websites. In marketing material as a strategy to attract clients. There are Top 10 Lists and annual "family-friendly" firm rankings. But what makes a law firm family-friendly?

Is "family-friendly" a case of you know it when you see it? Are family-friendly policies what transform an ordinary firm into a firm family-friendly one--and what are those policies, anyway? Is part-time partnership the defining mark? Is maternity leave--I'm talking the kind of leave when you don't have to work on your laptop from the L&D hospital bed in order to keep your job--what scores the coveted "family-friendly" designation?

Deborah Epstein Henry (Flex-Time Lawyers) and Working Mother Magazine pinpoint several key benefits and policies shared by the Best Family-Friendly Firms in Working Mother's 2008 ranking of Law Firms, including maternity leave (best firms provide 14 weeks), paternity leave (average of 6 weeks), childcare (onsite or emergency backup) and on & off-ramp programs, and flexible schedules.

On a macro level, policies are the core ingredient to the "family-friendly" firm. But on the micro-level what are the nitty-gritty details--perks and fringe benefits--that make a firm truly family-friendly? A hands-off boss? A legal admin who "covers" for you when you have to sneak out to attend to your child's pink-eye? Perks like employer-discounted dry cleaning that allow you to save a little extra each month in your child's 529 plan? Membership to a health club that was selected because of the incredible childcare center, so you can workout without stressing about the kids? Family luncheons or company picnics? Flexibility to bring an infant to work with you?

What makes your firm truly family friendly? Is your law firm the "Facebook" of the law--Facebook is said to offer perks like full medical, dental and vision, 4+ weeks of vacation plus holidays, onsite laundry (for working lawyer parents, how cool would that be at your firm?) and daily meals, among other great perks. Is there a fringe benefit you wish your firm would offer?

Leave a comment below or email ink [*at*] darlinghill [*dot*] com and share.... It may seem trivial, but sharing with other lawyers has the potential to change the profession--there's strength in numbers when it comes to getting firms to change policies. Like preschoolers or teens, firms also want to do what everyone else does, especially when it comes to the latest trend.

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