Are there any attorneys who work part time or work from home?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering if anyone has figured out a way to work part time as an attorney or to work from home. If so, how did you do it?

I went to work as a contract attorney for a client of my former firm. 100% telecommuting. In fact, I do it from another state. But I realize this is a rare job. I will never give it up!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I am just wondering if anyone has figured out a way to work part time as an attorney or to work from home. If so, how did you do it?

I went to work as a contract attorney for a client of my former firm. 100% telecommuting. In fact, I do it from another state. But I realize this is a rare job. I will never give it up!

Are you licensed in both states? How does this work if not?

[Anonymous]

Yes, I work part-time *and* from home. 24 hours a week. I go to the office every week or two. I do transactional work.

I paid my dues as a FT lawyer for many years before working out this deal with my employer. They love my work, and have my loyalty and dedication to doing a great job.

[Anonymous]

I moved and I am now a "contract attorney" with my Big Law firm in DC. The work is sporadic, so I work anywhere from 0-20 hours/week and not on any particular schedule. I was able to do this because I was a mid-level associate with very strong relationships to several partners, and I have a specialized area of knowledge which is useful to a variety of practice groups across our firm. The arrangement is great in some respects, and not so great in others. Pros: work part time, keep up my skills and expertise, keep some semblance of my former work-life and mindset, work in my pajamas, etc. Cons: sporadic work load makes planning difficult, I'm still on-call and on my blackberry much like I was while a FT associate, although I end up responding much less frequently, missing out on good opportunities because the firm needs to train up other FT associates to do some of the work in-office. Fortunately, I'm not in it for the money - while I am well-compensated for my work, it's too sporadic to count on for a decent salary. I'm actually thinking of moving out onto my own and building a virtual law practice from my home.

[Anonymous]

OP, if you want a firm job/salary, 10-6 with a day off IS part time. I'm getting paid 80% of my salary for 80% work.

[Anonymous]

As an aside to this thread - does anyone know if there are any working mom attorney organizations in DC? I know there is a Mother Attorney thing in Nothern Virginia but it would be nice to know some other working moms/attorneys in DC. But maybe none of us have any time to put something like this together.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As an aside to this thread - does anyone know if there are any working mom attorney organizations in DC? I know there is a Mother Attorney thing in Nothern Virginia but it would be nice to know some other working moms/attorneys in DC. But maybe none of us have any time to put something like this together.

+1!!!!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As an aside to this thread - does anyone know if there are any working mom attorney organizations in DC? I know there is a Mother Attorney thing in Nothern Virginia but it would be nice to know some other working moms/attorneys in DC. But maybe none of us have any time to put something like this together.

+1!!!!

I am the pp, and realized that this was not clear -- whether I was supporting the idea or the fact that none of us have time! I think it is a great idea. Even a casual brown bag lunch occasionally in someone's conference room, maybe with a general topic to discuss like: hiring a nanny, preschools, college applications (trying to be broad here!) etc.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you want a firm job/salary, 10-6 with a day off IS part time. I'm getting paid 80% of my salary for 80% work.

Yeah, sorry. I don't expect LARGE firm salary/job. I've been a government attorney for 8 years at this point, so don't expect any large firm (or maybe even small firm) would have an interest in me. I think I was looking for more creative or off the beaten path solutions -- or any women who had hung out their own shingle. My mother did this -- created a niche practice in my home state and she works from home. But my home state is way smaller than the DC metro area. As for working moms group -- that is itneresting -- should we create a separate post for that to bounce ideas off of one another?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:OP, if you want a firm job/salary, 10-6 with a day off IS part time. I'm getting paid 80% of my salary for 80% work.

Yeah, sorry. I don't expect LARGE firm salary/job. I've been a government attorney for 8 years at this point, so don't expect any large firm (or maybe even small firm) would have an interest in me. I think I was looking for more creative or off the beaten path solutions -- or any women who had hung out their own shingle. My mother did this -- created a niche practice in my home state and she works from home. But my home state is way smaller than the DC metro area. As for working moms group -- that is itneresting -- should we create a separate post for that to bounce ideas off of one another?

and to be clear -- I was a firm attorney prior to being a government attorney, but still don't think it's for me at this point.

[Anonymous]

I work at HHS General Counsel's office, and we can work from home 2 days a week. I understand that at the Patent & Trademark Office (located in VA) the attorneys can work from home as much as they want.

I like the mommy attorney group idea!

[Anonymous]

USPTO attorneys work from home majority of the time. I also have a friend who works as an attorney at Homeland Security- she works from home 4 days/week. many other fed govt agencies are also like this but I don't have the specific names. many non-profits allow it too. Remember, the working at home is a convenience to the employer, not just the employee. They save alot of money not having to have office space for everyone. All you need is a laptop and internet connection at home. these jobs are focused on production, so if you don't produce the minimum required work load, you won't last. they don't care when you do it as long as it's done on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. That's where the trust comes in and they can definitely measure your production.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:USPTO attorneys work from home majority of the time. I also have a friend who works as an attorney at Homeland Security- she works from home 4 days/week. many other fed govt agencies are also like this but I don't have the specific names. many non-profits allow it too. Remember, the working at home is a convenience to the employer, not just the employee. They save alot of money not having to have office space for everyone. All you need is a laptop and internet connection at home. these jobs are focused on production, so if you don't produce the minimum required work load, you won't last. they don't care when you do it as long as it's done on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. That's where the trust comes in and they can definitely measure your production.

Another DHS attorney, who is currently on maternity leave. I work from home 4 days a week, and I am in the office one day a week.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:USPTO attorneys work from home majority of the time. I also have a friend who works as an attorney at Homeland Security- she works from home 4 days/week. many other fed govt agencies are also like this but I don't have the specific names. many non-profits allow it too. Remember, the working at home is a convenience to the employer, not just the employee. They save alot of money not having to have office space for everyone. All you need is a laptop and internet connection at home. these jobs are focused on production, so if you don't produce the minimum required work load, you won't last. they don't care when you do it as long as it's done on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. That's where the trust comes in and they can definitely measure your production.

Another DHS attorney, who is currently on maternity leave. I work from home 4 days a week, and I am in the office one day a week.

Are you at CIS? What sub agencies at DHS allow your schedule? I'm at DOJ and DHS is our client agency. People have transitioned from my office to DHS, so this might be a future possibility. Thanks.

[Anonymous]

I do technology transactions and there some local corporate employers who allow this. Including Accenture and my employer.