Maternity Leave in Law Firms

[Anonymous]

If you are SO impressed with other countries' policies, I would suggest you work THERE. Isn't that a no brainer? Honestly, Americans are so very spoiled. What do you do when mommy and daddy aren't there to tie your shoes?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If you are SO impressed with other countries' policies, I would suggest you work THERE. Isn't that a no brainer? Honestly, Americans are so very spoiled. What do you do when mommy and daddy aren't there to tie your shoes?

Please. There is nothing wrong with acknowledging that our maternity leave policies and work policies in general need to be changed. It would likely lead to a healthier society (studies show long commutes and working long hours can have health consequences) and it would help companies retain women who otherwise leave to stay home. Nothing wrong with staying home, but I know a lot of moms who would have stayed in the work force if they could work reasonable hours.

Working for change is not "complaining."

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If you are SO impressed with other countries' policies, I would suggest you work THERE. Isn't that a no brainer? Honestly, Americans are so very spoiled. What do you do when mommy and daddy aren't there to tie your shoes?

There may be many who would like to do this very thing. But isn't it difficult to get a work visa or become an attorney in Europe?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I have a question for the "no vacation policy" firms... how do you take a vacation??? I am not a lawyer just curious!

Not a lawyer either, but I used to work at an investment bank that had an "unlimited paid time off" policy (instead of having vacation, sick leave etc). In theory, you could take off as much time as you wanted, provided that it was ok with your supervisor. The trick of course was that it was so busy (this was a few years ago when things indeed were very busy for investment banks) that you could barely take a day off, let alone a "vacation". I guess this way the firm didn't have to pay out massive amounts of accrued vacation time when people left.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

If you are SO impressed with other countries' policies, I would suggest you work THERE. Isn't that a no brainer? Honestly, Americans are so very spoiled. What do you do when mommy and daddy aren't there to tie your shoes?

Spoken like a true dictator.