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Any lawyers working from home?
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Anonymous
| Suggestions for work opportunities for lawyer moms who want flexible hours and to work primarily from home? I used to write briefs for my old biglaw firm, but the work has pretty much dried up with the changed economy. Appreciate any suggestions -- government agencies, publishing companies, research groups, etc. that might welcome flexible work arrangements. TIA. |
Anonymous
| Government agencies can have flexibility but all depends on your immediate supervisor/group. I've been at a government job for five years and just started telecommuting once a week. It's working out well. However, there is definitely an expectation that you will put in your time before doing this. In fact, our agency does not allow telecommuting for the first year, regardless of whether your boss would agree. |
Anonymous
| Can you try marketing yourself to boutique firms in your practice area? They tend to operate with fewer staff, so if someone is out for maternity leave or health reasons, or if they have a sudden uptick in business, they may need some extra help. |
Anonymous
| government lawyer here. i telecommute 4 days a week and it is so nice. however, the PP is right, some agencies don't offer the option and the ones who do usually make you wait at least a year. |
Anonymous
| I have a small solo practice and work primarily from home. The hours are flexible since I make them myself, but it requires a lot of juggling - early morning and late night catch up and condensing work into a shortened work day. I borrow office space to meet clients and usually have 2 days/week that I'm out for meetings, etc. My practice is administrative law, so the hearings are not that intense and do not happen that frequently. I do use child care but pick my kids up by 4:30 on most days that they are there. I also do some research/writing for other lawyers, but that has not been as frequent lately. Its only been a few months but is working relatively well so far. |
Anonymous
| I am a federal attorney (USPTO) and work fully from home. LOVE it. But the PTO isn't hiring right now and not for the foreseeable future in this economy. Get in with a good fed agency! |
Anonymous
| This is why I will not be encouraging my daughters to go to law school. It is just too hard a profession to manage with a family for most women. I am in biglaw working part time, so I speak from experience. My husband and I are both lawyers and we are hoping they will steer clear. |
Anonymous
I think it depends on different factors though. I work for an association - I'm not a lawyer but there are quite a few lawyer moms there and they all have flex schedules and very reasonable hours. I'm sure they get paid well, but obviously likely don't make what they would in big law. There is also another lawyer there who is not a mom, and I get the impression she works longer hours (to be fair, she is in a different department than the moms with flexible hours I am thinking of so it's not like she is picking up their slack). I also think it depends on where your daughter lives. DC law may be different than living in a smaller area, say like, Chapel Hill NC or Charlottesville (thinking of college towns I would consider living in!). At the very least the commute might be better! I would love to assume my daughter will marry, have children, and have a career that she loves that is incredibly flexible, but I have had so many friends with fertility problems, or who haven't found the right guy, that I would hate to steer her down a path that may not work out for her. |
Anonymous
| PP is right. I am a busy DC lawyer-mom. I can work from home and do at times, but have enough to keep me busy during times that others consider non-work hours. I have a friend who is a lawyer in Charlottesville. Built up her own estate/trust practice. Makes her own hours, is at the point of turning down work, and really loves it. |
Anonymous
PP who said I would encourage my daughters to practice law. I like Cville (I went to school there) and agree that a law practice in a college town would be nice, but the reality is that most sophisticated legal work goes on in big cities, and that is the type of work most successful law students end up doing. So, I still plan to encourage them to go to dental school! |
Anonymous
| I'm a lawyer mom and I would NEVER encourage my daughter to be a lawyer if she ever wants to be a mom. My husband and I are both lawyers and having worked in both government and for Biglaw, I speak from experience. Everyone knows that working for a firm is no fun but working for the government isn't easy either. Those government legal jobs where you can work from home regularly are few and far between. |
Anonymous
That is a ridiculous statement. There is plenty of sophisticated legal work in smaller cities as well (I know, I went to law school and practiced in a small city of 65K people), and the hours can be just as brutal (BTDT). As for "successful" law students, they are the ones who go on to find interesting and fulfilling work, wherever that may be. All that said, I would not encourage any of my children, male or female, to become lawyers. It's too stressful, too many hours, and not interesting enough to justify what the work entails. |
Anonymous
| I work in-house and telecommute three days/week. I think the practice is increasing in various work venues. |
Anonymous
|
I totally disagree. I want my daughter to be able to find work that it is available in good times and in bad. I want her to have the ability, as I did, to walk out of a job that wasn't working one day and into her own business the next. I left my employer's firm on a Friday and started my own the following Monday. I have never looked back. I made 1/3 more money my first year on my own and I went from working 60-80 hours per week to 30-40 hours per week. I could not have done this without my law degree. My law degree gives me total flexibility and the ability to work purely for myself without having to seek an employer. I am as independent as one can get in the working world and I absolutely want my daughter to have that advantage.
However, I knew in law school that I would not be working for a big firm. I wanted the courtroom immediately, every day, all day. So I went a different direction and made less than a big law salary in the boom years, but now, I am not being laid off, no one is cutting my salary, and I make as much money as I want depending how much I want to work. I hope I can convince my daughter to consider the law as a profession. |
Anonymous
| I'm a lawyer and I used to work full time from home with Lexis-Nexis. The pay was lousy but this was a long time ago. Although I agree with the other posters - it's hard to find telework positions and you'll have to pay your dues - you really need 2 things: a job where you're in demand and a boss who's willing. I left a job where telework was offered b/c my boss, not the others, didn't believe in it. I took a lateral where no one has ever teleworked but I'm starting to after 3 months in. It's been difficult to prove myself but I'm much more hopeful at this agency than at the last. |