Achieving a Work/Life Balance: Is it possible for women lawyers?

Managing both personal and professional areas of life simultaneously is still an ever-evolving struggle for women, and no less so for those with legal careers. For female attorneys, the battle to manage, maintain, achieve, and (dare we try) to even excel in life both professionally and personally, sometimes feels like a fight that is impossible to win. Earlier this year, washingtonpost.com ran a story about how large law firms are failing women lawyers. In it, were some interesting statistics:

1.  Only 4% of the top U.S. law firms have female, firm-wide managing partners

2.  Although women are enrolled in half of the law school classes, and the number of associates consists of almost an equal number of men and women, women are still twice as likely to leave law firms as men, for reasons related to meeting the demands of work and family.

3.  In a survey of more than 17,000 law firm associates, women rated their firm’s culture, job satisfaction, and their compensation (among other factors) much laser than their male counterparts did.

Those who study law, pass the bar, and manage to land a valuable position with a prestigious firm know that it didn’t come easy, and it didn’t come cheap. Why then, are women still pursuing careers in law, when the projected longevity looks so bleak? Well, washingtonpost.com does point out in its article that not all law firms are doing it wrong, and there is hope on the horizon for those coming up. On Fortune’s 100 Best Companies to Work For list, there are six large law firms named, and most of those firms employ more women than men. Also, many law firms have long offered flex-time and part-time work arrangements for associates, and many make significant investments in women’s networks, and also have lockstep compensation structures in place that pays associates at the same level the same salary and bonus, in an effort to decrease the wage disparity. So, women pursuing legal careers today will find rewarding opportunities with firms that value what they have to offer.

To truly dissect what it means to attain a manageable balance in both your personal and professional life, one must first acknowledge what it doesn’t mean. It doesn’t mean that you will be able to do everything well to your highest ability all of the time. That’s just not possible, as there are only so many hours in a day. The word balance indicates that there is a give and take, some trade offs, some sacrifices. Also, realize that there is no way as a twenty-something in law school that you could have possibly projected the way your life would be at 30 or 40, and how you would need to prepare to accommodate it. So, there are decisions you make early on in your career that will need adjustment later, because you cannot always foresee the implications of choices you make so far down the road.

With that being said, that doesn’t mean work/life balance is impossible. However, it does mean different things to everyone. You may not be able to always achieve a perfect balance day to day. You may have to adjust the frame in which you judge everything in your life, and plan with broader strokes. Think about where you want to be in a year, where you see yourself in 5 years, consider what you want to focus on, what are you passionate about? Make choices based on these goals and desires. Schneider Legal Group focuses on the goals of each candidate individually, offers professional guidance, and works to match each candidate with a firm that offers opportunities that are in line with where the candidate sees themselves long term. Call Schneider Legal Group at (954) 306 – 6313 or email Sherry@SchneiderLegalGroup.com, and learn more about how making wise decisions today will serve you with a better work / life balance later. Best of luck!