law for women who want to start a family Forum

[sydney19877]

I am a 25 year old aspiring law student, who hopes to get married soon. If I go into law, I do not anticipate having children prior to my early 30s (maybe around 33-35) - However, often, these things are not planned and I understand that things do happen and I may very well have children early in my law career.

I am concerned about how much time I will have to spend with raising and caring for the children, while I am also equally passionate about having a stable and fulfilling career for myself. I was wondering if I could get some feedback/opinions/advice from female lawyers who have graduated and have a better view of how things are up ahead. How do you manage/maintain a balanced lifestyle?

Do you recommend it to others? What are some things that you are proud of and have worked for you? Are there any things you wish you had done differently?

I am looking forward to hearing from you and thank you in advance for your helpful input!

Best,
Sydney

[dextermorgan]

However, often, these things are not planned and I understand that things do happen and I may very well have children early in my law career.

Birth control.

[LaBarrister]

This doesn't help much because the thread I am about to refer to is unfortunately no longer active on College Confidential. But there was a female attorney who posted a couple of horror stories about having every single day planned out to the nearest 15 minutes between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. because she was a lawyer and had kids.

I'm not saying this is the norm, but it offers some perspective. I also would like to share that I know of some lawyers who have said they bring their children to the firm when they can. It seems the best way to have children while being a lawyer is to find novel ways to incorporate the two together, like doing activities with your kids that allow you to work at the same time. This is sort of sad, and I don't know what this is like for kids because I grew up in a family that worked 9-5, though while living paycheck-to-paycheck, spent ample time with us. I wish I had more to say, but I wanted to share my opinions. I look forward to seeing what others with better advice place on this thread. It is something worth talking about.

[dextermorgan]

This doesn't help much because the thread I am about to refer to is unfortunately no longer active on College Confidential. But there was a female attorney who posted a couple of horror stories about having every single day planned out to the nearest 15 minutes between 7:00 a.m. and 2:00 a.m. because she was a lawyer and had kids.

I'm not saying this is the norm, but it offers some perspective. I also would like to share that I know of some lawyers who have said they bring their children to the firm when they can. It seems the best way to have children while being a lawyer is to find novel ways to incorporate the two together, like doing activities with your kids that allow you to work at the same time. This is sort of sad, and I don't know what this is like for kids because I grew up in a family that worked 9-5, though while living paycheck-to-paycheck, spent ample time with us. I wish I had more to say, but I wanted to share my opinions. I look forward to seeing what others with better advice place on this thread. It is something worth talking about.

This seems close: http://abovethelaw.com/2012/11/departur ... associate/

[francesfarmer]

I'm not an attorney, but we have a part-time attorney at my office who has two kids under 10. Our company is very family-friendly and she is a consultant so she has a very flexible work schedule. When she got out of law school she worked for four or five years in biglaw in a department that translated very well into working at my organization--specifically representing large nonprofits. I think that field is overwhelmingly more friendly toward women with children, in my experience.