There’s an increasing amount of discussion about how hard it is to be a mom in BigLaw. And for good reason. After all, the American Bar Association’s 2023 Report on Legal Careers of Parents and Child Caregivers found that:
- Mothers in law are more than twice as likely as fathers to feel that having children had a negative impact on their career;
- Mothers in all legal practice settings are much more likely to experience stress and burnout than fathers;
- Mothers are more likely to carry the burdens of childcare and household responsibility; and
- Mother lawyers earn substantially less than fathers except at the lowest income levels.
This data, combined with my own experience, inspired me to create Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner’s parental leave coaching program. The program equips lawyers with the tools to balance career ambitions with family obligations through one-on-one coaching, peer support groups, and advocacy and outreach. The program began not long after BCLP enhanced its parental leave benefits to provide twenty weeks of paid parental leave for all U.S. employees regardless of gender or role.