Thank you all for your great comments on my post about family planning as a first year associate. They were really helpful! I don't feel so conflicted or concerned now.
The general consensus seemed to be:
1) don't wait too long
2) but get SOME experience in first (enough to make you employable/become a value to the firm)
3) find out my employer's policies re: maternity leave and whether the FLMA applies to them
4) try to cut down the commute
5) ultimately, do what you WANT
6) A lot of women are worrying about this issue too!
I think my plan will be to get a year under my belt before I'm in the situation where I have to take maternity leave. I honestly don't think I can wait 2 years though. Of course, you can't fully control babies- but it's nice knowing I have a plan either way.
Unfortunately I can't really move closer to work at this time because our home has negative equity right now (we bought before the big real estate bubble burst) and because of my husband's work. BUT there are plans in the works to get a faster ferry that may cut my commute in half- so awesome!
I always find it funny the ranges people consider to be a "mid-sized" firm. I always considered my firm of about 25 attorneys mid-sized because I previously worked in a two-attorney firm. But I've heard others, and previous commenters talk about "mid-sized" 300 attorney firms (thanks for the comment Lyn)! I guess in the world of international 500+ attorney firms, that is true. It still blows my mind that a firm can employ that many attorneys.
Thanks again everyone for your awesome advice!
Monday, January 25, 2010
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4 comments:
Ha, after I posted my comment, I saw this post. I agree with your synopsis...do what you want. But like the "rational" posters say, when you have massive loans, a mortgage, family etc..., you have to be smart about keeping that stream of income coming in. When jobs are hard to come by, like now, it's even more important to really be careful about this stuff. As if being a working mom wasn't enough pressure!
I'm trying to hold off on the Husband's ticking biological clock for as long as possible, but it looks like I'll be gestating again by next Spring.
I agree on the midsize firm differences. Midsize in Lexington means 20-40 attorneys. Big Law might have 50-75 in that office, but usually the Lexington offices of the Big Law firms are the smaller ones, with the main office in Louisville or Cincinnati.
We bought our house before the bubble burst, too.
Bah!
We bought in December 2005. After being down about 15%, though, we are now set to sell for just about 5% less than what we paid for it. Obviously, it still is not awesome, but it's way better than it has been!!! So there is hope (although obviously this is largely dependent on geography and how hard your part of the world was hit).
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