Lawyer Monthly - Women In Law Special Edition

LAWYER MONTHLY WOMEN IN LAW EDITION 54 preparation made beforehand and the support of the firm. Having that open line of communication in order to let people know how I was willing to work, to understand what they needed from me and what I was willing to give back worked well. I did have one particularly difficult moment with a client during a late night telephone call where one of the babies couldn’t settle himself. I had to briefly cut the call to look after the baby but phoned the client back five minutes later – unfortunately the client didn’t appreciate or understand that I quickly needed to tend to my child. I think you are always going to come up against something. If people aren’t as lucky as I am to have colleagues and partners that are supportive and are willing to give you that flexibility, you may come across such issues with them. There may be clients who aren’t used to working with people who have those kinds of requirements and you just have to take it on the chin. Whilst the client’s response was frustrating at the time I didn’t let it impact me. If you are taking a call that late at night, there is obviously a problem you are trying to solve. After calling back, we sorted everything out and still have a good working relationship. It is easier to just try and accept that it won’t always be easy, but you just get on with it and try to make sure you are doing the right thing for the client, the firm and yourself. Do you think there are stereotypes towards women in lawwho takematernity, compared to those who have time off for other reasons, such as a gap year? Potentially, because someone who has taken a break for another reason does not necessarily come back with any additional requirements. If you take a year off for maternity, you come back with a one year old child and that child still needs to be looked after. You may not necessarily be able to work ordinary hours, every day, every week. Whereas the person who has gone travelling, for example, does not necessarily have that issue. So, I do think there is a risk of people with young children being treated differently, but again, it comes back to the issues of communication, being open, having a dialogue and making sure that there isn’t a lacuna between what people expect of you and what you are willing to give. If you can achieve this and you are working at a firm that will give you that flexibility to allow you to work in such a way, then it shouldn’t cause too many difficulties. I think I say that from quite a privileged position of not having had those difficulties, but I have seen friends and colleagues who have experienced difficulties. It may be their own approach to work and returning, or the firm’s approach towards them, but I think you put the above measures in place and try not to get bogged down in the stereotype of people thinking you are a parent and What can women [parents] in the legal sector do if they don’t have a partner who is working flexibly? I am back into that situation now. My husband took a year off to look after the boys and has recently returned, so we are just trying to get into the hang of working out what is best. I think the key to maintaining your work and family life is flexible or agile working. I don’t have a formal flexible working arrangement, but I do work flexibly. So, sometimes I get up at 6.00am and do some work before the children get up, which can allow me to be free at the end of the day, just in case I have to leave early to collect them from nursery. Other people work shorter days or compressed weeks, which I tried…it is really difficult to do! You have to remember to look after your own mental state, you have to have time to yourself. It is hard being a lawyer and being a mum or dad, so you need to incorporate a bit of time for yourself as well, which flexible working helps with. Having a good support network helps too. We have family who live nearby and are our safety net, but looking after twin toddlers is hard, so we try not to call on them too much! So what can women returning from work do to ensure that they aren’t perceived to be lacking in any sense, particularly if they have children? I am lucky in that I have not experienced too many obstacles since I have come back and I think that is due both to the Q Q Q “ “ You have to remember to look after your own mental state, you have to have time to yourself.