Help! I just had a baby and I’m freaking out over returning to work.

Many women experience the same fear of returning to work after they have a baby. Even the most driven women are surprised to find the drive to succeed has vanished after the baby’s birth. The maternal instinct to care for your baby kicked in a lot harder and faster than expected. What to do?

Everyone is different. Do not compare yourself to others and be honest with your feelings. The greatest disservice to your child and family is an unhappy mother. Look deep inside and figure out what is the right path for you. There are sacrifices to be made on both ends. If you cut back on work, then your career will be affected significantly but to the benefit of your child. And if you return to work, you will likely feel guilt for leaving your child. Whatever you decide, go in with full force and have no regrets for your decision.

The full-time working mom.

Many women need to work and return to the workforce after maternity leave ends (if not sooner). Or, perhaps they need the break from a crying baby and want to return to work. Or, the drive to succeed never left. For these women, your career is truly your second child. Your supervisors are going to wait and see if you will be able to handle the same kind of responsibility you had before the baby’s birth. Although employment laws protect mothers, the reality is many women do not return to work with the same intensity and are not as “valuable” as they once were. The first year of life for your baby is also going to be the most difficult one for your career. Figuring out the balance between career and baby and even family is a real challenge. If your dream is to become a partner in a law firm or obtain a high-level in-house position like General Counsel or an equivalent high-powered position, you truly have to leave your home life at home. You need to put the same amount of dedication into your profession as you had before the baby.

What does that mean? If you are an associate, that means you need to accept every assignment that is offered, work the same amount of hours as before (if that’s nights and weekends, then it will be nights and weekends), interview and train junior associates and staff, meet with new and existing clients, write articles, etc. etc. While you are at work your focus is advancing your career and doing everything possible to ensure it happens. Do not put pressure on yourself to resume where you left off. Ease into it by setting goals for yourself for the first, second and third months back at work. For instance, during your first month set the goal of working 80% of the number of hours per month as your monthly average. So if you typically bill 185 hours per month, then make sure to bill at least 150 hours during your first month.

You must compartmentalize your life. There is a time for being a mommy, and there is a time to be an attorney. If you have a nanny or take your child to day-care, instruct the person who is watching over your child to call you only in the event of an emergency, such as a high fever, terrible rash, etc. You owe it to yourself to have as little distraction as possible. What that means is that you need to do the groundwork to make sure you trust the caretaker 100%. You have to understand no one is going to take care of your child like you. That being said, there are plenty of people who will take very good care of your child and make sure that s/he is happy and healthy. Spend a lot of time with the caretaker prior to returning to work so that you are comfortable knowing your child is in good hands. Ideally, in the event of an emergency, there should be another person (parent/grandparent/friend/partner) who can assist in managing the child until you return home. If you have a solid support system in place before returning to work, you will be much more effective at work.

Once you leave work, the same level of focus and attention should be put into your family. It will be difficult to juggle career and family for the first year or so. Be kind to yourself, and allow yourself to experience guilt for leaving your child and for leaving work.

All of this will pay off in the end. Statistically, women who are capable of balancing their career and family are the most fulfilled. Furthermore, they will not have to take a step back in their careers as a sacrifice for their family. These women understand and accept no situation is perfect, but the family will thrive as long as the mother is happy and setting a good example for her children.

The part-time attorney.

After having a baby, many women try to work part-time and or do not return to work until their children are in school. If you are one of the rare cases of women who can work part-time, that is terrific. But, you still have to understand that you are compromising your position within your law firm or organization. Many firms/organizations offer the same level of health care benefits to their part-time employees. When times are tough, you will run the risk of being one of the first people to be let go since your cost is the equivalent to that of a full-time employee. Further, law firms tend to let go anyone not considered a “superstar” in tough times. And while you might be a brilliant and talented attorney, you are still only able to work a certain number of hours per week and your position is compromised within the firm.

On the hand, there are firms who tout themselves as being highly supportive women working part-time. Working Mother magazine lists the top 50 Best Law Firms for Women (http://www.workingmother.com/BestCompanies/node/1421/list/271). I do believe there are some very rare cases where a woman can work on a part-time basis and not have compromised her career. She is still on partner track (although it would take a few more years) and has the same respect as her full-time peers. This is not the norm and difficult to achieve. If you can work part-time in such an environment, you too will be happy and have made a wonderful sacrifice for your family.

The full-time mom returning to practice after a hiatus.

Many women do not want to return to work, and do take a hiatus from practicing law for several years. When you decide to return to practice, you must understand you simply do not have the same skill set. And while you were away, associates junior to yourself are now at your level and are your current competition. The market may have changed, and the need for someone with your experience may have diminished dramatically. For instance, if you were a corporate attorney in 2007 and now returning to the practice of law after a two-year hiatus, you will be surprised to find that it is VERY difficult to find a job as corporate attorney. You will need to be very patient with the job search as it could take many, many months – even years. You must be open to the type of work you seek and do not expect to be compensated at the same level you were. As with the corporate attorney example, this person needs to apply to all kinds of positions – litigation, real estate, employment, etc. In an interview, not only do you have to prove your enthusiasm in returning to work but also your dedication to practicing law. Employers will be weary of hiring you for fear you really are not dedicated to practicing and will quit to return home. And once you do start working, even in a position you are less than thrilled with, you must put 110% of your energy into your career. If the firm expects you to bill 160 hours per month, you should work 180. Immediately make your presence known in the organization and reach out to every supervisor with whom you may work. Accept all assignments offered. For the first 6-12 months of your career, you must be a superstar and prove your value. The effort will pay off. Even though the type of work is less than ideal, your supervisors will respect you and treat you very well. And, eventually you will be able to shape your career.

Senior Associate With Small Book of Business Seeks Work – Suggestions?

We are hearing this very story several times a week. Even in a flourishing economy, we find that senior level attorneys, especially general litigators, have a difficult time finding a new position after being let go from their firm. Without a substantial amount of portable business (at least $300,000-$500,000), many firms are unable to support the salary of a senior level attorney.

Some attorneys believe if they lower their salary expectations and apply to jobs for junior level attorneys they will have more success. This is not true. Firms who want to hire an associate in the 2-5 year range are not willing to consider someone who is significantly more senior – even if the attorney’s experience is exactly what the firm is looking for. (In a few rare cases it can be done, but the general norm is that it cannot).

While a firm may technically get a “deal” by hiring a more experienced attorney for the price of a less experienced one, firms target a certain class year for many reasons besides experience level. There may already be a number of senior attorneys at the firm who are on partnership track and adding another person at their level (even to come at a junior level) would disrupt the politics within the firm. Firms also hire within a certain range because they simply do not want someone who has too much experience. Firms like to train their associates to do things their way. A senior level attorney will likely have learned to do things in a way that is not conducive to the firm’s practice.

Many of these senior level attorneys have the necessary skills to start their own law practice. Sometimes a bad situation, such as getting laid off from your job, is exactly what you need to set you in the right direction and propel you to do something you have always wanted to do! I recently spoke with a senior attorney who believed if he began a firm with several other senior level attorneys who had a few clients then perhaps each attorney could support the other and build upon their business. For instance, if one attorney has $50,000, another has $75,000, and another has $100,000 perhaps they could all work together and support each other and market their skills as a group. This is a very good solution to the Senior Associate’s predicament. Now, how do you find these fellow attorneys?

I have several ideas on this one. The most obvious option would be to become more vocal and active in your local bar association. Do not simply attend functions related to your practice area alone. On the contrary, you will likely find people who can offer services and skills different than your own in unrelated practice areas! This is also true with CLE classes. Assuming you have not yet met your CLE requirements for the year (or even if you have), you could sign up for a class that is unrelated to your practice, and use it as an opportunity to meet new attorneys who are in the same situation as yourself.

Another thought is to use www.lawcrossing.com. It is free to every employer to post a job. Well, think of yourself as an employer! Be honest in your description of what you are trying to achieve. An example of such a job posting: “Solo practitioner with business litigation practice from the Class of 1999 is trying to start a firm. Looking for talented senior level attorneys with a minimum of $50,000 in portable business to join forces and build upon our talents and grow a business.”

Lastly, once you have decided to start a firm, make sure everyone you have ever met knows about this decision! Make sure to get in touch with old colleagues you had worked with who had since left the firm, law school friends, family, business friends, family friends, old firm clients, etc. etc. You could go as far back as a law school internship or externship or even a high school or college summer job. It is also important to get in touch with your old firm (even if it hurts your pride a little). Firms often have to turn away work for a number of reasons (e.g., case is too small, client conflict, requires too low of billing rate), and may want to recommend you. Before you know you will have developed more clients and built upon our business. It will take years to double your business but be patient and consistent.

How Aggressively Should Firms Re-Hire?

JP Morgan recently announced plans to hire 1200 to staff up its real estate lending capabilities. This is as aggressive a hedge on the recovering market as I’ve seen, in an economy where we still see nothing but mixed signals.

Banks aren’t law firms, of course, but the two industries have a great many parallels. The bursting of the real estate bubble had marked effects on both banks and then law firms, and we’ve seen significant downsizing in both industries. JP Morgan’s bullish hiring makes me wonder: are there law firms who might aggressively start hiring in anticipation of a healthy economic rebound?

I suspect we will see a great deal more reluctance within law firms to over-hire than we might see in other industries. I do see firms trying to predict the perfect time to hire opportunistically before the hiring market becomes competitive again. When we look back, who will be the firms that timed the market right?