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As with many jobs, there is a huge problem with balancing work/family in the legal profession, but it seems to be an even bigger issue in the legal profession. This is a huge issue for working mothers. When you are in the legal field, it is very time consuming, therefore leaving little time for people to spend with their families. It is a huge issue for women and men, but more so women because of motherhood. You have sick children, ballet recitals, soccer practices and many other childhood experiences that parents do not want to miss out on, so why should parents miss out on them simply because they are a part of the legal profession. These people also have child care to worry about and the time they need to pick their children up by and who can watch them and how much it is going to cost.




Solutions that were proposed for this issue were flexible work schedules, reduced hours, telecommuting, job shares and so on and so forth, but these never seemed to work out. Lawyers that took on these alternatives and were “part-time” employees were looked down upon because they were part-time and so it seemed as if they could not have as much responbility because they could not take it. they are treated differently by the full-time attorneys because they are seen as not good enough. In English’s book it states, “The “real lawyers” staunchly resist changes to the proven success formula, charging that alternative schedules are inequitable and that part-timers lack commitment. These tensions make the part-timers feel resentful for the lack of respect they get from their colleagues, but also guilty about “slacking off” on the job.” (195)



This discuss affects me personally a lot because I want to become a lawyer, I have wanted to become one since I was in high school. I constantly think about the situation I am going to be put in when I want to have a family and I know I really want to have a family, so this is something that honestly keeps me thinking about whether I want to become a lawyer or not because I am not sure if I am going to be able to balance the two and get recognition for what I do in both areas.