You have heard of the Sandwich Generation, right?  The generation of women, who have responsibility for their children and also for their aging parents and family members.  Although I am technically no longer “raising my children,” I still can relate to the challenges and struggles of those of you who are, and I definitely am helping to care for my nearly 100-year-old Mom.  Some of you may be actively engaged with raising children and caring for aging adults, and I wish you well.  It is a lot of work.

Mom recently broke her hip, and I made an emergency run to the Midwest to care for her.  While I was there, I read a blog on the Above the Law website that drove home the meaning of Sandwich Generation once again.  The author of the article made the case that litigation should be conducive to a flex-time schedule as long as all players, associates and partners alike, put operations  in place to reduce unnecessary “fire drills.”  Here is an excerpt from that article:

Unfortunately, the court is not an associate’s only master. If the judge is the king, the partner is the sheriff. And even if the king is benevolent, the sheriff can make life very, very unpleasant. Case in point: how many associates know the pain of diligently researching and drafting a brief for weeks before it’s due, getting the draft to the partner a week before the deadline, conscientiously following up once or twice a day, starting to sweat as the time trickles away, and then being handed a mark-up of your draft the morning of the deadline, with so many edits that the pages may as well be bleeding? The partner knows the filing deadline is midnight, so it should be plenty of time for the associate to make the edits. And it always is — we manage to get it done even if it kills us.

This is a perspective that needs to be discussed more, and I have included it in my new book, Best Friends at the Bar:  Top-Down Leadership for Women Lawyers, which will be released later this year.  In fact, you will find one of my anecdotes there that is very similar to what the blog author relates — but it could have cost me my license to practice.  All because of a “bad sheriff partner.” 

Real leaders, the ones who want to develop the considerable talent that women lawyers represent, will pay attention to these discussions.  There is a lot that can be managed better at the partner level that will make the team effort easier and the goals more achievable.  And it is not rocket science or walking over hot coals.  It is organization and prioritization.  It is planning and consideration.  It is getting procrastination in check.  It is, as the author of the blog states, to avoid the “completely unnecessary fire drills.”  Wouldn’t that be a breath of fresh air!

Check the article out and tell me what you think.  Have you had experiences like this?

Green is the color of the day.  St. Patrick’s Day is traditionally all about green — green clothes, green hats, green shamrocks, green leprechauns and green beer.  I am all for that, and I hope that you are having fun today.  We have an Irish Pub in my town, and I celebrated early with a Reuben and a Guinness.

So today is a particularly good day to talk about getting the “green” out of law practice for women.  Here’s what I mean.

Green is the color of envy.  You know, “green with envy.”  Not something you want to be.  There are still a lot of senior women lawyers who are a little envious of the opportunities that young women lawyers enjoy today, which were not available when the senior lawyers were starting out in practice and also raising families.  Think maternity leave, flexible time, part-time partnership, and telecommuting, for starters.  This envy can cause the senior women to be reluctant to reach down helping hands to the younger generations of women lawyers, and this will not accomplish our goals.  If we are going to rise, we all will rise together.  So, I say to these senior women, “Get The Green Out!”

Green also is how we refer to young lawyers, who have so much to learn.  As in “green behind the ears” — wherever that description comes from.  No matter its origin, it clearly means lacking in experience and skills.  Don’t be green for long.  Learn all that you can as quickly as you can.  Ask questions, reach beyond your comfort zone in volunteering for new projects and develop multiple areas of expertise.  Be hungry — sort of like the victims of the potato famine in Ireland, who flocked to America in the eighteen century for food and opportunity.  You should take every opportunity to learn new things and put them to work in establishing your value.  Once you have created value in a law firm or law organization, you will have bargaining chips for the time when you need flexibility.  As you know, retaining talent and value is important to employers.  So, I say to the junior women, “Do Not Be Green For Long!”

Now, back to the Guinness and the Irish songs.  Have fun!  Dance an Irish Jig for me — or rather for the Irish Blakelys. (The Smiths are Scotch-English, and no one wants to hear about that today!)