I know young lawyers who have done what you will read about in the link below —— and others who are thinking of doing it.  Their family and personal/professional values no longer align with Biglaw values. Making money for those who already have too much of it — at the risk of fulfilling family values —- does not appeal to many young lawyers today. And family values have never been high on the TO DO lists of Biglaw firms.  

It is a new day —- a very complicated new day for men and women in law practices, especially those with children —- AND law firms are loath to change the way they do business.  The oft-repeated justification for resisting remote practices and demanding 2500 hours or more of billables a year is to increase profits and create new clients.  

There was a time when that may have sufficed as an adequate justification, but then came the pandemic. The pandemic demonstrated that, with the technology available today, those justifications are no longer valid.  Profits in Biglaw did not suffer during the pandemic and, in fact, increased. There was more than enough in the profit pie to keep equity partners in very comfortable lifestyles.

But, as the link below evidences, the importance of profits can be eclipsed.

Case in point is this story of an associate lawyer, who played the Biglaw game for years but turned his back on Biglaw partnership to save his family life.  It is inspiring for me to read this young man’s words.  As a young lawyer/mother, more than 40 years ago, I had no apparent choice. And neither did so many other women lawyers. We took a step back from our professional goals to meet the needs of our families. And it did not end “in the day.” It has been happening to so many women lawyers since.

But, as you will see, decisions like this are no longer gender issues.  They are values issues.  They are family issues. They affect men as well as women. Men also want to spend time with their children. They want to get home in time to kiss their children goodnight. They want to witness as many “growth moments” as possible.

The first word. The first step. Today’s young men understand, just like women have for years, that those moments are precious. Women always have realized that “firsts” are just that and will never be repeated. Thinking that every first can be experienced is unrealistic. But creating a life where experiencing it is more likely than not is, indeed, realistic. It is all about values and tradeoffs.

Here is the link: https://abovethelaw.com/2023/06/eli-albrecht-biglaw-partner-work-life-balance/?utm_medium=email&_hsmi=261674281&_hsenc=p2ANqtz-_EXxlVFHKdBI_QTQ9LipMjp3y0DcKU7j30_cdl_rm-nK9u57pb7vmhxYCrZ-wwiXQOJYZU5praL3P3y_0evEYhwYqRTiIfE69Fx5L2iP6G_7Jzva4&utm_content=261674281&utm_source=hs_email