Small Law Firms

Part-Time Law Practice Can Work

Part-time work can take many forms, depending on the type of law practice and role you seek.

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Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Anna Piel to our pages.

There are many paths to being a lawyer mom, and none is perfect or better than another. For me, part-time practice at a law firm has been the best fit. It enables me to have a key role in daily family activities and to volunteer at school and in the community, all while satisfying my career ambitions and desire to be a professional role model for my two daughters. For others considering part-time practice, I hope this article helps!

Part-time work can take many forms, depending on the type of law practice and role you seek. It can be more challenging or less challenging as the demands of your family evolve. I’ve worked part-time for over two-thirds of my 21-year career at three different small- to medium-sized law firms and in varying capacities.

In my experience, the key to obtaining part-time work is to ask for it. There may be occasional ads for part-time work, but you can’t depend on them as your sole resource. If you’re working full-time now and looking to reduce your hours, ask for part-time by making a proposal, and decide in advance what you will do if the firm is not willing to negotiate. If you’re trying to make a change or re-enter the workforce after being a stay-at-home mom, ask friends and former colleagues for information. Learning about current trends in the law and which firms have a sudden influx of work will help you identify who to approach about assisting in a part-time capacity. By being creative and persistent, you can find part-time work, even if on a project basis.

Another key is to negotiate and set boundaries. Most law firms and headhunters are new to part-time, so they will want to hear what you propose. Carefully consider what hours and days you want to work and how that fits into the practice. Be prepared to discuss options. Some firms may need you to work consecutive full days in the office, others may need a set daily work schedule, and some may offer remote office capabilities. Whatever arrangement you agree to, stick to it. The firm will get used to your schedule and will learn to work around it. Of course, you’ll need to be somewhat flexible as the work dictates, but if you make yourself too available after hours, you may find your part-time schedule eroding.

With respect to wages, a reduced salary for part-time can work, as long as your hours don’t steadily creep up without a raise in pay. One way to avoid this is to negotiate an hourly rate for billable hours worked beyond an agreed number. You might consider putting an extra premium on those hours.

I prefer an hourly wage arrangement based on billable hours worked. I earn more when I work more, and it also benefits the firm if work slows down. If you’re already working full-time, you can calculate a comparable part-time hourly rate by dividing your annual salary by the number of billable hours the firm requires. You may need to adjust the rate upward if you will no longer qualify for benefits that would be included with a salaried position.

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If you are changing jobs or re-entering the workforce, a firm may offer a lower hourly rate than what you would prefer. View it as a starting point and a way to get your foot in the door. Also, during negotiations, you can ask that your hourly rate be revisited, such as three to six months down the road and annually. Once they see your value, it’s likely your rate and benefits will increase because they will not want to lose you!

It’s also important to excel and become an invaluable asset. This is important with any job, of course. Unfortunately, women lawyers and mom lawyers still face bias in the workplace, so blaze your trail in an effective way that makes it easier for other women to follow your path. This includes a willingness to go the extra mile and be flexible. For example, I put in extra hours when writing an appellate brief or handling voluminous discovery so as not to compromise the quality of my work or a client’s position. The work gets recognized for its merits when it succeeds, and I feel comfortable balancing it out by taking some personal time to catch up at home or volunteer at school.

Finally, I’ve found it’s important to keep it professional at the office and save my mothering prowess for the family. To gain colleagues’ respect, I avoid being the donut-bringer or the cake-maker. Instead, I focus on what would earn professional respect — I seek input and collaboration and try to be a go-to person for research and other expertise. You can’t go wrong keeping the focus on your professional skills… unless there’s a competition, such as at my current firm where we have an annual contest on National Pie Day when everybody competes. In that case, I compete to WIN!

Anna Piel is a part-time contract lawyer at a small insurance defense firm in Dallas/Fort Worth, Texas. She started a blog for attorney moms at FlexWorkBlog.com. She can be reached at [email protected] or through LinkedIn.

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