Another Biglaw Firm Gets In The Improved Parental Leave Game
Good job, Kelley Drye!
(Image via Getty)
If it wasn’t clear already, Biglaw firms should now know they need to offer some pretty good parental policies in order to stay competitive with their peer firms. We are seeing more and more firms offering their attorneys generous paid leave, and the programs are increasingly gender neutral and offered without a primary caregiver stipulation.
The latest firm increasing their parental leave is Kelley Drye & Warren. The firm has made their new policy, which was effective July 1, gender neutral and it features the ability for new parents to ease back into their work schedule for a two month “ramp up” period with no reduction in salary.
The details of the new policy from Kelley Drye’s announcement:
The policy, now gender neutral, allows for child care leave of up to 8 weeks; childbirth and recovery leave of up to 20 weeks; and a “ramp up” period of two months for any lawyer returning from parental leave, with no salary reduction. There is no requirement that a parent be the primary caregiver to take parental leave.
As the firm’s managing partner, Lew Rose, noted the new policy is designed to support the firm’s attorneys as they attempt to balance their career with parenthood:
“These changes to our parental leave policy were designed to show our commitment to our attorneys, in response to the commitment they show to this firm,” said Lew Rose, firm managing partner. “It is hard work to be a lawyer, but being a new parent is harder. Working parents should have the flexibility to balance both their families and their careers, and our hope is that this updated leave policy achieves that goal.”
Kudos to Kelley Drye on their new policy. Firms stepping up their family friend policies is something we’ll continue to pay attention to — particularly as we head into recruiting season.
Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).
