Biglaw

Of Coffee And Conception: Retaining Good Attorneys Through Their Fertility Challenges

The legal profession can (and should) do more to support lawyer moms before motherhood.

By Jaclyn S. Alcantara  
on

(Image by Ryan Alcantara Photography)

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 Jaclyn S. Alcantara to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

To address the lack of gender diversity in the upper echelons of the legal profession, top firms and corporations have bolstered family-friendly benefits, such as extended parental leave, flexible hours, hybrid or remote work, and childcare supplements. Of course, such benefits are far from universal, but there is no denying that parental benefits are now the standard. These benefits represent important progress in a profession traditionally marked by its long hours and high levels of stress. Indeed, the early years of an attorney’s career also tend to coincide with first-time motherhood for many.

Being a lawyer mom is hard, but incredibly rewarding.

Being a lawyer mom in waiting, on the other hand, is just plain hard.

One in eight couples will struggle with infertility. The majority of private health insurance plans do not cover IUI and IVF treatments. Even when pregnancy is achieved, one in four pregnancies end in miscarriage. One survey found that 68% of people would consider a job change to ensure they have fertility coverage (this figure increases to 90% for those who have experienced fertility struggles). It is clear that these issues matter to employees.

Nevertheless, challenges associated with infertility, miscarriage, and adoption often remain out of sight and out of mind, making family-building difficulties a blind spot for employers in the legal profession and beyond. Managing partners and corporate leaders are typically past child-bearing age and were brought up in a time where such issues were “personal” and thus kept private. Sadly, silence and stigma surrounding these struggles can obscure the negative impact infertility has on an employee’s mental well-being and career progress.

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I struggled with infertility in my late-20s. The heartache, isolation, anxiety, and financial strain of it seemed to touch nearly every aspect of my life during the two-and-a-half years it took to conceive our daughter. But I was one of the lucky ones. Not everyone’s infertility journey is as relatively short, or ends so happily. Some suffer multiple unsuccessful rounds of IVF, experience a failed private adoption, or go through multiple miscarriages. The physical and emotional toll of infertility is tremendous and, due to constraints of age and biology, often falls at a time when an attorney is simultaneously expected to prove her dedication and fitness for future partnership in the form of high billable hours.

Still, if infertility and adoption are so expensive, is it too big of an ask for the legal profession to better support employees’ pre-baby efforts while we press for more family-friendly policies post-baby? The family-building benefits offered by Starbucks may suggest otherwise. In 2017, the ubiquitous coffee shop chain made headlines for providing its employees with $20,000 for IVF, including for its part-time baristas making $10,000 per year on average. Starbucks’ Family Expansion Reimbursement program also helps with adoption costs and recently expanded to assist with surrogacy, IUI, and fertility medications not covered by health insurance.

The reality is that supporting employees in their family-building endeavor does not need to be a costly proposition. In fact, it can be a boon for recruitment and retention — particularly for women in the profession. (Make no mistake, infertility is not only a female problem. But the physical burdens associated with IVF and miscarriage are predominantly borne by women.)

One simple way to start is by educating employees on the ways in which their employer’s current benefits can help. This can be as simple as including a “family-building” subsection within the employee handbook or benefits guide. This subsection can discuss options like using FSAs or HSAs for infertility treatments, even when health insurance will not cover these medical options. This subsection can also encourage the use of mental health benefits throughout the family-building process. Studies have shown the rates of depression in women struggling with infertility are similar to those in women battling cancer. Many employers already offer easy-to-access EAPs for counseling. During the pandemic, more counselors have begun offering remote sessions, making counseling more convenient and accessible than ever before.

Likewise, having specific leave policies in place for fertility treatments or bereavement days following a miscarriage can cost relatively little, but provide a priceless benefit by showing compassion and support to an employee during an indescribably trying time. Many employers state that they handle these delicate situations on a case-by-case basis, but this can be problematic. An unwritten policy runs the risk of inequitable application and makes an employee feel like they are asking for special treatment, instead of claiming a benefit that is already theirs for the taking when needed.

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Needless to say, the most desirable family-building benefits do require some investment and employer buy-in — though perhaps not as much as employers might presume. For example, typical private health insurance plans do not cover IUI and IVF unless mandated by the state in which they work, and only about one third of U.S. states mandate any infertility coverage. And yet, in a 2021 survey on fertility benefits, employers were asked if covering infertility benefits had resulted in a measurable, significant increase in medical plan cost; an astounding 97% said they have not experienced a significant cost increase, including employers that currently cover IVF. Likewise, in Massachusetts, where IVF coverage is mandated, a state-commissioned study found that the mandate adds as little as 54 cents to $4.44 per person per month.

That’s right! For less than the cost of one cup of coffee per person per month, your firm can be almost as family-friendly as Starbucks! In all seriousness, few things foster loyalty like making it possible for a mother’s child to exist. Supporting family-building efforts is a win-win for employers and employees alike.

(Image by Ryan Alcantara Photography)

Jaclyn S. Alcantara is an of counsel attorney at Shook, Hardy, & Bacon in Kansas City, Missouri, specializing in patent prosecution and counseling. She is also a former board member of Kansas City Infertility Awareness. Jaclyn met her husband in high school orchestra, and together they are parents to one inquisitive, dino-obsessed elementary-aged daughter. More about her legal practice can be found on her firm bio page and she can be reached by email at jalcantara@shb.com. 

 

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