Biglaw

Eliminating The Mommy Track

How law firms can support working moms without sidelining them.

By LAURA SEXTON  
on

mommy dearEd. 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 Laura Sexton to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.

Before I went back to work, my mom warned me: “Don’t put pictures up in the office.” “Don’t talk about your kids too much.” “They’ll think you’re not serious about work.”

This was not the first time I had heard this type of advice. Before I began practicing, I wasn’t sure if I could even mention that I wanted to have kids someday. I worried I wouldn’t be taken seriously. Or worse, that I would become another casualty of the “mommy track,” a career path that ostensibly provides women with support and flexibility, but only at the cost of their career.

The “pretend it never happened” approach never sat well with me. How could new mothers — who had just gone through the biggest transition of their lives — come back and act like nothing happened?

More importantly, why should they? Motherhood does not make us weak, it is not something to hide and be ashamed of. Motherhood teaches us how to prioritize. It helps us achieve exponential gains in efficiency. It teaches us to stay calm under chaotic circumstances, to function on no sleep, and to show up again and again no matter how hard it is. Motherhood makes us stronger and more resilient.

So why should we have to choose between ignoring our motherhood or being relegated to the “mommy track”? The answer is: we shouldn’t.

Here are practical ways that firms can support working moms without sidelining them:

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  • Normalize having children at all levels. It is important to have visible examples in leadership of men and women who have children. Leaders should feel comfortable talking about their children and putting up pictures of them.
  • Hold family events where children are welcome. Some of my favorite firm events have been the ones where children are welcome. It is fun to share such a big part of your life — your kids — with your colleagues. And it helps with building authentic relationships outside of the office.
  • Give mothers credit during performance reviews for the growth and development that takes place on maternity leave. Maternity leave is a period of tremendous growth and development. Mothers should be given credit for the skills they developed during maternity leave and how those skills transfer to their practice.
  • Identify and fix any experience gaps for new mothers. Women who take maternity leave, necessarily, have less time in the office to build their resumes for partnership. Firms should be proactive about identifying any experience gaps that may result and helping new mothers to find opportunities to fill those gaps.
  • Assign new mothers a mentor. Coming back to the office after maternity leave is unlike anything else. You aren’t up to speed on current events, you haven’t seen the latest shows, you haven’t seen your colleagues in months, and you are a different person than when you left. Having someone to talk to can make the experience much less isolating.
  • Don’t make assumptions about goals and preferences. People often make assumptions about new mothers — e.g., that they don’t want to travel — and pass them up for opportunities as a result. When I came back from maternity leave, I was so grateful when partners made an effort to ask me about these issues, rather than simply assuming I wouldn’t want to travel or be put on a trial team.
  • Proactively offer accommodations. Some aspects of being a new mother are awkward. Private refrigerators for breast milk can save some embarrassment. Pumping breaks can help during long meetings, as can being sensitive to the impact last-minute schedule changes to meetings can have on a new mom’s pumping schedule. Firms should also reimburse for Milk Stork, which makes shipping breastmilk easier on travel days. These and other accommodations went a long way to helping me feel comfortable, appreciated, and understood.
  • Offer remote work options. I am still stunned by the logistical quagmire involved in leaving the house. First there’s the breast pump, then the pump parts, then the storage bags, the nursing pads, the cooler, and the list goes on. Remote work options have saved my sanity and added hours of productivity to my days.
  • Offer resources tailored to the legal profession. Many of the “back to work” resources relate to professions that are, frankly, less intense than the law. For specific advice about how to navigate motherhood within the legal profession, I recommend “Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave,” which was written by Lori Mihalich-Levin, a former partner in Biglaw. She also offers e-courses that receive rave reviews.
  • Offer alternative arrangements where desired. Some women will, understandably, want to scale back after having children. Firms seeking to retain talent should respect these choices and, where appropriate, consider flexible and alternative arrangements. Firms should also extend recruiting efforts to candidates seeking to return to work after caring for children at home.

These are a few of the ways that firms can support new mothers without sidelining them. What has worked for your firm? I would love to hear your ideas. Please email me at lsexton@goldmanismail.com.

Laura SextonLaura Sexton is a partner at Goldman Ismail Tomaselli Brennan & Baum LLP, where she represents Fortune 500 companies in matters involving products liability, antitrust, and other complex commercial disputes. She is married with two toddlers and a baby, and her favorite things are Christmas, matching pajamas, and toddler giggles. The views expressed herein are solely the views of the author.

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