Nevada Appellate Lawyer & Attorney : Tami D. Cowden : Nevada Supreme Court, Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals

For my part, the answer to that question has always been, “It depends on the woman.” 

(Does anyone ever ask “What do men want?” Not that I’ve noticed. But spare me any nonsense that this is because no one cares what men want. That’s not it at all. )

Personal rants aside, however, it is nice that the latest issue of The Complete Lawyer focuses on “What Do Women Really Want.”  The site offers a whole slew of articles that discuss progress, and lack thereof, in the situation of women in the legal profession. Among these:

Women Are Taking Matters Into Their Own Hands“We’ve been talking about gender issues for 20 years. Let’s see some progress!” By Holly English

The "Family-Friendly" Workplace Is Inadequate As currently practiced, they are mostly superficial, piecemeal and ultimately inadequate. By Ellen Ostrow

What Makes A "Best Law Firm For Women?" Analyzing 2007 trends of work/life balance and women at law firms. By Deborah Epstein Henry

Most interesting to me was Women Attorneys Share Work-Life Balance Tips. To counter the unrealistic “you-can-have-it-all” mindset, most women give themselves a heavy dose of reality. By Judi Craig

Nice, huh? We “want it all,” and therefore, have to be reminded that this is unrealistic. Frequently repeated tip: let your housework slide.  (There were variations on this – hire a maid, marry a house-husband, etc.)  

Now, anyone who has seen my house knows that this is advice to which I have long adhered.  I once successfully explained the mess in my house to a surprise visitor with the claim that my house had been ransacked and the police didn’t want me to touch anything until they came.  

But isn’t that advice just the perfect example of how male and female lawyers experience life differently? Has there ever an article on achieving work/life balance   directed to lawyers in general (i.e., male lawyers), rather than to female lawyers, that suggested blowing off cleaning the toilet and doing dishes as a way to achieve some personal time? 

If so, point me to it!

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Well, it's official.  Having children affects the “productivity” of attorneys, (assuming productivity can be defined through billable hours.)

However, where your "productivity" goes up or down depends upon your gender.

Researchers Jean Wallace and Marisa Young (University of Calgary, Department of Sociology) conducted a study of 670 lawyers and found that having children leads to a decrease in billable hours for female lawyers. Hardly surprising, huh? 

But they also found that having children resulting an increase of billable hours for male lawyers.  

One reason for the difference between male and females, the researchers speculate,  is that men are more likely to have a spouse who stays home with the children, freeing the males to take on more work responsibilities.  

However, the study also found that men and women took advantage of family-friendly benefits offered by employers in different ways. Fathers were more likely to use flexible work policies in pursuit of leisure activities. Mothers, need it be said, took advantage of the policies to catch up on domestic tasks.

Note, however, that the “most productive” of all groups is childless female lawyers.

 See the abstract at Parenthood and Productivity: A Study of Demands, Resources and Family-Friendly Firms, 72 J. Vocational Behavior 110 (Feb. 2008).

Hat Tips to Legal Blog Watch and TaxProf Blog

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