It’s About Time II Study by the Georgia Association for Women Lawyers

GAWL is deeply indebted to some very talented and committed women, Alicia Grahn Jones, Holly Miller, Jessica Harper, and Amy Kolczak, for their work in coordinating this study.  Without their work, this study would not be possible.  They have spent innumerable hours making sure that the study is interesting and accurate.  I have no doubt that their commitment to this study will make life – and law – easier for women lawyers around the country.

Here is a link to the It's About Time Study

It sounds so reasonable.  A mother with kids wants to work less so she can spend more time with her kids, so she convinces her firm to let her work part-time.  The firm allows her to work part-time, in exchange for less pay.

It sounds reasonable, but my anecdotal experience is that it is anything but.  My friends who have taken the part-time route have wound up working essentially the same hours as the men in their firms, but for less pay, less respect, and less future. 

GAWL’s study shows that the legal profession is fundamentally and radically askew, having veered so far from the reasonable that we no longer even recognize it. 

A 2002 ABA study found that in 1965, lawyers billed between 1200 and 1600 hours a year.  Today, full-time lawyers are expected to bill 2000 to 2400 hours a year, and part-time lawyers are expected to bill 1200 hours.  In a 2007 study, the ABA found that most lawyers would not recommend the legal profession to a young person.  These two facts – the toll of being a lawyer, and the dissatisfaction with it – cannot be unrelated.

Increasingly we see a young generation of lawyers shuddering at the dizzying salary increases, because they know the lifeblood that will be exacted from them with each successive pay raise. As a profession we need to reevaluate what we demand of ourselves.  Perhaps women wanting part-time work, and the younger generation facing the human toll of the increasing hours, will help us regain a sane and balanced view of who we are as lawyers – and as people.

Lee Wallace represents people with personal injuries from car wrecks, product liability cases, or nursing home negligence.  She also helps whistleblowers stop fraud against the government.

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