Just over a week ago I was asked to speak to Radio Tees about an article that had appeared in the Financial Times under the heading “ Can you Be a Partner in a Law Firm and a mother”. Following on from this I have been mulling this heading with some concern. I am not sure whether it is a more disturbing concept that career ambition ends when you have children, or that it is only mothers who have an issue and that you can easily be a father and a partner. I did think the world had moved on, and parenting was a shared role now, but clearly there are still some people and businesses who don’t think so.
As far as I can see there are some simple truths in the situation namely:
- Some firms ( and I am pleased to say this includes Jacksons) have partners who very successfully do their job and raise their children, so it must be possible. If some firms can do it then I would say those firms who can’t,or don’t, are not open minded enough to be flexible about working practices to make things work. In my opinion this is their loss because they are drastically reducing the pool of talent available to them.
- Many men are parents too but they have also got other responsibilities away from a partnership in terms of their family, their hobbies, and other commitments, and their own health. We must all take our job seriously and give it high priority but sometimes elderly parents or a sick spouse, our children, commitments to sporting clubs or councils or our own injuries or health issues mean that we cannot commit 100%, as on other occasions, and our partners need to support us through these periods whether we are male or female. By supporting us we will likewise be able to support them. It is a fact of life that these issues do not just affect mothers and flexibility and understanding is something that all employers need to provide. By helping each other through difficult times we will create strong partnerships who know how to support each other through challenges in the workplace as well as in our personal lives.
I think that one of the joys of a more flexible approach to the working day is for Dads. When I was a child my Dad missed so much but now, in most organisations, it is accepted that Dads will share the childcare on days when children are unwell, they will be able to leave the office for nativities and sports day and some even get the chance for shared parental leave and can spend a valuable period of time with their young children enjoying their daily routine. By thinking positively in terms of a flexible approach to the working week, partnerships can give all of their members both men and women a better quality of life and enhanced relationships. The strength that this will give those partners can only be good for any business, as open minded and considerate people within a partnership will make for a group of people who can move with the times and adapt to the ever-changing needs of such business.
I know that some firms worry about how clients will feel if the partner in charge of their matter doesn’t work full time or has a period of absence, but as mentioned above anyone can need a period of absence for many, many different reasons and we cannot be available 24/7 365 days a week for a single client. Even men who work full time, and do not let their families get in the way of their impeccable client care, will have more than one client to look after and at times will be in a meeting with one client at the exact moment another thinks they need 100% attention. It is a fact of legal practice, and most other jobs, that one of the skills we need to learn is to manage our clients’ expectations and to balance their needs and deadlines with our other responsibilities whether work related or not.
If motherhood teaches you anything, it is the ability to multi-task. Within weeks of the arrival of a new baby all parents seem to learn unexpected skills to answer the phone, cook the dinner, look after a toddler etc, etc while soothing a baby in one arm. These skills are invaluable in the workplace and once learnt are never lost which enables you to manage a morning when a member of staff rings in sick, the IT is not working, you have three client completions and an important budget meeting. In some ways perhaps the question should be “can you be a partner in a law firm without being a parent?” We all know though that would be just as ridiculous because what a legal partnership needs are a variety of skills from partners with different strengths and an adaptable approach to life. The world we live in and our clients’ needs are constantly changing and we need to be able to adapt and change.
I am extremely proud of the flexible working programmes which Jacksons has for its staff, both female and male. This has not handicapped our business but enhanced it. As long as both parties agree to work together for the benefit of individual and the business and commit to making the working relationship successful, then both will be stronger for this team work and this can only be good for the individuals, the partnership and its clients. I hope practices who have thought it inappropriate to allow any flexibility think on this and talk with those practices who have been more forward thinking in their approach, for the benefit of all.
Jane Armitage, Managing Partner
