The looming specter of maternity leave

A partner I work with closely said, referring to my maternity leave, "I don't know what I'll do when you're gone!" Before I got to enjoy the compliment, he mentioned that he had brought in several new clients lately. Ordinarily he'd bring me in to work on those clients with him, but he didn't because he anticipated that the work would heat up during my leave. Fair enough, although it sucks. I knew I wouldn't be staffed on certain clients or matters because of my leave. I just didn't think it would start happening so soon.

He did throw me a bone by saying he would potentially be working on some big deals and would try to staff me on them instead. Which is why I worked all weekend and can't leave for Thanksgiving when we planned. I know that as a good junior associate, I should be thrilled, but honestly? Not so much. (I'm not trying to complain too much -- I know that it's good experience, good to rack up some hours, and this is what they pay me for. It's just not a great substitution for me.)

The conversation reminded me of an ethics/harassment seminar I had to take. One of the scenarios discussed in the seminar involved a partner telling an associate not to get pregnant within the next year because he wanted to staff her on a big case. That one, to my surprise, generated lots of controversy -- people had widely differing views about whether that was appropriate. Of course, my situation is different because I've already announced that I plan on taking maternity leave next year. I understand the reality of wanting to minimize disruption for clients, and I'd rather have someone tell me to my face why they're not staffing me instead of having to wonder. But I think the leave will be a bigger deal than I thought. I'm not a litigator -- I can't just return to the office and get on a few big cases that will give me a steady stream of work. I work primarily with startups and rely on having a pipeline, since my clients are cost-sensitive and we may not hear from them for a while if they don't have major legal needs. I'll be missing out on nearly a year's worth of clients.