Part-time

Recently I talked to some women at The Firm who work part-time, 4 days a week. My biggest concern about working part-time is that you'd end up working the same hours but getting paid less. But they all said that they have been having a much easier time setting boundaries -- not only because they feel they entitled to do so, but also because other people expect it. In contrast, a full-time associate is expected to have zero boundaries. A more experienced attorney who worked part-time pointed out that in her experience, if you're part-time and the people looking at your hours notice you're working closer to full-time, they'll view it as a problem and will work with you on strategies for reducing your hours. But if you're full-time and exceeding the billable target by several hundred hours, they just give you a bonus.

My other big concern is that in my department, there are very few female partners and I have heard several of the male partners express negativity toward scheduling flexibility for family obligations. One woman who has always been very gung-ho about her work recently went part-time, and she said so far it's been going well, she's happy, and she hasn't gotten the sense that people are less willing to work with her. (I have heard from others that some partners have been less willing to work with them. I think it depends a lot on who you usually work with.)

It all sounds tempting, leaving aside my feelings about part-time as a female ghetto. In law school I remember thinking it seemed like a no-brainer to buy back some of your time each week. Now it seems more complicated.