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Junior Partners - All Genders - Who Are Parents of Young Children During COVID-19

Law.com headlines an article about the life/work issue as: "In Back-to-School Shuffle, Junior Partner Moms at a Crossroads."

Mmmmnn. That headline seems a narrow focus for the extraordinary new challenges created by COVID-19 for lawyers who are parents. Those lawyers are male, female, transgender and undecided. 

After all, males, at least if they want to hold on to the relationship with the spouse and be part of their children's upbringing, are increasingly concerned about how to balance the job with the personal. They bear witness to what happens to those who don't. 

Remember also that there is that major parental leave lawsuit against Jones Day. Filed by a husband/wife "Savignac and Skeketoff v. Jones Day" contends bias against males in that law firm's policy of parental leave associated with childbirth. The father is determined to share equally with the wife in the offspring's care. Interesting to note is that they are both high achievers: Both had served as clerks on SCOTUS. 

Another aspect of this issue is the growth of gay male couples who have childcare responsibilities. 

Also, transgenders and the undecided might be in the loop on this one. 

And there could be single fathers with full custody. 

Okay, junior partners are in a pickle. They take on the responsibilities of new business development, along with all the billable hours. They may be saddled with administrative tasks. 

That's standard.

Piled onto that plate, though, is currently much more. 

Because of COVID-19, the young lawyers who are partners may be working virtually. They means the young children could be underfoot, if not attending school in-person. Both the remote and the in-the-classroom instruction will load onto that plate with anything from simple supervision of homework to assisting with concepts the children aren't getting.

That's not all. The household has to worry about preventing COVID-19. A bout of that could derail the junior partner's work output. Yes, in this time of severe unemployment, it's all about work. Capitalism can be a cruel system.

There are many ways in which the law firm can head off the lawyer's becoming overwhelmed. Law firms which pilot innovative programs will develop an enhanced brandname. There's plenty of runway there. Media outlets are waiting for those stories.

Also, as a career coach I am aware that the parents who don't panic about emerging new responsibilities can put together their own solutions.

COVID-19 is just a recent example of how working professional families encounter The Horror. The oldest version is the grandmother or grandfather who dies suddenly. The household loses the loving, dependable, totally available caretaker. 

The good news is that professional households have been getting through the whatevers for decades.

They have to. At least if they want to maintain their lifestyle. 

American Buddhist nun who had graduated from the posh Miss Porter's School - Pema Chodron - understands what it takes to stay in the upper class. That's why she's so effective in addressing the kinds of mindsets which afflict strivers.

Her YouTube lecture "Fear and Fearlessness" zeroes on in how the winners among the ambitious stay in game.

They lean into the fear.

They make a friend of it.

They don't run.

They don't get stuck, at least not for long.

Chodron is on the money.

There are few things which are certain. But one thing we do know is that professional success and downward trajectories begin in one's thought processes. All the rest is simply a play-out of those. The adage about that is: Focus on your thinking and the solutions appears.

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download PleaseMeetYourCareerCoachJaneGenova

 

Those Salary Cuts - Not Restoring Them Creates Retention/Lateral Hiring Risks

The world was reeling.

So, when the austerity train came roaring through law firms early in the COVID-19, few balked.

Salary cuts were considered an acceptable tactic to avoid layoffs. 

That was then.

More recently, there has been a recovery. Whether it will last is a matter of speculation but it has enough traction to awaken financial self-interest in lawyers. Also, the stock market has been on fire.

Therefore, as Law.com observes, those law firms which don't restore some or all of the salary cuts could be in trouble. That would be in their ability to retain talent and to hire brandname laterals. In professional services, the human capital is the most important asset. 

Money always talked. But in this era when loyalty is dead, money is the only voice in the room. At least the only one that any one pays attention to.

This is the reality not only in law firms but the labor market in general.

Those of all generations - including Gen Z - who come to me for coaching are no longer uncomfortable discussing money as the criterion in choosing a career or a job/gig assignment. I haven't heard the term "passion" in a long time. Instead, though, the word "path" is being used. 

For example, a 23-year-old woman castigated herself for not leaving freelance journalism sooner. She was angry at herself for accepting for two years bizarre compensation such as investing 15 hours for a reporting assignment that paid a hundred bucks. No, she didn't refer to journalism as a "passion." Her mindset was money.

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)

That Rite of Passage from Too-Much-Education to Work - Not Going Smoothly in Legal Sector

Transition is rarely easy.

That's why rites of passage for milestones such as degree-getting have ceremonies and celebrations attached.  Then, it's expected the person will move on The Next. 

Well, reports Law.com, that's not happening, not as law firms have anticipated.

In fact, some observers are picking up on what they label "arrested development" among young lawyers. They are not where they should be in becoming integrated into the usual functioning of law firm. 

Among what might be holding them back are factors including:

How law firms currently make use of very junior lawyers. (hey, haven't you heard about partners poaching associates' work?)

Less mentoring and fewer development programs. (corporations dumped that decades ago and adopted sink or swim)

Unavailability of in-person interaction. (remember how our superior could sense we were in distress by just reading our body language, despite our gushing how well we were doing on the new job?)

Law.com indicates this may not be a temporary aberration. There could could an emerging trend that new JDs just can't parachute into the complex world of practicing law. Not when the system lacks the developmental infrastructure of the past. 

Face it, those who could be investing the time and energy ensuring the success of new associates are struggling to protect their own jobs, justify large bonuses and be promoted. The senior associate wants to be partner. The partner wants to be chairperson of the firm.

But this failure in onboarding is not restricted to law firms. As a career coach, increasingly I hear what I call The Horror. After the euphoria of being hired, the newbies receive no direction or even a set of "rules." Then they are reprimanded for not doing what was expected but which they were never informed about. 

In a situation of auch no-support, here are my 4 recommendations:

Accept that it's sink or swim. You have to figure out the game, such as what's important and what they really want, and then do that. Don't get defensive when reprimanded. Thank them for the feedback. Essentially they want what's necessary to generate the results they need without bothering with any explanations. It's not fair. But it is becoming the standard MO.

Or, begin looking for another job or maybe launching you own business. Some jobs are still okay. Also, no surprise, some of the best and brightest have ditched the job route and are trading on Robinhood. They decide the job sandbox is full of landmines.

Focus on opportunities to add value. It always was that doing the job didn't get you much. The old fashioned way of referring to the road to job security and upward mobility is "showing initiative." If those in power recognize your utility to them they will invest in your success. They want you in their loop, even if that's not on the official organization chart.

Be cool. With the intense chase after jobs, dirty tricks are standard. New entrants to the workforce all too frequently share with their co-workers a negative perception about the situation. That can and often had been held against them. What is demanded is, what the British call, a stiff upper lip. In America, the term for that is "poker face." I advise clients to consider this non-sharing as The New Cool. 

Unfortunately, the longer youth remains part of the system of higher education the more difficult it will be to take the leap into the kind of adulthood required by the labor market. While pursuing academic excellence, it would be smart to pick up a part-time job or gig assignment. Any kind. Security guard? Great. Stocking shelves in Home Depot? Sure. Delivering pizzas? You can do that on a bicycle. 

Doing paid work socializes or resocializes students about how unique the game is which entails earning a living. Previous generations, those which hadn't been told to only focus on their studies, knew that. They did the education thing and, through part-time or even full-time jobs while going to school, kept in touch with the underlying rules of the workplace. 

The answers about your professional life are inside you. You will learn through coaching how to open yourself up to them. And get unstuck. Soon enough you will be your own coach. Affordable rates (sliding scale). Make an appointment for complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com) Download IntroducingYourCareerCoachJaneGenova