Part-Time Lawyer Part II

That lawyers think that it is somehow offensive to be considered "part-time" is understandable given the constant demands on their time that make their schedules hardly "part-time." However, the Washington Lawyer article (cited in previous post) does not seem to make this connection very clear:

"The stigma against working part-time is so strong that many don't even like to call it that."

Two points: (1) the people who work "part-time" would prefer to call it "reduced schedule" or "alternative schedule" because it is impossible to get away from firm and client demands as a lawyer and, more importantly, (2) there is clearly a stigma against working anything except the highest billable hours possible.

The constant competition and demands for higher billable hours is the downfall of the legal profession. It is like a disease eating away attorneys from the inside. What will the legal profession consist of in 10-15 years? Probably the same thing that the political landscape has become as people with common sense and who value their privacy prefer to put their efforts into the private sector rather than a public sector that sorely needs their talents. That is, attorneys who prefer to have a life while also make a decent living will choose another field rather than submit to the unrealistic pressures and unforgiving scrutiny of large law firms.

Large law firms have become and will continue to be to a greater degree in the future a training ground not for the independent-minded lawyers of yesteryear but, rather, for human billing machines.

Is it possible to be a part-time lawyer?

Confirming my decision to leave law firm life is the current issue of Washington Lawyer. The magazine contains an article, "Part-Time Partners," that simultaneously laments the low number of part-time partners while profiling five attorneys for whom the part-time partnership track has worked. However, it is clear that "part-time" is not real world part-time. Rather, it is simply a way to lower your billable hour requirements which, in Washington, D.C., are outrageous to being with.

A few excerpts highlight the true nature of being a part-time lawyer (partner or otherwise):

"[Making a part-time arrangement work] means working long hours or during vacation when needed, and never making clients feel they can't reach [you] at certain times."

"Of course, no 'time-off' is really off. Even though [Partner] works part-time, she employs a full-time nanny....[Partner] also keeps a finger on the pulse of her cell phone and BlackBerry."

"[Partner], who works a 50 percent schedule at [large D.C. law firm], works hard at keeping his arrangement invisible to clients."

I will include additional excerpts in a separate post that illustrate the stigma of part-time arrangements in a competitive legal environment where the typical partnership track is 8-10 years.