FACING THE GRAIL: Confronting the Cost of Work-Family Imbalance

AN IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR ADDRESSING WORK-LIFE ISSUES
IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

BOSTON BAR ASSOCIATION TASK FORCE ON WORK-LIFE BALANCE
Nancer H. Ballard, Esq. Goodwin, Procter & Hoar, LLP Chair
COMMITTEE MEMBERS
Beth I. Z. Boland, Esq. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC	Verna Myers, Esq. Verna Myers & Associates
Mark L. Byers, Ph.D. Director, Office of Student Life Counseling Harvard Law School	Leigh-Ann Patterson, Esq. Nixon Peabody LLP
Marcus E. Cohn, Esq. Nixon Peabody LLP	Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Esq. Bowditch & Dewey, LLP
Alicia L. Downey, Esq. Bingham Dana, LLP	Stephen E. Seckler, Esq. Seckler Legal Consulting
Donna M. Evans, Esq. Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, PC	Sheila M. Statlender, Ph.D. Harvard Law School
William F. Lee, Esq. Hale and Dorr, LLP	Robert E. Sullivan, Esq. Sullivan, Weinstein & McQuay, PC
	H. Lawrence Tafe, III, Esq. Day, Berry & Howard
Additional Contributing Committee Members include:
Jane Bermont Senior Consultant WFD	Jennifer D. Miller, Esq. Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
Lisa Buxbaum Associate Consultant WFD	Kirsten R. Nahas, Esq. Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
David S. Davis Senior Vice President DecisionQuest	Lisa J. Pirozzolo, Esq. Hale and Dorr LLP
Joan Lancourt. Ph.D. Principal Change Able Consulting	Walter S. Pollard, Jr., Esq. Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
Sally Lewis Principal changeWorks Consulting	Debra A. Squires-Lee, Esq. Hill & Barlow PC
Laurie Margolies Principal LAM & Associates	Beth Wilson Research Analyst DecisionQuest

TABLE OF CONTENTS

INTRODUCTION

THE TASK FORCE'S APPROACH TO INTEGRATING WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN PRIVATE LAW FIRMS

THE TASK FORCE PLAN FOR SUPPORTING WORK-LIFE BALANCE IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION

A. The Concerns of Constituencies Within the Legal Profession

B. Policies, Practices, and Economics

C. Collaboration and Inter-Organizational Information Sharing

CONCLUSION

APPENDIX A:

Executive Summary of the Boston Bar Association Task Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs' Recommendations from Facing the Grail: Confronting the Cost of Work-Family Imbalance

Findings of the Boston Bar Association Task Force of Professional Challenges and Family Needs

Recommendations of the Boston Bar Association Task Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs

APPENDIX B:

A Plan for Addressing Work Life Issues in the Legal Profession: Implementation Plan Committees and Subcommittees

Exhibit B-1 Managing Partners' Initiative

Exhibit B-2 Diverse Voices in the Legal Community

Exhibit B-3 Law School/Law Student Issues and Initiatives

Exhibit B-4 Work-Life Organizational Policies and Practices:

4.1. . . Developing Benchmarks for Assessing Work-Life Initiatives

4.2. . . Alternative Work Arrangements and Diverse Career Profiles

4.3. . . The "Language of Success" in Law Firm Organizations

4.4. . . The Role of Mentoring and Modeling in Work-Life Balance

Exhibit B-5 Economics, Recruitment, Attrition and Work-Family Decision Making

Exhibit B-6 Technology and Work-Life Balance

INTRODUCTION

In 1998, the Boston Bar Association Task Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs (hereinafter "Task Force on Professional Challenges") was convened by then President, Lauren Stiller Rikleen, to examine the interface between law firm environments and family needs. Following a year of data collection and analysis, the Task Force on Professional Challenges issued its report, "Facing the Grail: Confronting the Cost of Work-Family Imbalance" (hereafter "Facing the Grail"). In its report, the Task Force on Professional Challenges described ways in which lawyers, particularly those in private law firms, feel that objectified measures of professional success (such as ever increasing compensation and status) are in conflict with their needs for meaningful participation in daily family life and non-income producing pursuits. Facing the Grail documents ways in which law firm management, partners, associates, and law students all contribute to, and are affected by, work-family conflicts in law firm organizations. The report also delineated multiple law firm "cultural" dynamics and organizational assumptions that contribute to work-family conflict and can undermine well-intentioned "family friendly" programs and initiatives.

In Facing the Grail, the Task Force on Professional Challenges offered a number of recommendations for broadening organizational environments and providing greater opportunities for lawyers seeking meaningful careers and daily involvement in the lives of their families. An Executive Summary of the Findings and Recommendations in Facing the Grail is included as Appendix A of this report.

Following its publication in 1999, Facing the Grail received wide-spread attention from the legal community and general public inside and outside Massachusetts. Numerous members of law firms' management committees, partners, associates, law schools, bar associations and other professional organizations contacted the Task Force on Professional Challenges seeking further development of their recommendations and strategies for implementation. Thomas E. Dwyer, President of the Boston Bar Association in 1999-2000 and Joan A. Lukey, President in 2000-2001, requested that the Task Force on Professional Challenges develop an implementation program to help firms and lawyers to identify and implement strategies which could bring about lasting and effective professional and organizational commitment to work-life balance.

During the Fall of 1999 and the Spring of 2000, the Task Force on Professional Challenges focused its efforts on increasing the visibility of work-family dilemmas and the role that work-family concerns play in attrition and career decision making; providing support to law firms, attorneys and law students seeking information and guidance on work-family policies and practices; and developing a multi-faceted program to support the structural and cultural changes necessary to integrate work-life balance values in evolving organizations.

In the Fall of 2000 the Task Force on Professional Challenges was re-named the Task Force on Work-Life Balance and began the work described in this plan for addressing work-life issues in the legal profession. This report describes the Task Force's approach to integrating and supporting work-family balance in organizational cultures; its program for developing an array of work-life initiatives involving law firm management, partners, associates and law schools; and specific projects which the Task Force on Work-Life Balance is currently pursuing.

Law firms are complex, interactive, reactive, and evolving organizational systems. In Facing the Grail, the BBA Task Force on Professional Challenges examined the impact of client and practice demands, economics, competition, and lawyers' attitudes and experiences on work-family issues. The Task Force offered recommendations related to economic modeling and incentives, the "language" of success in law firm cultures, work-family programs and policies, and technology and support services. See Appendix A. The Task Force also explored the distinct perspectives and experiences of various "constituencies" within law firms such as: law firm management, partners, associates, law students, men and women with daily child care responsibilities, and lawyers of color. In developing this Implementation Plan, the Task Force on Work-Life Balance has taken into account the overlapping but distinct perspectives of various "constituencies" and the evolving substantive issues that affect law firms as organizations, the profession, and people's lives.

When organizational change of any sort occurs, all of the lawyers in an organization are affected, lawyers' relationships with one another are altered, lawyers' relationships with the organization are impacted, and the organization is changed. True change rarely proceeds along a smooth trajectory. Organizations and individual attorneys confronting change on multiple levels tend to focus on what they believe has represented stability or security in the past and to resist initiatives equated with risk or instability.¹ However, when change is perceived to be important to long term vitality or survival, and is unambiguously supported by law firm management, a process of adaptation and integration begins and the principles embodied in new initiatives begin to take root within the organizational culture.²

Work-life commitment requires both vision and flexibility. Broadly worded mission and value statements, by themselves, produce little or no change and often breed cynicism. To be credible and effective, an organization's stated work-life values must be embodied in the daily assumptions, actions, and attitudes of the organization and its lawyers. People do not necessarily need to be able to visualize all the specifics of organizational change to be effective, but the direction and governing principles must be clearly and consistently articulated and applied. Because organizations and individuals are constantly changing and work-life dilemmas and solutions are context-specific, organizational commitment to work-life balance entails a commitment to a process. That process includes on-going issue identification, data collection (soliciting input from those affected by work-life issues and listening to the input), the development of potential responsive strategies, implementation of the selected strategies, and collection of feedback to evaluate the effectiveness of the implemented strategy and identify new and/or unaddressed issues.

The Task Force on Work-Life Balance believes that it is also important for individual lawyers and organizations to have opportunities and forums for sharing their experiences with work-life initiatives and dilemmas. Such opportunities minimize "re-invention of the wheel," increase the participants' experience of community, allow others to avoid or modify strategies which have produced unexpectedly poor results, and enhance the impact of positive outcomes.

In designing its Implementation Plan, the Task Force on Work-Life Balance has focused on: (1) the role, interests, strengths and vulnerabilities of various segments of the legal community; (2) the substantive areas identified by members of the legal community and by Facing the Grail as being most critical to work-life balance; and (3) mechanisms for establishing and sustaining communication and support among law firms and lawyers interested in addressing work-family and work-life balance issues.

The Task Force has convened three committees to address issues specific to various segments or "constituencies" within the legal community. These committees include:

-the Managing Partners' Initiative Committee;

-the Law Student/Law School Issues and Initiatives Committee; and

-the Diverse Voices in the Legal Community Committee.

The Managing Partners' Initiative is a program to assist Managing Partners at large Massachusetts law firms in evaluating their work-life programs and practices and developing and implementing responsive work-life strategies. The Law Student/Law School Issues and Initiatives Committee will be working with law schools and law students to develop on-going dialogue between students and law firms on work-life balance in the legal profession, and to assist law schools and students in obtaining information on work-life opportunities and practices at various firms. The Diverse Voices Within the Legal Community Committee (hereinafter "Diverse Voices") solicits perspectives, experiences, and concerns from various segments of the legal community such as women, lawyers of color, associates, partners, contract lawyers, etc. on topics being addressed by the other committees to ensure that all of the Task Force's work includes and is responsive to the entire legal community. More detailed descriptions of each of these Committees' plans are attached as Appendix B, Exhibits 1-3.

B. Policies, Practices, and Economics

The Task Force on Work-Life Balance has formed a number of committees to address the substantive areas which have been identified by the legal community as needing further development and/or Task Force support. These committees are:

-the Work-Life Organizational Policies and Practices Committee;

The Work-Life Organizational Policies and Practices Committee will be examining firms' policies and practices, and cultural issues impacting work-life balance in small, medium, and large law firms. This committee has four subcommittees which will be focusing on: benchmarks for assessing work-life initiatives; alternative work arrangements and diverse career profiles; the "language of success" in law firm cultures; and the role of mentoring and modeling in work-life balance. A description of this Committee's work and its Subcommittees' plans are attached as Exhibit B-4.

The Recruitment, Attrition, and Alternative Economic Models Committee will be looking at the interrelated subjects of recruitment, attrition, and economic modeling alternatives that support work-life balance in firms of all sizes. This Committee's plans are attached as Exhibit B-5. The Technology and Work-Life Balance Committee will be examining ways in which technology can support work-life balance, and the experiences of those utilizing technology in pursuit of work-life balance. The Technology and Work-Life Balance Committee is also working to develop an Internet site to solicit and communicate information on work-family issues, policies, practices, and experiences from the legal community. A further description of the Technology and Work-Life Committee's plans can be found in Exhibit B-6.

C. Collaboration and Inter-Organizational Information Sharing

Each of the committees of the Task Force on Work-Life Balance includes members of the original Task Force on Professional Challenges, new members from the legal community and other professionals with special expertise. The Task Force on Work-Life Balance is also actively collaborating and seeking collaboration with other local, state and national bar associations and professional groups on issues and initiatives related to work-life balance. In addition, the Task Force has established a Public Forums Committee to organize and coordinate programs that involve multiple committees or the Task Force as a whole.

CONCLUSION

Support for work-life balance programs and initiatives must come from the highest levels of firm management, from the partners and associates within law firms, and from people outside law firms. Work-family and work-life balance values become self-sustaining and integral to organizational culture only when: (1) there is unambiguous commitment by management; (2) principles and policies are clearly articulated and consistently applied throughout organizations; and (3) initiatives and strategies are responsive to the internal and external factors that influence organizational decision making and lawyers' lives. This implementation plan has been developed to facilitate and support the implemention of creative solutions to work-life challenges and to promote on-going dialogue and collaboration throughout the legal community.

¹ Not surprisingly, established organizations and individuals who have enjoyed well-established positions of power within organizations tend to value the status quo more than those who have not experienced safety of security in the former organizational state.

² Policies and initiatives that are whole-heartedly supported by management can be absorbed into the fabric of an organization even if many of the members of the organization do not see the policy or initiative as central to prosperity so long as the policy is not experienced as dterimental to the organization by a large percentage of members.

APPENDIX A

Executive Summary of Task Force on Professional Challenges and
Recommendations from Facing the Grail

The legal profession, and private law firms in particular, are on a collision course in which the pursuit of objectified measures of success is colliding with lawyers' and their families' needs for meaningful participation in families' daily lives. On the one hand, single-minded devotion to the workplace, one's clients, and revenue production is viewed as the key to success. On the other hand, non-workplace relationships which provide meaning and satisfaction require ongoing attention, care, and engagement. The convergence of these goals is at the core of work-family conflict. It is found in law firms of all sizes. Law students, associates, partners, and law firm management all contribute to, and are affected by, this dynamic. Most significantly, the culture and organizational structures of many private law firms exacerbate work-family conflicts and make lasting solutions difficult to implement and sustain.

Law firm organizations belong to lawyers. Lawyers' careers' belong to lawyers. The power to change our workplaces and our lives belongs to us. It will take self-examination and commitment to take the necessary steps to address work-family conflict on an individual and organizational level. Some of the first steps are apparent; others will not become apparent until the first steps are taken.

FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE ON PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES

• Men and women consistently state that they want rewarding legal careers and meaningful participation in the lives of their families. Men and women are making career and employment decisions based on their employers' policies and practices with respect to work-family balance. Furthermore, lawyers are very sensitive to whether a firm=s culture and values support lawyers who want daily involvement in the lives of their families.

• Many law students, associates and partners believe that to be a successful partner (or associate) at many firms is inconsistent with work-family balance.

• Attrition is, in significant measure, related to relentless pressure for billable and total hours in excess of what associates with family care commitments can sustain over an extended period of time. The perception that success and commitment in private law firms require continual long hours combined with insecurity created by a competitive environment and the "up or out" system is fueling uneconomical attrition.

• Attrition costs money. The current rates of attrition in the junior and mid-level associate ranks at many mid-size and large law firms are not economical.

• Flexibility in career paths for associates, or junior partners and in Counsel or Of Counsel positions and longer tenure by experienced attorneys with higher billing rates and lower annual hours is consistent with firm profitability and individual and organization work-life balance flexibility.

• People with child care responsibilities are very committed to meaningful work and often overcome significant hurdles on an on-going basis and work long hours to produce quality legal work.

• Attorneys with reduced hours arrangements, and attorneys with alternative career tracks believe they are viewed by many firms and those within these firms as "second class citizens." This view is detrimental to associates and partners who choose reduced-hour arrangements; causes valuable contributors to leave rather than choose a non-traditional career path; creates dissatisfaction in those who do stay but believe they cannot elect an alternative schedule without damaging their career or losing the esteem of others; and perpetuates a culture in which family-work responsibilities are viewed as unrealistic.

• When firm and economic planning is based solely or primarily on billable hour projections and aspirations rather than from work- and non-work life style concerns, expenses and the variable compensation needs or goals of partners and associates in the firm, the chase for revenue takes on a life of its own.

• Partners, associates, law students and firms (i.e., the "group think" of partners and, at times, associates), contribute to a relentless revenue cycle and can contribute to the enactment of broader values centered on the factors that contribute to career satisfaction.

RECOMMENDATIONS FINDINGS OF THE TASK FORCE ON PROFESSIONAL CHALLENGES

• The Task Force recommends that firms consider offering the broadest variety of individualized work-family plans possible consistent with meeting specific current client needs and that such plans be flexible and subject to modification as the individual and firm=s needs change. The availability and variety of work-family options should be publicized within law firms and support for individualized plans should come from all levels of management and the partnership.

• Firms must not only support the concept of family-work alternatives, but also support their successful implementation. To that end, the Task Force recommends that firms identify people within their firms with authority to meet regularly with individuals with reduced-hour or alternate arrangements to discuss the firm's and the individual's experience and satisfaction with the implementation of their work-family plan.

• Work-family balance is a fact of life, not an "accommodation" for people with peculiar needs. Organizations and partners are encouraged to focus on the needs of clients and the time availability of lawyers and to work to find mutually acceptable ways of meeting everyone's needs. Telecommuting, back-up client contact, e-mail, voice mail, and other mechanisms make continuity of relationship and client contact possible. Technology should be used as a tool to increase, not decrease, people's flexibility.

• There is a tendency on the part of firms and individuals to ignore or sacrifice non-billable time when designing and implementing reduced-hour plans. The Task Force believes this is a short-term vision which is ultimately uneconomical for the firm and unsatisfying for the reduced-hour individuals and the firm. Reduced hour schedules should be based on total hours expectations with a recognition that marketing and client development can be an important and desired component in the career growth of an attorney working reduced hours. Participation in firm committees and "social glue" are important aspects of attorneys' workplace experience and support relationships within the firm. When relationships suffer, attorney satisfaction and organizational loyalty suffers.

• Work-family options must be supported from the very top management down. Department chairs, influential partners, and others in roles of management or authority should receive guidance and support for supporting work-family balance in the attorneys they manage and those with whom they work. In many cases, it is appropriate that partners' support for reduced-hour arrangements and work-family alternatives be part of the partner evaluation process.

• Firms and individuals need to increase their awareness of language that they use which conflates "value" and "success" and "worth" with long hours. For example, characterizing the firm as "having a successful year" or "being a successful firm" based solely on hours or revenue promotes a firm culture which is not conducive to work-family balance. In particular, the Task Force recommends that "commitment" and "merit" not be equated with long revenue-producing hours in the workplace. This characterization devalues the substantial commitment of people seeking meaningful careers and family responsibilities, as well as the firm's commitment to pro bono or community involvement and other non-billable contributions.

• The Task Force recommends that bar associations and law firms establish an on-going consortium or task force for the purpose of sharing organizations' ideas and experiences with work-family innovation and identifying successes and barriers to success in their implementation within the broader legal community.
  

APPENDIX B

Boston Bar Association
Task Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs
Implementation Plan Committees

Exhibit B-1

MANAGING PARTNERS' INITIATIVE

The purpose of the Managing Partners' Initiative is to:

• provide an opportunity and forum for Managing Partners at the 25 largest Massachusetts law firms and members of their law firms' management involved in work-family decision making to develop a better understanding of the common challenges and dilemmas to work-life balance faced by private law firms;

• provide a means and mechanism for the Task Force to assist Managing Partners and their firms to identify strategies for overcoming organizational obstacles to the effective implementation of work-life balance policies and practices; and

• offer Managing Partners and their firms on-going support in the development and implementation of work-life balance practices within their firms.

The Managing Partners' Initiative has four components: (1) the gathering of confidential data on law firms' work-family policies, practices, challenges, successes, and perceived obstacles from a management perspective; (2) analysis and synthesis of the data collected; (3) identification and development of an array of responses and strategies; and (4) individual firm strategy formulation and implementation.

An introductory meeting involving the Managing Partners from all participating firms and firms interested in participating was held in the summer of 2000. The Task Force, together with WFD, a leading consulting firm of corporate and professional work-life issues, and DecisionQuest, a legal consulting firm with data analysis expertise, has developed a survey instrument that will be used to gather quantitative and qualitative information on organizational work-life balance issues from participating firms' Managing Partners' perspectives. Each of the participating firms' Managing Partners will be interviewed by representatives from DecisionQuest and WFD. The information collected during the interviews will be compiled, aggregated and analyzed. The Task Force and WFD will also generate an array of potential responses and prepare a report and debriefing for the Participating Managing Partners.

As part of the program, Managing Partners at each of the participating firms will then identify at least one program, initiative, practice or strategy to implement within their firms. Managing Partners will select and design their own firm=s initiative based on the particular needs and issues of their firms. Upon request, the Task Force and/or Work-Family Directions will assist in the formulation of individual strategies and implementation. Once the participating firms select or develop initiatives and implementation strategies and the implementation process begins, the participating firms and the Task Force will together determine the future role of the group.

Exhibit B-2

DIVERSE VOICES IN THE LEGAL COMMUNITY

Facilitator:
Lauren Stiller Rikleen,
Bowditch & Dewey LLP
lrikleen@bowditch.com

This committee solicits the perspectives, experiences, and concerns of various segments of the legal community such as associates, partners, lawyers with contract arrangements, women, lawyers of color, and other groups or segments within the legal community and works with the other committees to ensure that the work being undertaken includes and is responsive to the widest possible range of lawyers' needs and experiences.

Exhibit B-3

LAW STUDENT/LAW SCHOOL ISSUES AND INITIATIVES

Facilitator:
Donna M. Evans,
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC
dmevans@mintz.com

The Task Force Outreach and Implementation Law School Committee acts as an interface between students and law schools and the law firm community to enable law students to voice their concerns with respect to work-life balance and to evaluate how firms, individually and as a group, are addressing professional challenges/work-family balance issues. In 2000-2001 the committee will, among other things:

Exhibit B-4

WORK LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Facilitator:
Leigh-Ann Patterson,
Nixon Peabody LLP
lpatterson@nixonpeabody.com

The Work-Life Organization Policies and Practices Committee's primary objective is to assist and guide law firms in creating and implementing informed, well-developed work-life policies.

To this end, the committee will be analyzing policies and practices currently used by Massachusetts law firms which have successfully created an environment which supports work-life balance and developing new response strategies for the work-family concerns of various segments of the legal community. The committee will be soliciting copies of organizational and management policies from firms, asking for input on how the policies are actually working and then developing sample language and/or policies to guide firms in effectively drafting policies that are responsive to the needs of both firms and its lawyers.

The Best Practices Committee includes four subcommittees: Developing Benchmarks for Assessing Work-Life Initiatives; Alternative Work Arrangements and Diverse Career Profiles, the Language of Success in Law Firm Cultures, and the Role of Mentoring and Modeling in Work-Life Balance. The Best Practices Committee will be working closely with these subcommittees as it analyzes and develops sample language and/or policies.

Exhibit B-4.1

WORK LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Subcommittee: Developing Benchmarks for Assessing Work-Life Initiatives

Facilitator:
Nancer H. Ballard,
Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
nballard@gph.com

The Task Force believes that multi-dimensional benchmarks are necessary to effectively evaluate and support work-family programs because work-family initiatives impact organizations and individuals in multiple ways. During 2000-2001, the Benchmarks subcommittee will be developing:

This subcommittee will be gathering information on benchmarks currently being used to evaluate work-family programs within organizations. The subcommittee will also be working with the Managing Partners' Initiative and Diverse Voices Committees and the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts to develop qualitative tools for assessing work-LIFE balance initiatives.

Exhibit B-4.2

WORK LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Subcommittee: Alternative Work Arrangements and Diverse Career Profiles

Facilitator:
Beth I.Z. Boland,
Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo PC
biboland@mintz.com

The availability of alternative work arrangements (including part-time arrangements) can have a significant impact on work-life issues within a law firm. Using survey results recently compiled by the Women's Bar Association from the 100 largest law firms in Massachusetts, the Subcommittee intends to analyze the feasibility of such arrangements within the current economic environment, with a particular focus on the impact of such arrangements on attrition rates and recruiting efforts for both men and women attorneys.

Exhibit B-4.3

WORK LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Subcommittee: The ALanguage of Success@ in Law Firm Organizations

Facilitator:
Nancer H. Ballard,
Goodwin, Procter & Hoar LLP
nballard@gph.com

During 2000-2001, this subcommittee will be collecting data from Partners, Associates, and lawyers who are in private practice to document common characterizations, figures of speech, and verbal assumptions that support or inhibit lawyers and organizations from establishing and maintaining their work-family balance goals. In addition to soliciting anecdotal examples from the legal community, it is anticipated that this subcommittee will conduct a more formal "journaling" study in which participating lawyers would document instances during their day in which they felt the language of professionals around them supported or discouraged work-family balance.

The data collected by the subcommittee will be analyzed and the subcommittee will prepare and article or report documenting its results and suggesting alternatives, where appropriate, for increasing awareness and providing a more supportive environment around work-family values.

This subcommittee is looking for additional partner and associate members who are interested in helping with data collection and analysis and other professionals with experience in linguistic studies.

Exhibit B-4.4

WORK LIFE ORGANIZATIONAL POLICIES AND PRACTICES

Subcommittee: The Role of Mentoring and Modeling in Work-Life Balance

Facilitator:
Leigh-Ann Patterson
Nixon Peabody, LLP
lpatterson@nixonpeabody.com

Mentoring has consistently been identified as one of the factors most highly correlated with success. In particular, studies have demonstrated the importance of mentoring for women and minority professionals. However, there are a number of impediments to the effectiveness of mentoring with respect to work-life balance. Senior women note that men and women often seek them out for work-life balance advice on "personal" struggles with life issues impacting their work lives, but seek male mentors for professional career development and practice opportunities. Women=s mentoring (and the time and attention it takes) often goes unnoticed, is not valued, or is intentionally made invisible at the request of the mentee who doesn=t want to appear "weak" or "not in control." Senior women also note that mentoring can be difficult when junior women do not see them as role models for their lives. Both women and minority lawyers note the difficulty of serving as mentors to all those who seek mentoring when they represent such a small percentage of senior lawyers within an organization.

During 2000-2001 the Mentoring subcommittee will be working with the Managing Partners' Initiative and the Diverse Voices Committee to try to identify ways in which mutually beneficial mentoring relationships can support work-life balance. The group will also be contacting Catalyst, Radcliff Policy Institute, and other organizations that are undertaking research on mentoring.

This subcommittee would welcome additional members, particularly senior lawyers with experience in combining career and practice development mentoring with work-life mentoring and other professionals who have conducted research in this area.

Exhibit B-5

ATTRITION, RECRUITMENT, AND ALTERNATIVE ECONOMIC MODELS

Facilitators:
Robert E. Sullivan,
Sullivan, Weinstein & McQuay PC
sulli@resq.com

Marcus E. Cohn,
Nixon Peabody, LLP
mcohn@nixonpeabody.com

The economics of each law firm bear a direct relationship to its peculiar culture. The combination of economics and culture drive policies affecting a firm's recruitment and retention of associates and the value the firm places on the relationships between members of the firm regardless of status. Competition in the marketplace for legal services and associates drives decision-making about work-family issues.

The recent jump in associates salaries and the consequent ratchet effect on senior associates compensation has compressed the time frame for work-family balance tensions already identified by the Task Force in its report to explode. This increase provides a substantial opportunity to collect and analyze information about the impact this economic fact is having, how firms are coping with it and how it affects decision-making about work-family balance policies and decision-making in a cross section of firms in Boston.

We propose to:

Exhibit B-6

TECHNOLOGY AND WORK-LIFE BALANCE

Facilitator:
Alicia L. Downey,
Bingham Dana LLP
downeyal@bingham.com

The Technology and Work-Life Balance Committee will, in conjunction with the Boston Bar Association ("BBA") create and maintain an online resource and idea exchange -- a Work/Family Task Force Website -- linked to the BBA home page. There will be several components to the site:

5. A centralized, "official" E-mail address for contacting the Task Force leadership;

The committee will work closely with the BBA's webmaster and others to ensure that the information on the Work-Life Website is accurate, up to date and useful. This committee would welcome several more members.

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