Lawyers are people first and lawyers second. Selecting law as a career, or having law select you as a vocation, should not mean that one is deprived of the joys of life.
Lawyers appropriately feel they, too, are entitled to life balance.
Yet managing a balanced life in the context of law practice has unnecessarily been placed on the same plane as the search for the holy grail. Many mid-size to large law firms have some type of policy that allows part time, flex time, telecommuting or other alternative work arrangements. Most have maternity, paternity, family leave and disability policies. One would be hard pressed to find a major corporation in America that does not have these programs in place. Yet, lawyers continue to leave their jobs and the profession over life balance issues.