The Philadelphia Bar Association has developed the Model Employer Policies of Family Responsibility to provide guidance to law firms and departments in their efforts to assist lawyers in achieving a rewarding balance of commitment to the profession and commitment to their families. The emergence of large numbers of women into the legal profession and the desire of increasing numbers of men to participate more fully in the upbringing of their children is causing legal employers to seek satisfactory methods to allow their lawyers and other employees to find this balance. These policies are offered as a base upon which to build family responsibility policies suited to varying practice settings. Employment policies which permit or encourage full participation in both family and professional life benefit not only the individuals using the policies but also the firms offering them and the greater community. At the outset the individuals using the policies will be mostly women.
Women bear the children and still disproportionately assume the role of primary child caretaker.
Women also remain largely responsible for the care of elderly parents and the resolution of other family difficulties. Our society is increasingly recognizing, however, that these responsibilities are human, rather than female, responsibilities. Therefore these policies, with the exception of maternity disability, apply equally to men and women. The goal of the family responsibility policies is not only to lighten the burden of family caregivers, but also to promote the personal satisfaction and development of male and female policy users who can participate more actively in childrearing and other aspects of family life. First, with almost half of the talent pool graduating from law school being women, availability of such policies will enhance recruiting.