The Family Medical Leave Act is a federal law that guarantees 12 weeks of time off for women to have and care for their baby. After the 12 weeks, they are guaranteed to still have their job or a similar one when they return. This only applies to companies with 50 or more employees, and Big Law firms tend to offer maternity benefits that are even more generous than required. For instance, Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe offers 22 weeks of paid parental leave for attorneys and Cooley offers 20 weeks.
When it comes to actually taking the full time off, in a perfect world, take it all. But in the law firm world, it’s up to you to decide whether to take six or ten weeks. About a month after you give birth, you can determine the state of your physical and mental health as well as your childcare needs. Once you decide on what you want, contact your employer to discuss when you will return and/or options such as flexible hours, part-time work, and working from home arrangements. Hopefully, your law firm will be accommodating.