Watch out for lactating lawyers!

I know breastfeeding is a perennially hot subject, but these days it's sizzling. The latest controversy in legal circles is that some states aren't providing accommodations for lactating bar exam takers. In Oklahoma, for example, "one applicant with a four-month-old child was told that she should do whatever she needs to regarding pumping in an open room with 300 other test takers," tweeted LadyLawyerDiaries indignantly.

The American Civil Liberties Union is also paying attention, issuing a report card that grades states on their bar exam lactation policy.

While some women are upset that institutions aren't providing lactators the dignity of privacy, another school of thought has emerged: Dare to go bare. At a time when the boundaries between home and work are almost nonexistent, why are working women still hiding this perfectly normal activity?

The rationale is this: Colleagues and clients have seen each other's dirty laundry—literally—since the onset of COVID-19 and Zoom meetings. If there's ever a moment to show the world that you can negotiate a complicated deal while nursing a baby, this is it.

Breastfeeding your baby on Zoom is arguably the empowering thing to do—and it's trending in certain sectors of corporate America.

"Like the breastfeeding selfie, the breastfeeding Zoom call could normalize the act and just maybe make it a bit easier for working mothers," reports Vogue.

Jada Shapiro, a maternal-health expert and founder of Boober, a "pregnancy to postpartum care" resource site, told Vogue: "I'm a firm believer in nursing everywhere. You are just feeding your child. Unless your company has a policy that there's no eating during meetings, you should be able to nurse during a meeting."

As far as I know, no firm prohibits eating during Zoom or any other type of meetings. So are lawyer-moms ready to feed their babies in whatever form the occasion demands?

My guess: No way. From my dealings, Big Law types—male or female—are an uptight, zipped-up lot. Most female lawyers I know wouldn't even wear a bikini, much less bare their breast on a business call.

But I am wrong! Either lawyers are less prudish these days or COVID has revolutionized the attitude about the division of the personal and the professional.

The handful of lawyers I contacted say breastfeeding on Zoom is fine. In fact, the prevalent attitude was "whatever."

"Those women who want to do the video should feel free," says a Big Law female partner in New York. "Some women like it—probably the same ones who felt empowered by baring their breasts and BFing in restaurants. Power to them."

Another female partner at a major firm says, "If the Zoom meeting is populated by folks who she would feel comfortable breastfeeding in front of in real life, then I don't see why not." Left unanswered is what colleagues a woman would feel "comfortable breastfeeding in front of in real life." Female colleagues only? Or certain men—like a mentor or a trusted male underling?

"I'm not even sure anyone would notice anymore," says a female associate at a big firm. "I've seen all sorts of stuff on Zoom meetings—kids having a meltdown, dogs puking, people with their bare bellies hanging out. Honestly, who cares anymore?"

One woman, however, drew a line between different types of lactation activity. While she was totally cool about breastfeeding in front of colleagues, she says pumping is inappropriate. "Pumping is a hyper-clinical and awkward experience that's more like a personal hygiene activity."

But why would people want to air more of their lives on Zoom than they already have? The smarter thing is to use lactation as a pretext to get out of those virtual meetings. "The fatigue that comes with constant viewing of yourself along with others on a screen is psychologically real," says a female partner. "If breastfeeding and/or pumping isn't a good enough reason, I don't know what is."

That said, this same partner admits that those who breastfeed on Zoom are probably trying to make a point. The goal is "to normalize the behavior, reduce stigma and be that outspoken person who can do it."

In other words, while breastfeeding might be perfectly normal, doing it on Zoom is unlikely a perfectly spontaneous gesture.

In any case, who's ready for her closeup?

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Twitter: @lawcareerist