The art of flexibility

After years of law firms bragging about career breaks and flexible working opportunities, you would be forgiven for thinking that juggling a career in law with having children must be the easiest thing in the world.But even in this age of the BlackBerry and the trusty laptop, many women in the profession maintain that having children presents a choice: focus on being a mother or on being a career woman because you cannot do both.For those who go down the route of motherhood, two things can make all the difference: flexible childcare and a flexible partner. Slaughter and May's head of corporate, Frances Murphy, is no exception - she has a live-in nanny and a flexible husband. And she is far from alone in asserting that without these, working life would be extraordinarily difficult to manage. Even with nursery care, the idea of being able to leave the office at 5.30pm - even if the firm allows it - is simply not a realistic option for most senior lawyers.

February 11, 2009 at 08:23 PM

5 minute read

Mark Goddard

For most women lawyers, the joys of motherhood conflict heavily with the demands of life as a full-time lawyer. Caroline Grimshaw speaks to successful women to find out how they make it work

2a848366-bb35-4a11-a162-cfe19bf70675 After years of law firms bragging about career breaks and flexible working opportunities, you would be forgiven for thinking that juggling a career in law with having children must be the easiest thing in the world.

But even in this age of the BlackBerry and the trusty laptop, many women in the profession maintain that having children presents a choice: focus on being a mother or on being a career woman because you cannot do both.

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