Types of FlexWork: Part II – Other Creative Arrangements

Dream big! If you think you can make it work, ask for it!

Job Sharing

Job-sharing is a way to meet a law firm’s full-time needs with your part-time availability. This involves identifying a reasonable division of labor and finding a qualified partner. A full-time job you currently have can be transitioned into part-time through job sharing, or you could apply for a full-time position with a job-share partner. Job-sharing also can be a way to increase your part-time capacity when your workload spikes.

At one point, my current part-time job became overly demanding. Luckily, a friend of mine was looking to get back into practice after being a stay-at-home mom for two years. The firm hired her to work on a part-time basis, and together we were able to keep up with the work. Sometimes we worked together on projects, but most of the time we had our own. It was wonderful to have her help and collaboration, and it was a great on-ramp for her. She eventually moved on to a full-time in-house position like she had before she became a stay-at-home mom.  

Part-time with summer flexibility

It’s pretty tough on non-teacher working moms when the end of the school year comes around. Don’t tell anyone, but that time of year I find myself avoiding friends’ social media posts with countdowns to summer. (For shame!)

If summers are important to you, consider building some type of summer break into your proposal. You could suggest reduced summer hours or reduced days during the summer. Perhaps you could even arrange an extended vacation, such as by taking off more time in month of July when most people, including clients, are taking vacations. Whether such a proposal could work for you will depend in large part of the type of work you do. If your practice never sleeps, it may be hard for you to disappear for an extended time. You may also need to be mindful not to create resentment in others by needing them to cover for you too much. Working remotely more often from home might help. If your work is project-based, you might be able to work odd hours, such as late nights, early mornings or weekends in order to leave more time open during the week for your family during summer vacation. You could even consider recruiting another part-time attorney to job share or assist with your work while you’re away.   

Full-time with seasonal flexibility

Full-time attorneys could seek seasonal flexibility, too. Working full-time during the school year could be offset by working fewer hours or days during the summer when the kids are out of school. Another idea is if your area of practice has a predictable lull during the year, you could take a sabbatical during that season.

Temporary/seasonal work

If you do not need a permanent income, you might consider working on a temporary or seasonal basis. This type of work is more likely to be full-time, but you could consider approaching a full-time position with a job-share partner. A benefit to temporary/seasonal work is when the project is done, your work is over until you decide to take on another project.

One type of temporary or seasonal position would be to fill in for attorney moms while they’re on maternity leave. My first firm hired a temporary lawyer while I was on maternity leave for three months. I was glad to know the job was covered and that it would be there when I returned.

I would caution you about using temporary agencies. While they generally have a number of available jobs, the type of work may not be interesting or challenging if you are an experienced lawyer. The types of projects tend to be intense document review and the like.  Additionally, having these types of assignments on your resume may limit your ability to seek more challenging work down the road. Just food for thought.

How would you flex if you could?

Part I and Part II of this blog series are not an exhaustive list of FlexWork arrangements. Keep your mind and eyes open for opportunities. What arrangement would you design if you could?

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