Despite some progress, legal experts
say a stigma still exists for some attorneys
who work alternative schedules. Moreover,
attorneys sometimes fear that such arrangements will prohibit them from advancing to
partner. Although part-time work is offered
by 96 percent of large law firms, according to
the Washington, D.C.-based trade group
NALP, less than 5 percent of associates and
3 percent of partners actually take advantage of the option. Furthermore, when
attorneys move to part-time schedules, they
sometimes end up with part-time pay but
full-time work demands. And those who
put their professional pursuits on hold for
personal considerations can find it difficult to
re-enter the partnership track. However, firms that
actively promote associates to partner—regardless
of the time they spend on or off the career track—
will be sending a positive signal and will attract the
best and brightest minds.
Océ Business Services’
CaseData Division Offers
Career, Life Balance
“An effective and usable
part-time program can end up
making a firm more profitable.”
—Project for Attorney Retention
Océ Business Services’ CaseData Division balances career de-
velopment with best business practices, to the benefit of the
company, clients and employees. The CaseData
Division, an early eDiscovery pioneer, uses ad-
vanced processes and technology for electronic
and paper-based discovery. Océ Business Ser-
vices is the document-management outsourc-
ing vendor of choice for top law firms in the
United States. The CaseData Division operates
24/7 in three locations across the country and
offshore. The 200-employee division has a mix
of men and women in management, with women holding
several key roles.
Director of Production Lenise Peterman oversees
operations and project management. “High-profile cases
tend to be intense, clients expect fast turnaround and
high service levels, all of which can lead to burnout as
easily as it can to career advancement,” she says. The
CaseData Division has recognized that distributing
those career opportunities also gives employees the
periodic breaks they need to keep them productive
and engaged. “We have implemented efficiencies to
help us operate without hiccups. We are constantly
working on the life and work balance. We want
our employees to be healthy and happy,” explains
Peterman.
“Project redundancy is the key. It allows em-
ployees to take a vacation and get the time off they
need while clients remain comfortable,” Peterman
says. By pairing project managers with project
manager assistants, the division gains the redun-
dancy it needs to ensure work is ongoing without
undue reliance on one person. Pairing managers
also gives the division an informal mentoring
network that is critical to career development.
“Through mentoring, we’re able to groom
people up to the role that has been identified
for them to take on,” Peterman explains. “We
look at skill sets and pair people so they round
out their skills and share knowledge that can
be used for the next assignment. The added
depth has made the CaseData Division a
stronger asset to the whole company.”
REMOVING BARRIERS, RETAINING TALENT
Despite the increasing number of national firms that are
committed to diversity, studies have found that race and
gender bias remains a barrier to advancement in the law.
According to a groundbreaking report by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, women attorneys
of color, in particular, cite a lack of desirable assignments,
exclusion from formal and informal networks and unfair
performance reviews as professional hurdles.
Consider the numbers. Although slightly less than half
of law-school graduates are women of all races/ethnicities,
the total number of women of color make up less than 2
percent of partners at major law firms nationwide, reports
NALP. In contrast, the percentage of all females in partner
positions at major firms was 17. 9 percent in 2006, up from
12 percent in 1993. At these rates, women overall should
make up about half of law-firm partners by 2115.
