A law firm that supports lawyers with lives?!?!

I was really excited to read "Having a Life Too", an article published in the October 2004 issue of The American Lawyer. The article focuses on what appears to be remarkable firm.

"Arent Fox offers more than lip service toward treating its associates as adults. Arent Fox pointedly recruits associates who have extracurricular interests beyond the law. The firm trusts associates like Besunder, who alternates taking classes in Spanish and Hebrew each semester, to be mature enough to balance both their work and their hobbies. "Law has never been how I define myself," says Joanne Schehl, chair of the professional development committee. She teaches yoga, tastes wine, bicycles, and gardens.

Rather than distracting her from her practice, Schehl insists that these interests make her a better lawyer as well as a better marketer. "I can build clients through personal relationships because I have my own life."

In addition;

• The firm allowed a new associate to take a 6 month clerkship in Europe less than one year after joining the firm.

• Another associate took 18 months off to travel the world before applying to Arent Fox...AND THEY DIDN'T EVEN HOLD IT AGAINST HER....in fact the associated reported that, "it seemed like a selling point".

• Eric Baxter, a father of three took paternity leave for the birth of his fourth child. Approximately 6-8 weeks after he returned to work he took a 10 day vacation! Did they call call him a slacker?? NOOOO...in fact, Eric reports that not a single colleague suggested he alter his vacation plans.

• Matthew Kanna, a self-proclaimed workaholic, was advised by his supervising attorney, "not to work so hard." WHAT?!?! Most firms REWARD workaholics.

Doesn't this all sound downright REVOLUTIONARY!! I mean.. a firm that "pointedly recruits associates who have extracurricular interests beyond the law," trusts them to balance work and life, and tells them when they're working too hard??!

"On financial measures, Arent Fox is less successful than other big D.C. firms. For example, the firm's revenue per lawyer in 2003, $545,000, ranks 13th among the 17 capital-area Am Law 200 firms. Midlevels earn a lower base salary, averaging $141,000, according to survey respondents, compared with $149,000 at other Am Law 200 D.C. firms. But, as Kanna explains, at 1,900 hours, Arent Fox has a lower billable hours expectation, and the productivity bonuses are guaranteed in writing. "I like knowing exactly: I work this much, I get this much," says Kanna. Thanks to those bonuses, Kanna says that he's on par with other associates around D.C. "

To check out the full article go to: http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1096473910927.