"Maternity" Leave for Lawyers in the Early 1980’s

This story was written by Nancy White and not altered or edited by Lewis Roca.

I was a new associate at a major law firm which had a maternity policy for staff – 1 week for every year of service which worked for associates with longer tenure and a working spouse.? In my case, I was in my first year and my husband had quit his job to return to grad school before we knew I could conceive, after many years of trying.? The firm allowed me to take six weeks of paid leave which included all my vacation time and sick days.? I was lucky to be healthy!

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In 1981, it was impossible to find maternity clothes for professional women.? One of my friends whipped out her sewing machine and made me dresses and jackets I could wear to the office.? A few years later, when more and more professional women needed maternity clothing, stores like “A Pea in the Pod” began to populate local shopping malls.?

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There was no such thing as part-time work, so I came back to work full-time after six weeks and I was getting up several times a night for feedings.? Thank goodness I have always loved coffee!

As I progressed in my career, I was able to influence policies for associates. I made every effort to change existing policies and create new ones that made the personal and professional lives of young parents much easier.? Paid leave was extended to at least three months.? Working with my colleagues, we were able to create part-time work and job-sharing opportunities for young mothers.? For a period of time, we had an emergency day care program housed in the office for lawyers and staff to utilize when their regular childcare providers were sick or otherwise unavailable.? Nursing mothers did not have to use the women’s restroom to pump.? They were provided either a lock on their office doors or a lactation room with similar privacy safeguards.?

As the years have gone by, the law and personnel policies began to evolve. Maternity leave policies were expanded to become ‘parental leave’ policies applicable to both men and women lawyers who gave birth and those who adopted children.?

I never intended to be a ‘pioneer’ but since I was the first young associate to have a child and return to work full-time, I felt a great deal of pressure to demonstrate that women could make valuable contributions at work while pregnant and after returning to work while raising small children.? It wasn’t easy for me, but I am so grateful that times have changed and others do not have to experience the kinds of challenges I faced as a practicing lawyer and a new mother!