Most lawyers aren’t offered the chance at taking a sabbatical leave. But, those lucky
ones who are given the opportunity — usually partners at BigLaw firms — rarely accept
the offer. Why not?
(Aug. 2005) Joan Indiana Rigdon raises some of the issues, while assessing the benefits of
extended leave for lawyers, and giving examples from lives of various D.C. lawyers. The
article concludes:
“All the lawyers interviewed for this article say their sabbaticals recharged
them. But most lawyers never seriously consider sabbaticals because they seem risky
and daunting. For the fearful, [Wilmer Cutler partner, John] Payton has this advice:
‘I don’t know anyone who’s taken a sabbatical, or who’s taken a break like I did
and done something quite different, who has any regrets at all. Not a single person.
It’s always a hassle to work it out, the arrangements and all. But I don’t know a single
person who has any regrets once they do.'”
The firms mentioned in the article have many approaches to sabbaticals. Some offer them
to partners every six or seven years at full pay, some at half pay. Some require the leave
be used to do pro bono work or teach; some have no strings attached. The periods can be
as short as one to three months, or as long as a year.
Why don’t lawyers take sabbaticals when they’re available? Maybe because:
– they think they’re indispensible
– they think leaving will show they’re not indispensable
– they can’t imagine a few months or a year without working
– they’re afraid they’ll like not working too much
– they don’t want the stigma of appearing to need a break
– they don’t want time to reflect on a career change and life priorities
(quite a few sabbaticans never return to their old jobs)
– they’re too disorganized to prepare for a prolonged leave
– they’re afraid personal clients will be “insitutionalized” to the firm
– they think sabbaticals are just recruiting tools and not actually
encouraged by the firm
– they can’t take or don’t want the reduction in income
– they can’t coordinate a leave with their spouse or children
etc. etc.
Would you take a sabbatical, if offered? What would you do with your time away?
Do you think you’ll return to your current job? Being retired, I don’t have to answer.
it’s all yours
butterfly, take a rest
on the mushroom
For $60, the ABA offers Rest Assured: The Sabbatical Solution for
Lawyers, by Lori Simon Gordon (ABA, 2003), which has corporate best
practice comparisons, and discusses common management concerns
and client reactions, plus logistics tips for firm and lawyer for this
“investment in productivity and loyalty.”
vacation over
hearing the sea
in the traffic’s roar
p.s. I might have skipped over this article, if it hadn’t included a full-page 
photo of a lawyer whose smile was eerily familiar. When I saw the
caption, my jaw dropped, as I was catapulted back 35 years to my
college days, and my first big heartbreak. I won’t put her name into
the eternal weblog well, but I will send her a big smile and remember
the words she so often spoke to me, “Did I call you?!”
at my hut too
a rice-planting rest…
comrades
they curse the first snow
like it’s a beggar…
rest stop
the retiree’s wife —
planning
his sabbatical
[Aug. 6, 2005]
There’s a world-shattering debate at prawfsblawg, started by Douglas
The Rolling Stones are coming to the Pepsi Arena in nearby
