Firms Tackle Challenges Facing Atty Parents as School Starts
A number of law firms are ramping up their efforts to support attorney parents who are facing a new school year and the need to again navigate remote schooling and work, with Reed Smith LLP and Blank Rome LLP among those highlighting new programs on Wednesday.
Some of the programs and offerings firms are turning to in order to support parents as the school year approaches — and in some cases has already begun — include child care and tutoring resources, mental wellness classes tailored to working parents, forums and affinity groups to communicate and share knowledge with other parents, and even a parent resource app.
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Blank Rome released an announcement as well on Wednesday saying that it has created a firmwide affinity group for parents, called the BR Parents Forum, which was originally launched in March.
"We are excited to provide an important platform to exchange ideas, network among colleagues, and share valuable information pertinent to working parents," said partner Ariel Glasner, co-chair of the BR Parents Forum. "As we enter the new school year, we are dedicated to highlighting the particular challenges that parents confront and to implementing an environment in which parents in any position at the firm have the opportunity to succeed."
This spring, the forum conducted a survey to gain an understanding of the particular concerns of parents at the firm during the pandemic and then it held a round of virtual community sessions addressing the issue in early April. It then held another round of community sessions in June to share and understand the new challenges parents were facing with the transition to summer.
"With a return to school on the horizon, we are planning to conduct another survey and then will hold another round of community sessions to discuss return to school concerns," Glasner's forum co-chair Lauren Wilgus said.
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“Firms Tackle Challenges Facing Atty Parents as School Starts,” by Aebra Coe was published in Law360 on August 19, 2020.