Biglaw Perk Watch: Good News for Parents, from Davis Polk and Arnold & Porter
Sometimes we wish we had the breastses. Then we could enjoy the luxurious lactation room at Davis Polk & Wardwell.
Back in this post, we wrote about the lactation room at Simpson Thacher & Bartlett. We're sure it's plenty nice. But we doubt it's as snazzy as what the competition on the other side of Lexington Avenue is offering.
Check out this Davis Polk email, which went out late last year (exclamation mark in the original):
From: **** On Behalf Of Associate Development
To: all.lawyers.ny
Subject: Nursing RoomWe are pleased to announce that the firm now has a private nursing room!
Located on the 10th floor, this cozy room is equipped with brand-new furniture, including a comfortable chair and end table, refrigerator, and reading materials of interest to new mothers. Access to the secure room is available through the Security Desk. A small sign on the outside of the door indicates when the room is occupied.
We hope that this amenity will provide returning mothers who wish to continue nursing their babies additional support during this important transition. Your privacy and comfort are our priority.
Please do not hesitate to contact [xxxx] or any member of the Associate Development Department if you have any questions. Thank you and congratulations to all of our new DPW Parents.
We're curious about the "reading materials of interest to new mothers" at DPW. Draft asset purchase agreements? SEC proxy filings?
Meanwhile, in other happy news for parents, Arnold & Porter has jumped on the improved parental leave bandwagon. Following the recent trend, which we've been following in these pages, they've increased the paid leave they provide to women who give birth or primary caregivers of a newly adopted child. It used to be 12 weeks; now it's 18 weeks, which appears to be the "market" rate these days.
Transmittal email, plus A&P's full leave policy, after the jump.
Earlier: Biglaw Perk Watch: Lactation Rooms
ARNOLD & PORTER -- NEW LEAVE POLICIES -- TRANSMITTAL EMAIL
I am pleased to announce our decision to increase the amount of paid
leave for women who give birth and for the primary caregiver for a
newly adopted child from 12 weeks to 18 weeks of paid leave.
Secondary caregivers will continue to be eligible for six weeks of
paid leave in connection with these events.
In addition, to assist those of you who need to take leave to care for
a seriously ill family member, Arnold & Porter will provide up to six
weeks of paid Primary Caregiver Leave.
Finally, we are providing the ability to be absent from work for a
total of 24 weeks, including the paid leave described above, vacation
leave and additional unpaid leave, to care for a newborn or newly
adopted child or to serve as the primary caregiver for a seriously ill
immediate family member.
These benefits apply equally to all attorneys and staff members. They
are effective January 1, 2008 and apply to any births or adoptions
that occur on or after that date or to anyone who was on paid
maternity or adoption leave (i.e., within 12 weeks of the birth or
adoption of a child) as of January 1, 2008.
These changes represent our ongoing commitment to members of our firm
who assist us so valuably but who also need our assistance so that they
can care for their families and children.
Attached is the full policy for these benefits. Please contact [xxxx], [xxxx]
or [xxxx] if you have any questions.
Thank you.
ARNOLD & PORTER -- NEW LEAVE POLICIES -- MEMORANDUM
1.1 PAID ADOPTION, MATERNITY, PARENTAL AND PRIMARY CAREGIVER LEAVE
Attorneys and staff members of Arnold & Porter are eligible for paid Maternity, Adoption, Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave. The following describes the rules that apply for these benefits for anyone resident in the U.S. offices of the firm.
These policies provide for a total of 18 weeks of paid leave for the primary caregiver of an adopted child or for a woman who gives birth to a child. Secondary caregivers for a newly adopted child or for a newborn child are eligible for six weeks of paid Parental Leave. In addition, the policies provide for up to six weeks of paid leave for an attorney or staff member to serve as the primary caregiver for a seriously ill immediate family member. Vacation and unpaid leave may be taken in connection with these events, up to a total absence of 24 weeks.
The leave described below runs concurrently with any entitlement to absence under the Family and Medical Leave Act or other such regulations. Leave as described below must be taken within six months of the birth or adoption of a child. In the case of a seriously ill family member, the six weeks of paid leave for the primary caregiver to take care of a seriously ill immediate family member (and any additional unpaid leave) must be taken within a six-month period.
Anyone who is interested in using such leave should contact the Director of Benefits, the Manager of Legal Personnel, the Director of Human Resources or an Office Administrator.
This leave consists of the following components:
1.1.a Paid Adoption Leave
The primary caregiver of an adopted child is entitled to six weeks of paid Adoption Leave. Primary caregivers for adopted children also are eligible for 1) paid Parental Leave, and 2) paid Primary Caregiver Leave, for a total of 18 weeks of paid leave, and reimbursement of expenses in connection with the adoption, up to a maximum of $5,000 (net).
1.1.b Paid Maternity Leave
A female is entitled to paid disability leave following the birth of a child for the full period of her medical disability. The Firm assumes this period to be six weeks, unless a longer period is justified for medical reasons, in accordance with the Firm’s sick leave policies. Women who give birth to a child, also are eligible for 1) paid Parental Leave; and 2) paid Primary Caregiver Leave, for a total of 18 weeks of paid leave in connection with the birth of a child.
1.1.c Paid Parental Leave
Primary and secondary caregivers for newborns and newly adopted children are eligible for six weeks of paid parental leave.
1.1.d Paid Primary Caregiver Leave
Arnold & Porter offers six weeks of paid Primary Caregiver Leave to assist attorneys and employees in the following circumstances:
A. For the primary caregiver for a newly adopted or newborn child.
B. For care for an immediate family member who is seriously ill
Attorneys and staff members who have a seriously ill immediate family member (spouse, domestic partner, mother, father, brother, sister, child) for whom they are serving as the primary caregiver are eligible for up to six weeks of paid Primary Caregiver Leave. To be eligible for this leave, staff members must have worked for the firm for one year and must first use two weeks of vacation or unpaid leave before being eligible for Paid Primary Caregiver Leave.
Approval for Primary Caregiver Leave for seriously ill family members is subject to approval and appropriate certification and must be taken in no less than one week increments.
1.1.e Extended Absences
In connection with the birth or adoption of a child or the care of a seriously ill immediate family member, any attorney or staff member also may take vacation and unpaid leave beyond the period of paid leave described above, up to a total absence of 24 weeks.
Any paid disability or other paid leave as described herein taken by an associate will not adversely affect the associate’s seniority status or eligibility for partnership class. Similarly, for the first occasion on which an associate takes the combined paid and unpaid leave provided by these policies for up to 24 weeks, such combined leave will not adversely affect the associate’s seniority status or eligibility for advancement. Subsequent occasions of unpaid leave in excess of FMLA entitlements may have an impact on seniority and advancement. Staff members must work a minimum of six months of their annual evaluation cycle to be eligible for a merit increase.
Comments
first born!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 12:25 PM
Parental Leave to 12 months!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 12:29 PM
Oh, and one more thing...that wily guard and I share a name. That name is...ME!
Posted by: F.F. Woodycooks | January 17, 2008 12:38 PM
on a marginally-safe-for-work photo kick this week, are we? :)
Posted by: nicolle | January 17, 2008 12:45 PM
"Sometimes we wish we had the breastses."
That can be arranged.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 12:53 PM
Lat, as is evidenced by the lack of comments, not sure why DPW's announcement merits a post. Winston & Strawn's office in New York has a plush "Privacy Room" in which mothers can breastfeed or others can rest if they're not feeling well (it's equal opportunity!). We've had it for almost a year now, but don't see why someone would even think to tell you about it. For your next post, we also have changing tables in the bathrooms!! Now paid parental leave and primary caregiver leave, on the other hand, are perks worth talking about...
Posted by: 2% or Skim? | January 17, 2008 12:53 PM
Unless you gave birth recently and lactate, you are not authorized to speak on this subject.
Posted by: Po Po | January 17, 2008 12:54 PM
Po Po,
Are you a card-carrying member of the Park Slope Mom-unist Regime??
Posted by: Afraid...very afraid | January 17, 2008 01:05 PM
Can I sneak in and use the room to take naps?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:10 PM
what a scam. i need to start knocking bitches up to get some time off and petitioning my firm to open a plush private room where I a pull my junk out and let it breathe.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:10 PM
Damn, your science is too tight
Posted by: Prof. Murder | January 17, 2008 01:11 PM
IF YOU ARE NOT A WOMAN WHO GAVE BIRTH OR A PRIMARY CAREGIVER OF AN ADOPTED CHILD YOU CANNOT HAVE AN OPINION ON THIS POST!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:12 PM
We have lactation rooms at Greenberg Traurig with comfy chairs and little fridges for storage. You do have to bring your own reading material, though...
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:14 PM
1:12 -- get over yourself, d-bag
Posted by: anon | January 17, 2008 01:14 PM
P.S. I made out with Patty Matthews!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:15 PM
We used to have the little fridges for storage until somebody started stealing the milk . . .
Posted by: anon | January 17, 2008 01:16 PM
Parental Leave List of Shame
2008 Vault Rank
1 Wachtell, Lipton
2 Cravath, Swaine
3
4 Skadden, Arps
5
6
7 Cleary, Gottlieb
8
9
10
11 Kirkland & Ellis LLP
12 Debevoise & Plimpton
13 Paul, Weiss
14 Shearman & Sterling
15 Wilmer Cutler
16 Williams & Connolly LLP
17 Sidley Austin
18 Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher LLP
19 O'Melveny & Myers LLP
20 White & Case
21
22 Jones Day
23 Morrison & Foerster LLP
24 Milbank, Tweed
25 Clifford Chance
26 Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft
27
28 Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP
29 Fried, Frank
30 Ropes & Gray LLP
31 Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker
32 Wilkie Farr
33 Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP
34 Winston & Strawn LLP
35 Dewey Ballantine
36 Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
37 Linklaters
38 Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
39 Freshfields
40 Proskauer Rose
41 King and Spalding
42 Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
43 Quinn Emanuel
44 Baker & McKenzie
45 Baker Botts LLP
46 Boies, Schiller & Flexner LLP
47 Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP
48 Dechert LLP
49 Irell & Manella LLP
50 McDermott, Will & Emery
51 Jenner & Block LLP
52 LeBeouf
53 Allan & Overy
54 DLA Piper
55 Cahill
56 Fish & Richardson P.C.
57 Fulbright & Jaworski LLP
58 Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP
59 Goodwin Procter LLP
60 Cooley Godward LLP
61 Alston & Bird
62 Heller Ehrman
63 Vinson & Elkins
64 Bingham McCutchen
65 Sonnenschein Nath
66 Greenberg Traurig
67 Kaye Scholer
68 Holland & Knight
69 Steptoe & Johnson
70 Foley & Lardner
71 Kirkpatrick & Lockhart
72 Chadbourne & Parke
73 Hunton & Williams
74 Nixon Peabody
75 Thacher Proffitt
76 Bryan Cave
77 Schulte Roth
78 Perkins Coie
79 Stroock & Stroock & Lavan
80 Patton Boggs
81 Howrey
82 Reed Smith
83 Crowell & Moring
84 McGuireWoods
85 Hughes Hubbard
86 Arent Fox
87 Katten Muchin Rosenman
88 Finnegan, Henderson
89 Dorsey & Whitney
90 Thelen Reid & Priest
91 Baker & Hostetler
92 Kramer Levin
93 Venable
94 Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
95 Kelley Drye & Warren
96 Dickstein Shapiro
97 Fenwick & West
98 Kilpatrick Stockton
99 Mintz, Levin
100 Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:16 PM
I assume that "lactation room" really is the correct description, since in order to actually breastfeed at work the mother would need to have her baby with her in the office. Surely that doesn't happen, does it?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:18 PM
The majority of these posts are unauthorized. Unless you recently gave birth, are currently lactating, or have been stealing the pumped milk from the firm's fridges, you are not entitled to either hold or share an opinion.
This is like when people criticize Tom Cruise or scientology. Listen, unless you know Tom or are a scientologist, zip it. Your opinion is baseless, and potentially defamatory.
Posted by: Po-Po | January 17, 2008 01:19 PM
we call this room the "pumping room" at my office.
Posted by: anon | January 17, 2008 01:20 PM
So women bring their babies to work and then lactate as necessary throughout the work day?
Posted by: whats the point | January 17, 2008 01:24 PM
The tit in that pic looks delicious.
Posted by: Yummy | January 17, 2008 01:27 PM
at my firm, the "pumping room" is when the legal secretary spends an hour behind closed doors with the senior ERIS partner
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:28 PM
At my firm you're allowed to leave your baby unattended in the room. It's sound proof so it's not a big deal.
Posted by: anon | January 17, 2008 01:29 PM
Weil has a nursing room as well.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:35 PM
Might not a dingo eat your baby if it is left unattended?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:41 PM
At my firm there are crying babies in many private offices. They are called first and second year associates. Oh, how they need to be coddled.
Posted by: Partner1 | January 17, 2008 01:44 PM
Shearman has a lactation room. I've never seen it, though, so I don't know if it is a "cozy room" set up with brand new furniture. Somehow I doubt it--nothing at S&S is really all that cozy.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:44 PM
At my firm there are crying babies in many private offices. They are called first and second year associates. Oh, how they need to be coddled.
Posted by: Partner1 | January 17, 2008 01:45 PM
Is it really a nursing room--i.e., they encourage new moms to have their babies brought over to be nursed--or do they mean lactation room?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 01:48 PM
Room would be better if it came with recent mother hired by the firm to breast feed the babies in lieu of their busy moms.
Posted by: anon | January 17, 2008 02:38 PM
The lactation room at Simpson sounds similar to the one at Davis. The system at Simpson is more advanced b/c there is an actual calendar on the firm's internal website where the mothers must reserve a time. Therefore, you do not have to walk down to the New Mothers room to find out if it is being used. You can find out from the comfort of your desk. Furthermore, every new mother is entitled to her own personal key to the room.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 02:40 PM
You morons. This is obviously a "breast pump" room where new moms pump their breasts to keep their milk supply going. Hence the fridge. But no law firm is going to call a room "breast pump" room. Can you imagine? "Here's the Cravath breast pump room." Geez. Hence the "nursing" room. Cracks me up that you actually think this is where moms nurse their babies. Morons.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:12 PM
I am fiarly certain the vast majority of firms have a lactation room.
How many have a gym?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:12 PM
I don't care what they call it, I think it is awesome!
Many of the pumping moms I know at law firms can't even lock their office door (no locks) and they have frosted or clear glass panels in their walls or door that make their office less than usable for pumping.
AND theoretically couldn't the mom have her nanny or SAHD husband bring the baby up to the "nursing" room for feedings?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:18 PM
At CWT they have a nursing room, but they use to to pump new mothers dry and sell their milk to cover missing billables from the CMBS markets.
Apparently the mothers' hungry little brats were the cause of their "payroll error" delaying bonuses.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:20 PM
"Sometimes we wish we had the breastses. Then we could enjoy the luxurious lactation room at Davis Polk & Wardwell"
Do you also wish you had a vagina so you could push a whole human being through it? I bet the nice lactation rooms TOTALLY make up for that.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:22 PM
I still love that photo of the african woman. Thanks lat!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:28 PM
My firm has a masturbation room.
Posted by: What about | January 17, 2008 03:40 PM
i like to fill up a bottle with my manbutter, but my firm keeps warning me about it.
Posted by: Spanky Strokin McJerksalot | January 17, 2008 03:41 PM
3:22: Might I add that pumping sucks. What a pain.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:43 PM
3:22 - I don't get it, is childbirth mandatory?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 03:43 PM
Does DPW still have "R&R" rooms with a cot and a shower for people pulling allnighters? I still can't believe that was part of the office tour when I was interviewing a few years back...
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 04:22 PM
I wonder if other firms in DC that market themselves on being "lifestyle" firms (e.g. Dickstein) will jump on this bandwagon.
Posted by: anonymous | January 17, 2008 04:48 PM
My infant (8 mos) son tries to suck on my nipples when I hold him w/o my shirt on. Thoughts?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 05:21 PM
3:40 - awesome. I have to use my office.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 05:37 PM
My infant (8 mos) son tries to suck on my nipples when I hold him w/o my shirt on. Thoughts?
If your male you have large manboobs. If female hes just hungry.
Posted by: Mike | January 17, 2008 07:09 PM
My infant (8 mos) son tries to suck on my nipples when I hold him w/o my shirt on. Thoughts?
If your male you have large manboobs. If female hes just hungry.
Posted by: Mike | January 17, 2008 07:10 PM
My infant (8 mos) son tries to suck on my nipples when I hold him w/o my shirt on. Thoughts?
Since you're so weirded out by this, I hope you're a guy. Otherwise, just get some advice from your mom about babies. That said, dude, lose weight! I doubt that your wife finds your manboobs attractive.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 17, 2008 08:39 PM