Biglaw Perk Watch: Hogan & Hartson Announces Enhanced Leave for Childbirth and Adoption
Beefing up parental leave policies: everybody's doing it. It may not be another pay raise, but it's very welcome news for lawyers at large firms who are trying to balance Biglaw with Big Family (or contemplating such a move).
We've written in the past about new leave policies from Simpson Thacher, Latham & Watkins, Davis Polk, Sullivan & Cromwell, and Weil Gotshal. Today Hogan & Hartson joins the 18 Weeks Club.
Memo after the jump.
HOGAN & HARTSON -- MEMORANDUM -- CHILDBIRTH AND ADOPTION PAID LEAVE POLICY -- JANUARY 2008
Childbirth and Adoption Paid Leave Policy – Attorneys and Exempt Employees
U.S. Offices
Summary
The firm provides paid leave to associates, counsel and other eligible exempt employees (as defined below) for childbirth and adoption. Under this policy, a birth mother who is a primary caregiver will be eligible for eighteen weeks of paid leave through a combination of medical, parental and primary caregiver leave. A father of a newborn child or domestic partner who assumes parental responsibility will be eligible for four weeks of paid parental leave, and up to an additional six weeks paid leave if the employee is the primary caregiver. An adoptive parent will be eligible for four weeks paid parental leave and up to an additional fourteen weeks of paid adoption leave if the parent is the child’s primary caregiver. /
Paid Medical Leave
Under the firm’s Short Term Disability (STD) Plan, birth mothers are eligible for paid medical leave for the period of disability associated with childbirth, but no less than eight consecutive weeks commencing on the date of childbirth. Longer periods will be available under the STD Plan to the extent consistent with medical documentation of disability.
Paid Parental and Primary Caregiver Leave
All new parents (including a domestic partner who assumes parental responsibility) will be eligible for four weeks of paid parental leave following birth or adoption of a child. If the parent of a newborn child is the primary caregiver (meaning the other parent is working full-time or does not reside in the home), the paid leave period will be extended up to an additional six weeks. Total paid parental/primary caregiver leave may be taken in up to two segments at any time during the eighteen weeks after childbirth.
Paid Adoption Leave
Under the firm’s Adoption Assistance Policy, an adoptive parent who is the primary caregiver (as defined above) will be eligible for up to fourteen weeks of paid adoption leave, in addition to the four weeks of paid parental leave described above. Paid parental/adoption leave may be taken in up to two segments at any time during the eighteen weeks after adoption (or placement with the parent if the adoption is pending). A parent through surrogacy may take paid leave on the same basis as an adoptive parent.
Vacation Time and Unpaid Leave
In conjunction with taking paid leave following birth of a child or adoption, an associate or counsel may also use available vacation time under the applicable vacation policy and/or may request an unpaid leave of absence. Vacation time taken in conjunction with paid leave related to childbirth or adoption will be treated the same as other vacation time for all purposes.
Key Contacts/More Information
Questions concerning these policies can be directed to the firm’s Benefits Manager or Benefits Coordinator. When paid leave is anticipated, associates or counsel should notify the firm’s Benefits Director or Coordinator, the relevant Practice Area Administrator, Practice Group Director and, outside the Washington, D.C. office, the Office Managing Partner, of the relevant dates in advance. Requests for unpaid leave and extensions of leave should also be coordinated with these individuals.
Eligible Employees
Eligible employees are associates, counsel and other exempt employees who:
• are normally eligible for the firm’s standard group benefits and are regularly employed in the firm’s domestic offices;
• who are eligible and approved for leave under the Firm’s Family and Medical Leave (FMLA) Policy;
• who satisfy the criteria of the Adoption Assistance Policy, in cases of adoption;
• who are actively employed by the firm or on approved FMLA leave immediately before and after taking the paid leave provided by this policy; and
• in the case of married persons/domestic partners who are both employed at the firm, only one employee is eligible to receive the paid leave provided in this policy or the paid leave may be shared.
* * * *
As with all firm policies, this policy may be amended by the firm, and questions of interpretation or application of the policy will be resolved at the sole discretion of the firm.
January 2008
Comments
first
Posted by: STD plan | January 8, 2008 03:06 PM
Firms are still playing catch-up to A&P which offers 6 weeks paternity leave and in addition to adoption leave, also offers, I believe, $5,000 towards adoption costs.
Posted by: All Playing Catch-up | January 8, 2008 03:15 PM
This plan totally sucks compared to every plan in CA BIGLAW. My firm in SF (and every other firm I know of) gives six weeks paid parental leave to ANY parent (not just the "primary caregiver"), and allows you to split that time up however you wish (not just in two segments) over the course of the full year following birth (not just 18 weeks). The rest of the country is still far behind CA, which is unsurprising given that the state of CA picks up about 1/3 of the paid leave itself.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 03:17 PM
4 weeks for fathers, that's nothing. GDC has been at 6 weeks for several years.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 03:18 PM
Maternity leave is a double-edged sword. Sure, take 6 months off. You've just lost 6 months of experience as compared to your peers, but you're still up for partner at the same time as them. Have two kids, take 6 months each, now you're an entire year behind.
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 03:18 PM
IF YOU ARE NOT A PARENT YOU CAN NOT MAKE AN INFORMED DECISION ON THIS TOPIC. STOP NOW. GO TO ANOTHER THREAD.
Posted by: single mom | January 8, 2008 03:24 PM
Do male associates really take the full amount alloted for parental leave, e.g., the full 4 or 6 weeks their Firm allows?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 03:29 PM
I know parents who don't take any paid leave. They just have kids and go back to work. They are called blue-collar. Some of you may call BS on this. But I have close friends in the blue-collar sector.
Posted by: NINJA STUD / fake "IP Guy" | January 8, 2008 03:30 PM
Sidley Austin gives 12 week paid pregnancy leave, 4 week paid parental leave, and 8 week paid adoption leave.
Posted by: Sidley 3L | January 8, 2008 03:39 PM
Hey single mom- if you are going to post in all caps, at least spell "cannot" correctly.
And what does posting on a blog have to do with making "an informed decision on this topic"?
dumb post. get a life.
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 03:40 PM
Oh man, please give me your tippps!
Posted by: Talahassee Guy | January 8, 2008 03:46 PM
Unwritten Policies: it is not stated how the family leave will affect billable requirements, nor, more importantly, how it will affect one's bonus. "Paternity leave" is all talk - few take the full amout because of unwritten conseqences.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 03:48 PM
As a female student a top 5 law school with ambitions of eventually making partner at a V10 firm, I have little use for maternity leave. Lat, can we please get information on whether any firms give time off for abortions? If so, is there a limit as to how many such "medical vacations" I can take per year?
Posted by: Abortions Tickle | January 8, 2008 03:52 PM
3:52, that's a rather tasteless post. Besides, abortions only take a few hours - you can be back at work the next day - I was.
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 03:56 PM
Seriously everyone, I just need your tipppps!
Posted by: Talahassee Guy | January 8, 2008 04:01 PM
hogan prorates your billable hours requirement based on the amount of your parental leave.
Posted by: hogan 3rd year | January 8, 2008 04:18 PM
3:48, that's BS. Every father I know at my firm (myself included) takes at least the full 6 weeks we get (you can take more "unpaid" leave and get paid out from vacation too). The firm is very clear that, unlike vacation, leave results in proration of billable hours and bonus targets -- in other words, it's like the real vacation (not just "work displacement") that people in other professions get. I think every firm in CA is the same, and I think every firm in the country is probably legally required to do this, since the FMLA explicitly states that employees may not be penalized in any way for taking parental leave.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 04:18 PM
Hey Talahassee guy, I get it; you're a Mohel.
you missed mine by about 25 years.
Posted by: jewdicial | January 8, 2008 04:22 PM
oh wait; i just called my mom.
she said she's been saving my tip all these years; but she'll never give it away.
Posted by: jewdicial | January 8, 2008 04:25 PM
I have take paternity at Hogan under the old policy. They prorate your hours, so indeed, it is a true vacation. However, watch out, they will not prorate your bonus as generously. Otherwise, good for Hogan to step up.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 05:18 PM
6 weeks of paternity leave? I honestly don't know what I'd do with myself being away from work that long. I'd love to be around my newborn and all, but honestly, 6 weeks, when my wife is doing most of the work? My golf game would sure improve, I'm sure...
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 05:51 PM
5:51, what decade are you from? Breastfeeding is the only childrearing your wife has a biological monopoly on.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 06:15 PM
A friend just got back from paternity leave. He was so thankful to be back at work and away from his family.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 06:41 PM
Someone should start a parental leave list of shame.
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 06:51 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 Arnold & Porter LLP
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: ask and you shall receive | January 8, 2008 07:47 PM
I have heard Pillsbury has a good policy - not sure what it is.... Does anyone know? I think they won an award from working mother regarding their parental leave
Posted by: anon | January 8, 2008 08:16 PM
New parents at H&H get STD leave. Heh.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 8, 2008 09:41 PM
What about multiples? If you have twins can you take 36 weeks off? Under the wording of the memo, it appears that you can?
Posted by: John | January 8, 2008 10:05 PM
7:47, you're an idiot. Every single CA-based firm (as well as the CA offices of every national firm) has had much better leave policies than this one for YEARS. This stuff is only "news" for people outside CA. I know for a fact that you can remove K&E (CA offices), Gibson, OMM, MoFo, Orrick, Quinn, Munger, Irell, Pillsbury, Cooley, Heller, and Bingham. Probably many others as well.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 02:11 AM
women who use this "perk" should be immediately downgraded off the partnership track and onto permanent doc review!!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 08:21 AM
I'm at Hogan and I had a kid not long ago. I was told by a junior partner in my group that my bonus would be affected if I took my entire paternal leave. He mentioned it to me because that's what happened to him-- I think he thought he was doing me some kind of favor. I smiled and thanked him for the advice and then took all my time. My bonus was affected by this, but Hogan gave crappy bonuses this year, so no big deal.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 10:40 AM
2:11: Heller Ehrman provides three months of paid leave, not four-and-a-half months.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 11:24 AM
I don't think so, 11:24. Pretty sure it's 4 months. They also give 6 weeks paternity leave (as opposed to the 4 weeks just announced by H&H).
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 01:20 PM
6:15 -- oh really? then why do mothers get more time off from law firms? what decade are YOU from?
Posted by: anon | January 9, 2008 01:33 PM
1:33, nice circular argument. "Because law firms give give more time off to mothers than fathers, therefore it is a mother's duty to do the bulk of childrearing." (Actually, your "oh really?" implies that you actually conclude that law firm policies actually give a *biological* directive to women.) You might want to consider the shocking possibility that the status quo is somewhat regressive. White shoe law firms stuck in an old-boys' world?? Who'd have thought?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 02:56 PM
1:33--Are you forgetting that women pass something the size of a freakin watermelp through their vajayjay? If that isn't worth some extra weeks I dunno what is.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 04:24 PM
2:56 and 4:24, I really appreciate the snark. Unfortunately, I never made the "biological" argument you suggest. The truth of the matter is that my wife will have much more time off of work than I do to take care of a newborn, and she'll choose to take all of it because she actually wants to take care of a newborn child. God forbid that we might feel like we're ready for me to go back to work after some number of weeks less than the maximum allowed. Let's face it, because of the old boys club, "watermelp," or whatever else, I'm not the primary caregiver.
Posted by: 1:33 | January 9, 2008 04:48 PM
Nice try, 1:33, but your response is no less question-begging than your initial post. (Hint: why are you "not the primary caregiver"?)
Posted by: 2:56 | January 9, 2008 04:59 PM
Again, 1:33, what decade are you from?
Posted by: the other question begged | January 9, 2008 05:01 PM
Let me get this straight, 1:33, you'd rather bill hours for a law firm than be at home? I feel genuinely sorry for you (and your family). Yuck.
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 05:04 PM
Fathers should get at least 2 months off paid. And reduced hours should be available to both women and men after that (with out killing partnership chances). Someday we may reach the standards that the rest of the western world has had for years!
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 06:48 PM
Can some Hogan associate give a sense of what a bonus is for an associate who bills 1950 in DC? What about someone who hits 2250 or so?
Posted by: Anonymous | January 9, 2008 08:40 PM