Weekly News Roundup
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– The Chicago Tribune rounds up workout wear that allegedly goes straight to the office.
– The WSJ interviews Margaret Tahyar (a female M&A partner at Davis Polk) who advises to have your children early in your career.
– Lifehacker asks its readers what the next step is once you're financially secure, while the Bucks blog at the NYT discusses what to look for in an online broker.
– Finally, CNET has some advice for those of you who aren't thrilled with Google's Buzz. (The same site called it a “privacy nightmare” when it debuted.)
I am not fond of promoting the ideat that you can wear workout gear to the office. I understand everybody’s low on time, but … really?
Same here. For me, part of the issue is that this not-going-to-see-21-again body needs the extra structure of real clothes. With Spanx under them.
I think the idea of workout gear you can wear to the office is the greatest, especially if you are going to work out on the way home. Time is short, and this is definitely an idea whose time has come.
Time is definitely short, but I think we can all take an extra 3 minutes to change clothes between work and working out…
I totally agree. It might not work if you’re at a big law firm, but I work in a less-formal government office. A couple of us have found that certain yoga pants just look like regular pants if you wear good shoes/boots and the right sweater/jacket and jewelry.
I’d like to hear more about this – shells that work beneath a jacket and at the gym, professional shoes (with heels) that work for long walks at lunch, etc.
Okay, I’m sorry, but I have a very difficult time believing that any yoga pants could look like regular work pants. Even if you are on the casual side of business casual…if your pants have an elastic waistband instead of a zipper and button (belt loops/pockets optional), they are always going to look very, very casual (yoga/workout/pj pants) regardless of what you pair them with.
I guess I don’t see what is so hard about changing clothes.
They don’t look like regular work pants if you can see the waist band. You have to wear a sweater or jacket that covers it.
Next time you are in a mall, check out one of the higher end yoga wear stores. Lot of the yoga pants are made from fabrics that look more like a ponte or something you’d wear to work.
It’s just less stuff to carry (for me, a job bra, socks and shoes). Also very comfortable in the office. That’s really the most important part.
Athleta.com has some great “crossover” pieces. They use different and quality fabrics that are great for workouts but have more structure and style. May not be completely suitable for the office, but great for travel-wear, weekend-wear, and if you’re not the kind to wear “sweats” on off-days.
The WSJ article advising lawyers to have children early in their career is very interesting…I am glad to hear this perspective. It seems that the usual advice is either to have your first at the end of law school before you get into the practice, like the Ms. JD post that Corporette posted a few months ago, or to wait until you have established many years of credibility at your firm/made partner. Those scenarios are often times not possible for many female attorneys because of relationship timing, financial concerns, declining fertility, etc. I’d be curious to hear what other Corporette readers think of Ms. Tahyer’s advice.
There were quite a few women in my law school class that had babies just before or during law school. One woman had two babies during law school and took an extra semester to graduate. I think this strategy only works if you have a partner though – if you’re still looking for Mr/Ms Right, I don’t know.
It’s something I’ve been considering strongly. Like planning a baby to be fairly pregnant when I take the bar next summer (would that kill me? I certainly couldn’t have a newborn and take the bar I don’t think) to have a baby before results come in. I didn’t think my biological clock would be ticking this fast, but I’m almost 28 and starting to really want a child. I’d love to hear from women who’ve done it to see if it’s worth thinking about!
just keep in mind you may not be able to time it quite this exactly…
Um yeah… like I’m on my 6th pregnancy and I only have one kid. Best laid plans and all that. Happy to say I’m at 15 weeks now though, so this one looks for real. But just wanted to provide another anecdotal reason why if you have the desire, and your situation is right, it makes some sense to go for it sooner rather than later. Besides conventional “fertility issues”, situations like mine of recurrent pregnancy loss can complicate matters. Sometimes the universe just doesn’t cooperate with our timelines!
Besides, the one successful pregnancy I’ve had that actually ended up with a kid at the end of it couldn’t have been more poorly timed. And now I realize that if I hadn’t had her then, I may not have any kid at all right now. Timing isn’t always everything- my career is going fabulously right now, so you make it work!
Wow, how difficult! I’m sorry you had to go through so many pregnancies. I wish you the best of luck with this one, and that your daughter has a sibling soon!
Clearly! (and re-reading my comment, it makes no sense anyway). I guess I mean start trying around Christmas of my 3L year, and go from there. The bar is in July, and if I could have a baby in the fall, that might be great, and if not, that’s fine, too. But I am interested to see opinions about the timing within your career!
I met a woman who took the bar when she was about 7-8 months pregnant and failed. Another friend and I are having to retake partially because we were in such pain the first time around that we weren’t able to concentrate. I was almost in tears the second day because the chairs had no back support and we were not allowed to bring anything in. You can imagine if you are pregnant in that situation, it would be very difficult to pass. Just something to consider.
I worked at a biglaw firm and recently one of the 1st years showed up for approximately 1 week of work and then went on maternity leave. I know that it’s not fair that you have to “earn it”, but many people found her pregnancy very cheeky. It was especially touchy given recent layoffs and the like. I would advise trying before the middle of your 3L year if you intend to start work the following fall at a firm. Just my two cents. No use having to fight a reputational battle practically before you walk in the door. It’s sad that most biglaw partners are white males and all that good stuff, but it’s real….
I am even sympathetic to timing such things, and I still felt that is was not the right way to introduce herself to the firm (even though she had summered there).
I took two bar exams pregnant and requested a modification. Neither had uncomfortable seating, but I was assigned to the room nearest ladies room and that was fine. I also started at my firm while pregnant… I think its all in how you handle it. As soon as passed my first trimester (was clerking), I had a lunch meeting with the head of my practice group (the nice one who left, not the crazy one I’ve mentioned before) and told him I was pregnant, and before I could say anything more, he was like congratulations, and take care of yourself. If you think this is an issue its not. Get your work done, when you don’t have to stay late, don’t because there will be plenty of nights when you will, now tell me about how your clerkship is going?
I would never have just shown up, 8 months pregnant etc… (I was around 4 months), but I think its a) the relationship and reputation you built during your summer, and subsequent interaction with the firm; and b) how you handle both the notification and yourself when you get there.
@divalicious1- I guess it goes to show it’s good to research your particular bar exam in advance. It seems like comfort is an issue for some states and not as much for others. I would just ask people who have taken a bar exam in your location in the past about the chairs and whether they were allowed to bring anything in for back/shoulder pain. I know in some states 1-2 pillows are allowed automatically.
I believe there is no one perfect time to have kids. As for me, I was 27 and married, though poor, when I decided I wanted to go to law school. I was concerned my fertility might be minimal if I waited until I had applied to and graduated from law school, and gotten a good start on my career, before making babies. So hubby and I decided to make a family in a hurry, first: three kids in 4.5 years (turns out I was waaay fertile at the time). I took the LSAT pregnant with #3, with a bad back and heartburn, and did just fine. I got a clerkship with a (female) federal judge, who told me I got the job in part because she was impressed I’d held it together in law school with all those kids. By the time I started at a law firm, my youngest was in kindergarten. Frankly, I think it’s been easier for me, having kids who are a little older at the outset of my career. I disagree with the notion that pregnancy or small kids will make you unappealing to employers; it really depends on how good your support system is (I am lucky in this regard) and getting the right fit between your attitude about work/family balance and your workplace’s culture. There may be some employers who’d look askance on your reproducing under any circumstances, but those are people I wouldn’t want to work for.
Its what I did…although not totally by design. It seems to be less disruptive than one some of my friends have experienced, and most of the very senior women I know (GC’s, equity partners etc…), although I do know a few who waited until they were more established. The one who waited seem to be the ones who went straight to law school from undergrad, and who live in parts of the country with much short partner tracks that the East Coast 8-9 year track. I know I did seem to find it much easier to establish boundaries and expectations, and to be more efficient because I HAD to leave etc….
I think there is no good time, but having kids early in your career can be a plus. I had a baby about 4 to 5 months after starting at my law firm. Tahyer is right that, when you are young, you have greater physical stamina and are better able to handle the constant sleep deprivation that comes with a newborn and juggling between work and baby. Also, as a junior associate, it is much easier to transition your work to someone else when you leave for maternity leave. I was never bothered with work during my maternity leave, while mid-levels still received e-mails about projects that they had been working on when they left. But I do have to say, though, being a working mother at a big law firm really sucks, no matter when you have your baby.
I met my husband a few months after starting my first firm job, took off time to go on my honeymoon about 6 months later, and then made the sheepish announcement that I was unexpectedly pregnant a couple months after that. None of that is especially great timing, but sometimes life gets in the way of your job, yk?
The firm is being great about it, btw. I will owe them big time when I get back in the swing of things.
I second the sentiment about not counting on being able to have kids later, btw. I’ve seen too many women who have put kids off go through the stress and heartbreak of infertility treatments (sometimes successful, sometimes not) when they were “ready.”
thanks for the link about Buzz! I hate things that automatically reveal personal information! I sent an email to Google requesting email services targeted to people who value simplicity, security, and privacy over bells and whistles. Not that they would listen to something like that…
Gizmodo.com also has an interesting (to say the least) piece about Buzz today. Emotions run high, so the item is a bit NSFW.
There were some very offensive comments, but they seem to have been removed.
All these Anons and Anonymouses are getting me confused. I’m totally fine with their not using names, no worries, but can they be assigned a consistent number, to help keep them straight during a prolonged exchange?