I’ve been posting a running table of maternity leave policies on Above The Law based on survey reponses, comments and tips, and thought I’d mirror it here, just in case your browser is showing you the cached version on ATL instead of the most up-to-date. I’ll keep updating both here and there. Also, a hat tip to Christina Carroll for suggesting the survey.
The data below is what we’ve got as of July 9.
| Firm | Paid Maternity Leave |
|---|---|
| Akin Gump | 18 weeks* |
| Alston & Bird | 12 weeks |
| Andrews Kurth | 18 weeks* |
| Arnall Golden Gregory | 3 weeks** |
| Arnold & Porter | 18 weeks |
| Baker & McKenzie | 16 weeks |
| Baker Botts | 12 weeks |
| Bingham | 12 weeks |
| Blank Rome | 12 weeks |
| Buchanan Ingersoll | 12 weeks |
| Cadwalader | 18 weeks |
| Cahill Gordon | 12 weeks |
| Cleary Gottlieb | 18 weeks |
| Clifford Chance | 18 weeks |
| Cooley Godward | 18 weeks |
| Covington & Burling | 18 weeks |
| Crowell & Moring | 18 weeks |
| Davis Polk | 18 weeks |
| Day Pitney | 12 weeks |
| Debevoise & Plimpton | 18 weeks |
| Dechert | 12 weeks |
| Dewey & LeBoeuf | 18 weeks |
| DLA Piper | 12 weeks |
| Drinker Biddle & Reeth | 12 weeks*** |
| Fenwick & West | 12 weeks |
| Freshfields | 12 weeks*** |
| Fried Frank | 18 weeks |
| Fulbright & Jaworski | 12 weeks |
| Gibbons PC | 12 weeks |
| Gibson Dunn & Crutcher | 12 weeks |
| Goodwin Procter | 12 weeks |
| Greenberg Traurig | 12 weeks |
| Greensfelder, Hemker & Gale | 12 weeks |
| Heller Ehrman | 12 weeks |
| Hogan & Hartson | 18 weeks |
| Holland & Knight | 12 weeks |
| Howrey | 12 weeks |
| Hughes Hubbard & Reed | 12 weeks |
| Hunton & Williams | 12 weeks |
| Jenner & Block | 18 weeks |
| Jones Day | 12 weeks |
| K&L Gates | 12 weeks |
| Kaye Scholer | 12 weeks |
| King & Spalding | 12 weeks |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 16 weeks |
| Kramer Levin | 18 weeks |
| Latham & Watkins | 18 weeks |
| Lowenstein Sandler | 12 weeks |
| Luce, Forward, Hamilton & Scripps | 12 weeks |
| Mayer Brown | 18 weeks |
| McDermott Will & Emery | 12 weeks |
| Milbank Tweed | 18 weeks |
| Morgan Lewis & Bockius | 12 weeks |
| Morrison & Foerster | 18 weeks |
| Nixon Peabody | 4 weeks |
| O'Melveny & Myers | 18 weeks* |
| Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe | 18 weeks |
| Patterson Belknap | 18 weeks |
| Paul Hastings | 14 weeks |
| Paul Weiss | 18 weeks |
| Phillips Lytle | 6 weeks |
| Proskauer Rose | 18 weeks |
| Quinn Emanuel | 16 weeks |
| Ropes & Gray | 18 weeks |
| Saul Ewing | 12 weeks |
| Schulte Roth & Zabel | 18 weeks |
| Sheppard Mullin | 12 weeks |
| Sidley Austin | 12 weeks |
| Simpson Thacher | 18 weeks |
| Skadden | 18 weeks |
| Stroock & Stroock & Lavan | 12 weeks |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | 18 weeks |
| Sullivan & Worcester | 12 weeks |
| Sutherland Asbill & Brennan | 12 weeks |
| Thelen Reid | 6 weeks**** |
| Troutman Sanders | 12 weeks |
| Venable | 12 weeks |
| Vinson & Elkins | 12 weeks |
| Weil | 18 weeks |
| White & Case | 12 weeks |
| Willkie Farr | 12 weeks |
| WilmerHale | 18 weeks |
| Wilson Elser | 8 weeks |
| Winston & Strawn | 18 weeks |
| Womble Carlyle | 12 weeks |
*Also applies to the primary caregiver in the case of an adoption.
**Firm provides 3 weeks maternity leave after the first year of employment, 5 weeks for 3 years or more, and 7 weeks for 5 years or more.
***In addition to 12 weeks of full paid leave, Freshfields and Drinker Biddle & Reeth permit associates to take another 12 weeks of leave at half pay.
****Thelen Reid provides six weeks of paid primary caregiver leave plus an additional disability leave for childbirth as approved by the insurance provider (usually six weeks).
Meanwhile, stay tuned to ATL for some stats on childcare. Do firms offer emergency back-up? On-site childcare? Near-site childcare? Find out today . . .
3 responses so far ↓
1 Anonymous // Mar 27, 2008 at 8:33 am
I think Jenner is just 6 weeks maternity leave
2 Sandy // Apr 23, 2008 at 9:10 am
Do you know whether most of these firms only offer paid maternity leave after they have been with the firm 1 year?
3 Associate Pirate // Apr 25, 2008 at 7:00 am
Hi Sandy, I haven’t been specifically tracking the one-year question (maybe for next year’s survey), but I believe some firms do require an associate to be at the firm for a full year before providing maternity leave.
That said, though, they appear to be in the minority. Also, the paid maternity leave is usually broken down into two parts: a short-term paid medical leave (usually 6 or 8 weeks), which is covered by insurance, and a paid parental or childcare leave, which is covered by the firm. Even at the firms that only provide a lengthier maternity leave after you’ve been there for at least a year, you would probably be eligible for the paid medical leave component.
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