Starting Your Family, Keeping Your Career

Friday, April 22

1:30 - 4:30 pm

Kells Irish Pub
112 SW 2nd Ave.
Portland, OR 97204

Appetizers provided, cash bar.

Join the MBA Young Lawyers Section for a candid and informative discussion of how attorneys may continue their careers while also becoming parents. Our panelists were selected not only for their knowledge of the subject but also for their first-hand experience as lawyers starting families of their own and returning to work after taking various types of leave.

Topics include:
So You Want to Start a Family
Planning a lawyer should consider after deciding to have a child, including maternity and paternity leave; how to approach your employer; things to consider in deciding whether your current job is the job you want while parenting; job-sharing and other alternatives to full time work; and tips for leaving work at work. Panelists include John Russell, partner and founder of Alleman Hall McCoy, and Kirsten Snowden, Multnomah County Deputy District Attorney.

Building a Better Leave Policy
Law firms have increasingly offered family leave policies that meet or exceed minimum standards established at the state and federal levels. Unfortunately, most lawyers fail to utilize these policies. In Building a Better Leave Policy, Professor Keith Cunningham-Parmeter of Willamette University will discuss the reasons for the gap between policy and practice and then detail the key components of a successful leave policy.

Transitioning Back to Work
Issues surrounding the return to work whether you took three months, worked part time or took 10 years off. Topics will include the potential problems in integrating back into the work place, tips on how to make the transitions more successful, the difficulties facing longer term leaves, and how to prepare yourself to return to work. Panelists include Carol Bernick, partner-in-charge at Davis Wright Tremaine, Jenna Mooney, employment law counselor and litigator at Davis Wright Tremaine, and Brien Flanagan, junior partner at Schwabe Williamson Wyatt.

Register early as space is limited. For additional information about the seminar, please contact Katie Riggs of Schneider Law Offices at 360.713.2244 or see the registration form here.