While we all understandably fixate on salary and bonuses, benefits can be just as critical to an attorney’s job satisfaction. To the extent we talk about benefits at all, we usually talk about parental leave expansions, but there’s a much wider array of offerings firms could be putting on the table for associates — benefits that will impact attorneys with far more regularity than parental leave. Unless you’re a Duggar or something.
Goodwin just announced its You@Goodwin program with a number of new benefits for employees in its U.S. offices. Given that we’ve not heard about bonuses from Goodwin yet, most associates probably saw the email to all and felt a little teased when it was just a benefits announcement, but keep your heads up because there’s some good stuff in here:
Expanded paid parental leave policy. All lawyers will be eligible to take up to 18 weeks and all GO! Team members will be eligible to take at least 12 weeks of paid child bonding leave. In addition, all birth mothers will be eligible to take at least six additional weeks of disability leave.
Of course parental leave is still getting top billing. At 18 weeks, the policy falls a little shy of some others, but it’s certainly following the trend toward expanded leave. The policy does reflect the industry-standard gap between attorneys and staff, which never makes sense because “having a baby” seems to have very little to do with post-graduate degrees. Even vacation tiers make sense — attorneys are under more stress day-to-day than staff and may need more vacation — but there isn’t much reason to tier parental leave. Maybe to reflect that they’ll be home more often during the first year? I guess that makes some sense, but is it six weeks’ worth?
The firm is also offering 12 weeks of leave to all employees for close family members with serious health conditions.
Modified vacation policy. Lawyers will move to flexible vacation, while full-time non-exempt GO! Team members and paralegals with five or more years of service will be eligible to accrue up to 20 days per year. There will be no specified limit to the total number of vacation days in a calendar year for lawyers.
Unlimited vacation, y’all. Realistically though, attorneys are rarely going to take all 20 days offered to staff let alone something on top of that. But it does open the door to a mid-level ahead on hours to book the sort of once in a lifetime two-month trek that attorneys can only afford once they’re working too hard to actually take. If you find yourself in this boat, why not try to get to South America or Africa to close out the year?
For its part, the firm is serious about pushing associates to at least take some sustained vacation:
First, we will encourage all of you to take a vacation of two consecutive weeks per year, in addition to other vacation time you take during the course of the year. Taking the time to relax and recharge is essential – especially in our fast-paced industry. We firmly believe that well-being and balance are fundamental to our ability to do our best work for clients.
Even if work schedules find a way to mess that up, just making the statement represents a critical shift in thinking about mental health that too few firms would be willing to put out there.
Substance abuse and depression assistance. As an early signatory to the American Bar Association’s pledge to advance well-being in the legal profession, Goodwin will continue to offer training on signs of substance abuse and depression, and how to get help.
One of the more welcome trends in Biglaw is the institutional commitment to the obstacles the profession puts on mental well-being. And while we’re on record as disagreeing with Goodwin’s decision to go teetotaler in an effort to curb both substance abuse and reduce the risk of sexual harassment, we’ve also lauded the commitment to getting ahead of the problem. The new program offers services to the entire firm and household members including on-site behavioral health counselors.
Speaking of health, the firm announced an expansion in voluntary health plan add-ons and expanded elder care and special needs services.
Perhaps most importantly for young associates, the firm expanded its student loan refinancing options.
Congratulations to Goodwin employees on their new benefits, and a reminder to attorneys everywhere to keep us abreast of any new benefits.
Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.