Solicitors

I think most firms will have their maternity policy on their intranet but I think a lot require 2 years of continuing employment. Not sure if that includes being a trainee but presumably it does. Inhouse roles probably have different policies x

Hi Harriet - what have you decided to do? We're quite similar in pqe and age.

Hello! I had a thread on this about 6 months ago - zaza I think you replied??

I'm a 1.5pqe solicitor in the city and starting to ttc this month. If I get pregnant straight away the baby will be born when I'm 2pqe. I've just turned 29.

Like zaza, I think it's actually better to have children when you're more junior as you won't be missed as much as later on. I also wanted to have two years pqe behind me because most firms consider that a good base of experience (and a lot of people choose to move firms at this level). I've also built a good reputation in my team and feel confident this will survive mat leave.

Age is important too though - if I'd been older I probably would have done it sooner.

Hi,

Reading with interest! Aside from actual pqe years, how long do you think you have to be with a firm in general (bearing in mind typical cultures) before you can go off on mat leave with credibility?

X

Also I think this will depend on whether you're in the city or not - as a city lawyer it's something I've had to think about long and hard!

I'm having this dilemma too, but we've made the decision to TTC around May. This would mean, if we were lucky and conceived quickly, the earliest I'd be going on Mat leave would be at 2.5 yrs pqe. The best advice I received was to go early - clients don't rely on you personally/you're not in the first stages of being considered for partner etc etc. I have seen people wait until partnership, but that would put me at at least 36/37 at minimum - I don't want to jeopardise my personal life and desire for a family for something that may never happen. I've also seen people wait until around 5/6 yrs pqe, and for the ones interested in partnership, this hasn't been so beneficial from the perspective that people start looking at hours more closely etc. Personally, I wouldn't want to go any earlier than 2 yrs pqe, but there's never really a good time to go. I just think having one sooner rather than later and letting my family grow alongside my career (even if it takes longer to progress) will give me the best chance of succeeding (if I decide that's still what I want after children). Sorry for the rambling post! How old are you out of interest?