To think that a career in law is incompatible with family life?

[musingsofawannabemumpreneur]

Back story...

I'm in my late 20s, and have a 9 year old son. Currently 3 years out of 4 through a part time law degree. The deadline for applying for training contracts when I'd need one is fast approaching.

The more I look into it, the more I can't fathom how both undertaking a training contract and a subsequent career in law will be possible with family life. From what I can gather, it's all very long hours, with chances of flexible working only available to established lawyers already working for firms, late nights par for the course, and chances of promotion extremely slim for part time workers. AIBU?

I don't want to head further down this path to realise it's not compatible with having a family at all, but also don't want my degree to be wasted.

Another piece of information which might be pertinent is that I have recently had ovarian reserve tests done, which show that I have a very, very diminished ovarian reserve for my age, and so if I want more babies (which I think I do!), then I'll definitely need to start thinking about that sooner rather than later.

I'm feeling totally overwhelmed and bereft about this today. Currently sat in a shopping centre car park trying not to cry as just feel so lost with my options. Very unsure about what I want to actually do with my life!

Would anyone in the legal field be able to offer their honest advice or opinions please?

I'm watching this thread with interest! I'm in a similar position to Metella (large non MC firm and am currently on mat leave, dreading returning). In my experience a lot of firms will pay lip service to "work/life balance" and "family friendly policies in place", yet in practice this couldn't be further from the reality. After making some pretty hefty sacrifices so that I could prove myself and my commitment, I faced some appalling discrimination as soon as I announced I was pregnant (I don't want to go into details as it's quite identifying). It's pretty soul destroying knowing I have worked so hard to date, and am willing to work hard in the future, but my current career has stalled simply because I had a child. From what I have seen, this is far from uncommon at most of the major firms. If I had known this when I started out, I would have chosen a different career path. To be honest the warning signs were there: at my firm, there are a few hundred lawyers in our office, yet there are maybe 10 female partners (max). Of those, I think 3 have children. All the male partners I know have children (but none regularly do pick up/drop off).

It's been interesting reading about the alternative career paths suggested on this thread. I will definitely be exploring some of these!