Solicitor dismissed after return from Maternity leave

[Sadgirl2024]

Hi

Take them to the cleaners. Donyou have that documentation now?

You don't even have the details yet..

Click on the "edited" button and you can read the original post.

Copy that internal documentation, get records of all your targets and contact pregnant then screwed!

Thanks for the support. I just needed to say this - even anonymously on the internet as it is all I have thought about for months. I cannot explain how devastating I found this.

This.

First, I'm not surprised you're devastated. It's an awful thing to happen and it so clearly knocks your confidence, even if you know deep down it's not true.

Second, I suggest getting advice. Pregnant then Screwed is an excellent charity as a first port of call. Then somewhere like Bellevue Law for action. It may be that you are out of time to file a claim, but at least explore your options.

Thirdly, take a breath. It's not clear if you are working at the moment or looking to work, but there are plenty of ways back into law. You may find (like many of us have) that in-house is a good option for you. There are also many "lawyers on demand" type places where you can do shorter placements, build up your confidence again, and get some in-house experience. Obelisk and Axoim both come recommended. Also, if you're interested in in-house, join various communities, like Crafty Counsel or the Heriot Brown WhatsApp groups to look at roles and general support.

You are not alone in this. Law firms have often behaved abysmally towards senior women, especially mothers. It's fine to smudge the reasons for exit - young family, looking for a more varied career, exhausted by private practice - these are all true if not the whole truth.

George Eliot is good on this:

“We mortals, men and women, devour many a disappointment between breakfast and dinner-time; keep back the tears and look a little pale about the lips, and in answer to inquiries say, "Oh, nothing!" Pride helps; and pride is not a bad thing when it only urges us to hide our hurts— not to hurt others.”

Well you are going to have an interesting case to deal with now.
I'd email saying following meeting on x where yoy advised ne a, b, c ... I would request a further meeting to enable me to respond verbally to the points raised.

I would be accompanied at that meeting and I would give them a copy of the documentation at the end and ask them to explain how this is equitable.

Then I'd take them to the cleaners, unless they wish to settle.

Thank you for the supportive comments. I really appreciate that. I think my shock stems from the fact that this has been done so brazenly and the fact that I had returned from mat leave so recently. They gave examples of mistakes I had made in the weeks I had been back but these were all very minor - ie adding unnecessary comments to a document. Nothing in anyway detrimental to a client or the firm. Additionally, I’d had a rocky return to work - I had some health problems (which I didn’t feel able to disclose in detail) which required some minor investigative surgery under a general anaesthetic. I brought my laptop to hospital! Ultimately, with the benefit of hindsight, I think my job was gone even before I returned to work. In fact one of the partners had asked if I was planning to return.

I feel so naive - I thought because I never caused a fuss or complained or looked for anything, they would just let me plough on. What was I thinking!