Help - any City lawyers thinking of not going back to work?

[muffinchops]

I am coming to the end of my maternity leave and am a senior litigation assistant with a large City firm. My dh is a corporate lawyer with another City firm and will be going for partnership over the next year and so, effectively will not be around.

I enjoy my job but since I had my ds who is now 8 months, I am an emotional wreck about leaving him. My firm is not flexible-worker friendly and, realistically, I cannot see how I could fulfill my role on a part time basis. I already feel bad for taking my full year's entitlement.

If I don't go back, I will have to carve out a new role somehow as I need to do something for me having worked so long and hard to get where I am today.

There's certainly an argument for trying going back and see how it pans out. Am going mad though with indecision and am adept at convincing myself one way and then the other (handy legal skill!!)

Am not a sahm type, but adore spending time with my ds and would just need to think of other things I could do.

Am lining up a meeting with my boss, hopefully this week in order to stop myself procrastinating further and in an attempt to move forward and make a decision.

Would love to hear from any like-minded bods who know the score re life in a City law firm.

same as me kaz33, although as you will see from this long and intriguing thread, I didn't even try it out and am not returning post maternity leave (officially expired today - err the leave, not me...). Would be interested to hear how you are faring. I am currently beset by guilt not being in the office (years of brainwashing and workaholicsm)and have even plummeted the depths of leafing through dh's Law Soc Gazette (the shame).

muffinchops.... the GAZETTE? oh dear oh dear. you'll be reading the YSG mag soon. which brings me to a question that bothers me every time one of those plops on the doormat - when does one stop being a young solicitor? At 35 and 11 years pqe you'd have thought they'd have given up on me by now....

my mat leave ends mid august. it isn't looking likely that I'm going back either. the thought of not working panics me. but the thought of starting up the commute and 8 hour conference calls again panics me more.

been on maternity leave since January, and the Gazette has not arrived recently - have I been struck off without being told, or is my firm saving up several months worth to forward to me in one match - you gazette readers - has anything exciting happened lately?

mind you my company doesn't know that it ends in august - they are based in scandanavia and assume it lasts TWO years....! ha

I'm about to go off on my part-year-working arrangement long summer break and realise we haven't yet managed a meet-up. If you don't know about it already, would any of you think of coming to the Coram's Fields picnic meetup on Saturday September 11th? - it's in the Mumsnetter meetups section. Have to say that Muffinchops would be a specially honoured guest!

Message withdrawn

lisalisa, I put it all in boring detail further down the thread (exactly per your idea of letting people know what others have managed to do). Basically it's because in my job a regular 4-day week wouldn't work, so I do a sort of net annual equivalent. (In all honesty it only sort of works, and I've just had another scrap with dh about how I always put work ahead of him ...)

Ahhh binkie, am very touched. Unfortunately, am going to be away on holiday then. However, have just returned from my City fix where I met some friends for lunch with ds in tow and doing that has made me v keen on meeting up with you guys (if you will still accept me into the fold despite my decision!?!)

Binkie, I hope you enjoy an incredibly well 'break'.

sorry, I meant well earned break (not even a glass of wine at lunchtime)