Interesting article on today’s law.com:  The Business Case for Letting Lawyers Have a Life, by Petra Pasternak:

Joan Haratani is tired of watching her girlfriends leave the law profession to focus on family. As a result, the president of the Bar Association of San Francisco has launched a task force charged with exploring ways to juggle work and personal life. But rather than extolling stories seeking sympathy, the task force is hitting the issue where law firms will feel it most — in the wallet. As soon as March, the task force will disburse a memo detailing the costs associated with a firm’s brain drain. It can cost a firm, for example, between $200,000 and $500,000 to replace a second-year associate. If five walk out the door, that’s more than a million bucks….

The results of the survey will be used to develop a statement of goals and aspirations and best practices and model policies, which will be rolled out in a series of fall events. "Being a lawyer is a joy and a noble profession," Haratani said. "I don’t see why choosing to be a parent or caring for an elderly parent or a sick relative should preclude people from that joy."