SEARCH
Justinian News

Time's Up for Naughty Nathan ... Recommendation that horrible NSW solicitor be derolled ... Misuse of online funding campaigns ... Spraying ripe and abusive language ... Trolling Robert Beech-Jones ... So unfit and improper as to be beyond reeducation ... Anthony Kanaan reports ... Read more >>

Politics Media Law Society

Perils of the Defamatorium ... Lovely Linda Reynolds’ “victory” leaves her underwater … Politics, sex, law, and money … Injuries galore … The art of Tottling … Where’s the serious harm? … Trust me … Jurisdictional backwater ... Read more >> 

Free Newsletter
Justinian Columnists

Act of gracelessness ... Kathleen Folbigg's miserable ex gratia payout ... Comparable awards in other miscarriage cases ... Weasel words from the NSW Premier ... Need for a proper system of compensation assessment ... Procrustes in a lather ... Read more >> 

Blow the whistle

 

News snips ...


This area does not yet contain any content.
Justinian's Bloggers

Postcard from London ... Summertime - And the living' is easy ... Votes for 16-year olds ... Paralegal's theft by pen ... Spy helping British intelligence from his job at Border Force ... Super-injunction comes out of the shadows ... Feed them strawberries and cream ... Floyd Alexander-Hunt files from Blighty ... Read more >> 

"I actually never saw the President in any type of massage setting. I never witnessed the President in any inappropriate setting in any way. The President was never inappropriate with anybody. In the times that I was with him, he was a gentleman in all respects ... Trump was always very cordial and very kind to me. And I just want to say that I find, I admire his extraordinary achievement in becoming the president now."

Convicted sex trafficker Ghislaine Maxwell interviewed by Trump's former lawyer Todd Blanche, now Deputy Attorney General ... July 25, 2025. Interviews released by DOJ, August 22, 2025 ... Read more flatulence ... 


Justinian Featurettes

Schmoozing and Betrayal ... Judge Water Softener rides into Integrityville mounted high on his horse ... Judicial review of corruption finding ... Unprecedented assistance to morals monitor ... Plenty to think about ... Court reporter Ginger Snatch files ... Read more >> 

 

 

Justinian's archive

The Tamil Times ... The corruption wars ... Blitzkrieg from The Australian's legal affairs man ... Campaigns to sink ICAC and 18C ... Battles lost in the trenches ... Where are they now? ... Extravagant fulminations ... From Justinian's Archive, April 8, 2017 ... Read more >> 


 

 

« A glimpse of the future | Main | Misinformation and the law »
Wednesday
Dec192012

Motherhood at the bar

There are rules for women who have children while at the bar ... No space for joys of motherhood ... Junior Junior unmoved by WBF instructions 

ONE of the difficulties of being a lady barrister is that it is the ladies who have the children.

Recently I attended a couple of seminars organised by the Women Barristers Forum, aimed at those planning to have children or who already have children while still at the bar.

I wasn't really sure what to expect, but was hoping there were words of wisdom about maintaining a client base while on maternity leave, information on services to assist with practice management and child care and tips on how to negotiate with chambers to reduce your fees while on leave.

I was disappointed. 

Turns out these are the rules for child bearing at the bar:  

  1. Marry a man who is happy to be a stay-at-home father (I'm sure partnering with a woman happy to be a stay-at-home mum would also be suitable for those not into the blokes); 
  2. While pregnant, don't tell anyone; 
  3. If you have morning sickness in court, blatantly eat or drink flat Coca-Cola and ignore anyone that asks why (or just puke in court and claim a stomach bug); 
  4. There is a pregnancy bar jacket making the rounds, but you can also get away with a black cardigan for the last couple of months; 
  5. Once you finish work, continue to answer your phone and email so that no one realises you aren't actually at work; 
  6. If possible schedule an elective caesarean so that you can fit the birth into your schedule; 
  7. Once the baby is born, if you haven't followed rule number one, get a nanny, a cleaner and a chef; 
  8. Take as little time off work as possible or continue to answer emails and your phone and make small court appearances so no one realises you are either a mother or on leave; and 
  9. Until the child is school age, continue to employ the nanny, the cleaner and the chef. 

So, it's pretty much a case of marry well, schedule well, and find good help.

While these were things I understood instinctively, I secretly hoped I might be wrong and that somewhere buried deep in the difficulties of the profession there was space for the joys of motherhood. 

Nup.

Considering my current income, I better start saving for that full complement of staff so that when eventually I have a child I can leave he/she/it and get straight back to work.

References (24)

References allow you to track sources for this article, as well as articles that were written in response to this article.
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Slim New Reviews
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: AT Partnerships
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: AT Partnerships
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Garcinium Review
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: biogeniste
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Super Ketone Plus
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Super Ketone Plus
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Seneca Skin
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law
  • Response
    Response: Bellavei Reviews
    Motherhood at the bar - Bloggers - Justinian: Australian legal magazine. News on lawyers and the law

Reader Comments

There are no comments for this journal entry. To create a new comment, use the form below.
Member Account Required
You must have a member account on this website in order to post comments. Log in to your account to enable posting.