Howdy, Partner

Arrive
By Joanne Cronrath Bamberger
March/April 2007, 26-31

Ellen Ostrow, a career consultant from Silver Spring, MD, hears similar tales of woe. She says increasing numbers of established workers as well as a rising number of younger workers are saying, “Thanks, but no thanks” to the golden handcuffs of partnership.

“One of my clients told me that 30 years ago his dad, who was a lawyer, was home each night with the family to have dinner,” Ostrow says. “One reason this client decided to be a lawyer was because he wanted that same life for himself. But now, [my client] sees that 30 years [after those dinners], his life as an attorney bears no resemblance to this father’s. He said to me, ‘I want my dad’s life, not mine.’”