Adam D’Andreti, a partner within the firm’s corporate advisory group, has just returned to work after three months of parental leave.

Sharing his own experience with Lawyers Weekly, Mr D’Andreti is encouraging of other dads wanting to take advantage of parental leave.

First of all, congratulations on becoming a parent! How have you decided to arrange or organise parental responsibilities in your family?

Thank you! My wife and I share responsibilities equally, given we are both lawyers, working full time.

What is the firm’s policy on parental leave?

G+T offers paid primary carers leave for both women and men of up to 18 weeks and secondary carers leave of up to three weeks.

When did you become aware that you could take three months of paternity leave at Gilbert + Tobin?

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It was after one of my partners at G+T took maternity leave a few years ago. When I spoke to her about her experience, I learned that the firm supports both women and men to take on primary carer responsibilities. It got me thinking about what I would do if my wife and I were lucky enough to start a family.

Were you encouraged or supported to use this leave?

I was really nervous about bringing this up at first as no male partner at the firm had done it before.

However, I was bowled over by how much encouragement and support I received throughout the firm, including from the most senior levels. The most common response I heard from senior male partners was ‘I wish I had had the opportunity to do that when my kids were young’. This was also something many of my clients shared with me.

Has this policy meaningfully affected your decision to join or stay on with the firm?

Yes, it has made me even more proud to be a partner at G+T and it has definitely contributed to me wanting to stay here even more – mostly because I wouldn’t want to be a partner at a corporate law firm that didn’t encourage its staff to share parenting responsibilities and given them the ability to access to paid primary carer’s leave regardless of gender.

Any law firm that is serious about promoting gender equality in its partnership cannot credibly do so in my view unless they actively encourage men to take primary carer’s leave. I think it sends an important message to help challenge traditional gender roles and the experience of the previous generation that typically meant women sacrificing their career ambitions to look after children and men missing out on the joy of raising their kids and being around for the key milestones but also helping out with the day-to-day responsibilities. Practically speaking, most families now have dual carers so it makes sense that law firms need to have policies that help their employees to better manage work commitments alongside caring for their family, particularly if they want to hold on to high-performing talent, whether they be male or female.

What has been the reaction of colleagues and clients to you taking the time off to be a parent?

My team was very supportive of me doing this. A number of male lawyers at the firm have told me they admired my decision and that it encouraged them to think about doing something similar themselves.

My clients were also very supportive of my decision and time away from the business. It has not affected my practice adversely at all and, if anything, has helped me deepen my client relationships as it was something they all wanted to talk to me about more.

What has been different since you returned to work after taking the time off?

Ultimately, taking primary carer’s leave helped us balance caregiving when our son was born and meant we both had a day-to-day experience of what needs to be done. I feel so much more confident looking after my son now and I am in no doubt that without the 3 months looking after him by myself the seamless sharing of parenting that my wife and I have wouldn’t have been feasible. This is so important, given her work hours are as demanding as mine.

Juggling the demands of my job with family commitments is always a challenge but I feel very lucky that G+T is very supportive of flexible working practices and we have policies and tools in place that make it possible for me to start later, finish earlier or work remotely when I need to. This means I can make sure I’m delivering for my clients, but also be around to share the load and look after our son if he is sick or when my wife is busy with her own work commitments.

What would you say to other individuals wanting to take parental/paternity leave or firms looking to implement parenting leave policies?

I’m happy to see that a senior lawyer in our Corporate Advisory team, Tim Kennedy, is currently on 3 months primary carer’s leave and he told me that the fact [that] I did it made him feel comfortable to take leave himself. It’s fantastic that, as partners, we can help set a positive example for junior team members and I hope that I can be a role model for more men in the firm to make use of G+T’s support for working parents.

I would strongly encourage all dads to take some primary carer’s leave – you will learn a lot about how to look after your child and grow closer to them.

I also think law firms need to think hard about the culture they want to have and whether their policies truly reflect their values and goals when it comes to diversity and inclusion. At the end of the day, if you want to attract the best people and ensure they want to stay and build a fulfilling and long-term career with your firm then you have to help ease the stress for working parents and walk the talk – if you aren’t taking flexible working, parental leave and pay equity seriously then what message does that send to your people about how you value their contribution or your commitment to equality?