Under Fire, DA Defends Decision to Oust Female Part-Timers

Michael Scholl
New York Law Journal
07-13-2006
Faced with sharp criticism from New York state and county women's bar groups, Nassau County District Attorney Kathleen Rice on Tuesday defended her decision to let go a dozen part-time women prosecutors unless they agree to work full time.

In a statement released Monday, the state Women's Bar Association said it "strongly disagrees" with Rice's new policy.

"DA Rice's decision will not promote public confidence in her office or in the legal system," said association President Elaine N. Avery. "It only shows that family is not an important item on her agenda."

All of the part-timers are mothers, although the DA's office has said that some have older children.

Rice fired back Tuesday, calling the women's bar statement a "knee-jerk reaction" that failed to recognize the steps she has taken to place women in senior positions.

The district attorney said two of the top three executive positions in her office are held by women, compared with none under her predecessor, Dennis Dillon, whom she defeated last November. She also said seven of the 14 management positions in her office are held by women, compared to just two under Dillon.

"I think it is important to look at everything I have done in this office," said Rice, who herself is a member of the Nassau County Women's Bar Association. The local group also put out a statement critical of Rice.

Members of both the state association and its county affiliate met with Rice to discuss the issue on June 30, but the meeting ended with Rice refusing to change her stance.

She said a district attorney's office is a "very unique office" that requires a special and time-consuming commitment among the attorneys who litigate and investigate criminal cases.

"We're dealing with life and death," said Rice, who said full-time attorneys are better able to form the relationships with witnesses that are key to many trials.

"You can't have part-time litigators," said Rice, adding that some of her part-time lawyers have been allowed to leave trials at 2 p.m. while the judge and the defense are still in the courtroom.

Rice said her decision should improve the effectiveness of her office and thereby improve public safety. She also said it would help her cope with a county-imposed budget constraint that limits the number of lawyers she can hire to 170.

The county calculates a part-time lawyer as equivalent to a full-time one. Thus, she said, the use of part-time lawyers has prevented her office from operating at full strength.

Rice said she hoped to hire some new part-time lawyers within the next six months, although these new lawyers would not be allowed to work in the areas of litigation or investigation.

'A FAMILY ISSUE'

Despite Rice's comments, Avery said her group stood by its position.

"This is not just a woman's issue -- it is a family issue," said Avery, adding that while part-time attorneys may face some unique challenges that does not mean they cannot do the job.

Avery said Rice's promotion of women to executive positions "does not excuse her behavior" on the issue of part-time lawyers.

"She's forgetting about her responsibility as a role model," Avery said.

Rice took exception to the notion that she was undermining women's rights. She instead accused the bar groups of engaging in scare tactics that would discourage women from seeking employment at the Nassau County district attorney's office.

"They're doing a great disservice to young women," Rice said.

Avery said her organization will soon conduct a statewide survey of legal employers to see where they stand on the needs of employees with family care issues.

Based on the results of the survey, Avery said her group will launch a campaign to promote and protect the rights of employees who need part-time and flex-time employment to help deal with family care issues.

OTHER AGENCIES

Representatives of several prosecutors' offices said they allow some attorneys to work part time in various positions.

The Suffolk County District Attorney's Office has four part-time attorneys on staff, while the Manhattan District Attorney's Office has 12 part-time lawyers.

The Staten Island District Attorney's Office has a policy of allowing part-time attorneys, although none are currently on staff.

The U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York allows part-time attorneys, but a spokesman for the office declined to say how many part-timers it currently employs.

Hmm. It's a thorny issue. I can understand the reasoning that you can't really HAVE a part-time trial attorney, with the time commitment and unpredictability that it requires. Part-time or flex-time policies aren't really developed to make the office itself more productive, after all. They're developed to improve employee morale and retain good workers. There are some jobs that truly CAN'T be part-time, and it's the boss's job to figure out which ones those are. We have a few part-time ADAs here, but they generally work in non-trial sections such as Appeals or Intake so I can't really speak for how well it would work in practice.

So the long and short of it is, I'm not offended at the idea of the policy, although I would definitely be upset if the policy was in place for a long time and then it's suddenly changed. I wouldn't blame anyone for being annoyed at the policy and either quitting or not applying in the first place over it, but I think it's a bit much to accuse the DA of "forgetting her responsibility as a role model" to try to run her office the best way she can.

I know prosecutors in Dallas and Austin who split their position with other prosecutors, but those jobs are in the appellate division, where daily, full-time presence is not so urgent.

Funny, there is NO mention that these women were not geting the job done (although I am a little confused about how they leave at 2 with everyone else still there). If they were not getting the job done then fire them, but if was a "policy" decision then she had to expect some flack.

I think part time can work but as with any new idea its takes time to work the kinks out and to get the old dogs to try new tricks.

Why would anyone want to work two jobs for the price of one? correstion, for the price of a prorated portion of one.

Dallas also has part-timers who are Chiefs of the Family Violence Division as well as a number of part-timers who serve as floating troubleshooters for the misdemeanor division.

Part-time, flex-time, and job sharing all can work, though not in every situation. It takes cooperation and professionalism all the way around. From the office, it takes a willingness to try new things and some honest feedback about what is important and what is or isn't working out. From the coworkers, it takes non-jealous support for the person who is trying to balance work and family. [Give them a break --they are already getting paid less, as they should be, in proportion to time worked.] But from the worker, it takes absolute professionalism and a commitment to getting the job done. Yes, it is possible to be a lawyer who works less than 40 hours a week. (Don't you know some?) No, it is not realistic to believe that any office will be so flexible as to let a Trial Lawyer leave at 2 pm (while in the midst of a trial!!! amazing!!!) on a regular basis simply because the person is a part-time worker. If you're in trial, you might have to work long(er) hours that week or so until the trial is done, then flex the hours and take some days off later. You really can't/shouldn't tell a judge or jury that you will only be available for four hours a day because you only work part-time.

Flexible scheduling eventually helps everyone, because most of us will at some time need a little indulgence from our coworkers as we recover from an illness, assist an elderly parent, work through some kind of personal crisis, or try to balance family time with work time. There are many people, men and women, who would prefer to work part-time if they could afford it and if they could find an employer willing to consider non-traditional scheduling. In return, they owe their employers and their co-workers the ethic of professionalism so that the rest of the crew does not feel dumped on by the part-timer. Can it work? Sure. Is it for everyone? No.

I am single, no kids -- this isn't a pitch for part-time work for myself. And, we've had some successful part-timers in our office.

Love the idea of 'floating trouble shooters', John. That is a creative approach, and that sounds like a great resource for your team.

Just my personal opinion.

Ann

It seems the Nassua DA is caught between the proverbial rock and hard place. It is county policy to treat part-timers as full-timers and it is the DA who loses under the county classification. Thus, perhaps the county should change its classification to accomodate the part-timers.

We have three part-timers. One is in appeals, one is in intake, and the other is chief of our 2 person nascent civil division. Our appellate part-timer works incredibly hard.

[This message was edited by John Stride on 07-18-06 at .]