US practice Arnold & Porter has once again become the only law firm to be named in a list of the 100 best companies for working mothers, compiled by US magazine Working Mother.

Arnold & Porter was the first US law firm to have a full-time, on-site day-care facility, which provides a pre-school programme and free back-up care for the children of lawyers and other staff.


Workers in its New York, Los Angeles and Virginia offices receive 15 days of back-up care each year for older children and can tap into a resource and referral service to locate full-time care.


The magazine said: ‘Bringing your child to the office isn’t just a once-a-year treat for staffers in this Washington DC-based law firm – it’s a way of life. At lunchtime, it’s common to see kids from the on-site children’s centre in the firm’s main office dining with their parents in the company cafeteria.


‘Other employees take advantage of the firm’s many work options, including compressed and flexitime work schedules that allow them to be there when their kids get home from school. To help employees who are working from home do their jobs more efficiently, the firm has begun to install a new phone system that automatically forwards office calls to any phone, including employees’ home lines.’


Since being named in last year’s list, Arnold & Porter has hired a career development manager to counsel lawyers on career advancement, networking and work/life balance.


Managing partner James Sandman said: ‘We are grateful for this recognition. We try to provide a welcoming environment for working mothers, who are balancing complex workplace and family commitments.’


All new mothers at Arnold & Porter receive 12 weeks at full pay after the birth, while paternity leave is six fully paid weeks. There is no formal right to maternity leave in the US as in the UK – although companies have their own policies, US women usually have to use a combination of short-term disability leave, sick leave, holiday and unpaid family leave for time off after the birth.


The firm is also unusual in having an associate sitting on its management and other committees, while associates provide anonymous evaluations of partners once a year.


Arnold & Porter’s London office meanwhile helps with emergency childcare and provides a flexible work schedule for mothers, as well as the opportunity to work part-time.


However, a survey by Working Mother found that despite the growing popularity of compressed work weeks, job-shares, telecommuting and other workplace flexibility options, two out of three working mothers believe there is still a stigma attached to using flexitime options that their companies allow.