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Sabbaticals
While it may seem far off to a young lawyer, it's good to know now that the firm's commitment to you having a whole life will continue even after you reach partner. Holland & Hart was one of the first firms in the country to create a meaningful sabbatical program. Each partner takes off three months at full pay every five years throughout the course of his/her career.
"There’s a big difference between a vacation and a sabbatical," says partner Boots Ferguson. "With a vacation, you merely postpone work or delegate the maintenance of it and stack your projects to the side. With a sabbatical, you clear the desk and forget about it."
Admittedly, a few other firms do have sabbatical programs. But ours is different. We actually take our sabbaticals, we don't just talk about them. In fact, the social pressure to take a break and renew your professional juices is almost an imperative. Even Scott Barker, while he was Chair of the firm, spent three months touring Europe with his family. He left another member of the management committee to cover for him.
A favorite topic of conversation at H&H partner lunches is "what I did on my last sabbatical." Here’s what some partners have to say.
Ask around. You'll be hard-pressed to find an H&H partner who doesn't regularly take advantage of this program. And while you're at it, ask what they did. You'll hear more pretty amazing stories.