Munger, Tolles & Olson Increases Paid Parental Leave to 18 Weeks

Munger, Tolles & Olson announced on July 25, 2019 that, effective August 1, all attorneys will receive 18 weeks of paid parental leave. In addition, parents giving birth will receive an additional six to eight weeks of paid disability leave.

The updated policy expands the available paid leave, continues to treat time on leave as bonus-eligible, and eliminates a distinction between “primary” and “non-primary” caregivers.

“Munger, Tolles & Olson has long been a leader in family-friendly policies, and this benefit continues that tradition as one of the most generous policies among law firms,” says Munger, Tolles & Olson Co-Managing Partner Hailyn J. Chen. “We are committed to gender equity and proud to adopt this new policy because we recognize the importance of parental bonding time for our attorneys.”

Taking parental leave has not been a barrier to partnership at Munger, Tolles & Olson. The 2019 partnership class included three attorneys, Rose Leda Ehler, Laura K. Lin and Kuruvilla J. Olasa, who were on leave in the year leading up to making partner.

Munger, Tolles & Olson is widely recognized for its family-friendly policies. Its Los Angeles office has an on-site, subsidized child-care center, which the Los Angeles Downtown News has consistently recognized as the “Best Downtown Daycare.” When it opened in 2010, it was the first child-care center on the West Coast sponsored by a law firm.

The firm also provides subsidized back-up care for up to 20 days per year, per child. Munger, Tolles & Olson supports new parents through off-ramp and on-ramp mentoring, available part-time and flexible schedules, and benefits for nursing parents, including firm-sponsored breastmilk shipping through Milk Stork for work-related travel.