By Lesli Love 

Are you married?  Do you have kids?  Do all of your high school and college friends have kids?  If you’re a young female lawyer, your answers may well be “No,” “No,” “Yes.”   If that means you don’t fit in with your non-lawyer friends, you should know that you’re not alone.  A lot of other young women lawyers are in the same boat. 

According to a publication from an ongoing study called After the JD, comparisons between the 2000 Census and a study of young lawyers conducted in 2004 show that young women lawyers aren’t as likely to be married and definitely aren’t as likely to be mommies as their non-lawyer peers.   According to the 2000 Census, 59% of women ages 27-32 are married.  Among female lawyers ages 27-32, 47% are married.  That somewhat smaller percentage comes with a plus – only 7% of the female lawyers in that age group are divorced compared with 12% of the general female population at that age. 

A more striking difference is that among women ages 27-32, 64% have at least one child.  Only 24% of female lawyers in the age range have any children.  The next U.S. census will be released in less than a year and we’ll see if the disparity is the same.   

Will you still be the only one at your 10-year reunion without kids?