How to Find an Employment Lawyer to Help with Pregnancy Discrimination

In 2011, pregnant with my first child, I suddenly found myself completely shut out by the Wall Street investment bank I worked for.  When I Googled “employment lawyer NYC,” I found shady characters with big, blinking CALL NOW buttons emblazoned on their websites.  They looked like the employment law equivalent of ambulance chasers -- and definitively not who I would want representing me to the Swiss investment bank I worked for.  Ultimately, when push came to shove and I was looking at arbitration, I found someone through a family friend, but that was more than six months after the whole ordeal started.  If I’d had a good attorney to advise me early on, I could have seen an entirely different outcome.

Initiating conversations with a lawyer does not mean you’re escalating the conflict: you can get advice from a lawyer without your employer ever knowing you’ve retained someone.  I know it can feel scary to acknowledge (even just to yourself!) that you may want to consider legal action, but getting a professional opinion early on can help insulate your reputation and your paycheck.

If you don’t have a personal recommendation, these organizations can help you find a local attorney with expertise in pregnancy discrimination.

 

 

 

For more on finding the right employment lawyer, order a copy of Here’s the Plan: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood.

 

Want more? Order Here's the Plan: Your Practical, Tactical Guide to Advancing Your Career During Pregnancy and Parenthood on Amazon.

 

For many women in their 20's and 30's, the greatest professional hurdle they'll need to overcome has little to do with their work life. The most focused, confident, and ambitious women can find themselves derailed by a tiny little thing: a new baby. Here's the Plan offers an inspiring roadmap for working mothers steering their careers through the parenting years. Author Allyson Downey—founder of weeSpring, the “Yelp for baby products,” and mother of two young children—advises readers on all practical aspects of ladder-climbing while parenting, such as negotiating leave, flex time, and promotions.