Daeryun Law Firm creates a family-friendly culture by guaranteeing paternity leave for men

Systematization of welfare systems such as spouse maternity leave... Overcome industry practices
All executives and employees, including male lawyers, freely use the welfare system
Daeryun CEO Kim Kuk-il “We plan to improve the system to ensure employee satisfaction”

Attorney Kim Tae-hwan of Daeryun Law Firm (Liuhan) started last summer with ‘childcare’ and ended with ‘childcare.’ Leaving behind the hectic daily commute to work, Attorney Kim personally prepared breakfast for his children every day. Bathing, walking, and reading books were also his duties. It was thanks to ‘childcare leave’ that such close care for children was possible. Attorney Kim said, “Previously, I only had time to take care of my children on weekends, but by taking leave, I was able to fully focus on raising children.” Attorney Daeryun Choi Ji-hoon, who went on maternity leave for her spouse three months ago, recalled the time when she first applied for leave. Due to the nature of my job as a lawyer, it was difficult to imagine being away from work for a week, so I was worried. Attorney Choi said, “It wasn’t actually easy to say that I was going to go on maternity leave when I wasn’t even giving birth myself.” However, the company's response was positive enough to make these concerns seem meaningless. He expressed his emotions, saying, “With a lot of help, I was able to be with my wife at the most important moment in my life, giving birth.”

Due to the somewhat conservative nature of the law firm industry, related welfare systems such as parental leave and spousal maternity leave are still often a mere pie in the sky for male lawyers. In fact, according to the 'Survey on Lawyers' Recruitment, Work, and Work-Family Balance' conducted by the Korean Bar Association last year, the proportion of male lawyers who were unable to use any maternity leave when their spouse gave birth reached 30%.

The period of use was also found to be short. As a result of a survey of male lawyers who used their spouse's maternity leave, the following order was found: 5 days or more (34.2%), 3 days (21.9%), 1 day (5.8%), and 4 days (1.9%). Although the spousal maternity leave guaranteed by the Act on Equal Employment Opportunity for Men and Women and Support for Work-Family Balance is 10 days, the industry consensus is that it is difficult to use in practice.

Unlike this industry atmosphere, Daeryun is actively operating a child care welfare system. Male lawyers who benefited from related policies agreed that they were able to focus on their families and childcare thanks to the corporation's family-friendly culture. Attorney Kim Tae-hwan, who returned to work after completing parental leave, emphasized, "The company actively encourages men to use the system, and my colleagues around me also take this for granted and are considerate, so I was able to take care of my children with peace of mind."

In addition, Daeryun also solved the economic problem that was the biggest obstacle to deciding to take parental leave. We are leading the way in operating ‘work from home during childcare’ for employees who are concerned about a decrease in income due to leave. A sustainable working environment has been created to enable employees to kill two birds with one stone: ‘childcare’ and ‘work.’

In this way, Daeryun, which is making various efforts to balance work and family, has established itself as a law firm that fulfills its social responsibilities.

Kim Kook-il, CEO of Management, said, “We plan to supplement the system to ensure the satisfaction of all executives and employees through continuous monitoring of related welfare systems such as childcare leave.”

Meanwhile, Daeryun is implementing various family-friendly policies in addition to childcare leave. Typically, it supports △leave due to miscarriage △shortened work hours during childcare period △and provision of work adaptation programs after returning to work.

[View full article] 

daily - Daeryun Law Firm creates a family-friendly culture by guaranteeing paternity leave for men (Click here)

legal newspaper - Daeryun Law Firm creates a family-friendly culture by guaranteeing paternity leave for men (Click here)