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MAKINGWORK "WORK"

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BAILEY LAW GROUP, PC
Legal Firm
Washington, DC (16 employees)

Kathy Bailey said flexibility isn't something she ever thought about when she founded the Bailey Law Group
eight years ago, but when two of her employees decided to move with their husbands to distant states,
Bailey retained them both. "They knew our main clients and understood their businesses inside and out,"
she said. Her focus is on client retention and growth, she explained. She believes flexibility is key to her com-
pany's revenues, which have tripled over the last eight years. For one thing, she said one of her relocated
lawyers has brought in a whole new portfolio of clients in her new region.

If Bailey is indifferent as to where her people work, she's equally unconcerned about how they schedule their
hours. Her Washington, DC firm specializes in environmental law, commercial real estate leasing and civil liti-
gation. Staff members are trusted to "work when they need to work," as Bailey put it. While the administra-
tive staff stay close to a regular schedule, others set their own time. "Our hours are 8:30 a.m. to 6 p.m., but
no one looks askance if someone comes in at 10 a.m.," she said. If people want to work at home, it's not a
problem. "People just communicate with each other to schedule meetings at convenient times, or we e-mail
each other back and forth."

Big city law firms are famous for killer hours stretching well into the night. At Bailey Law, however, it's not
unusual for parents to leave at two in the afternoon to pick up their children. One person moved to a part-
time schedule so she could be home every day with her kids after school. Her compensation has been pro-
rated, but her prospects with the firm have not been diminished.

As for the costs of flexibility, Bailey sees none. "Oh, we've put some equipment in people's homes," she
said, "but equipment is cheap. It's replacing people that's expensive."