In a groundbreaking move for workplace benefits within the legal sector, Essex County-headquartered law firm Lowenstein Sandler LLP has enacted a pioneering parental leave policy offering dedicated extended paid time off for families with infants requiring stays in Neonatal Intensive Care Units (NICUs).
Under the firm’s new benefit framework, employees whose newborns require an extended stay in a NICU can receive an extension of paid parental leave directly proportional to the length of the hospitalization, providing up to eight additional weeks of fully paid leave.
The policy addresses a long-standing challenge faced by working parents in demanding corporate environments: exhausting traditional parental leave while an infant is hospitalized, leaving little to no paid time remaining to care for and bond with the child once they are finally brought home.
The national law firm—which was founded in Newark in 1961 and maintains a prominent presence in Roseland alongside offices nationwide—developed the policy through internal grassroots advocacy.
The concept originated within Lowenstein’s Women’s Initiative Network (WIN), an internal affinity group dedicated to advancing women lawyers professionally and personally. Earlier this year, members of WIN identified the critical gap in traditional parental leave structures and brought the proposal to Donatella Verrico, Lowenstein’s Chief People Officer. Verrico championed the measure to the firm’s Operating Committee, which approved the proposal without hesitation.
“This policy reflects something we believe strongly: NICU families deserve the best possible support during an extraordinarily difficult and uncertain time,” Donatella Verrico, chief people officer at Lowenstein, said. “We’re proud to formalize that support for all members of our community as a continuation of Lowenstein’s longstanding commitment to working parents.”
Lowenstein’s leadership emphasized that the policy acknowledges a fundamental distinction: time spent navigating medical care in a hospital setting is vastly different from time spent bonding with a newborn at home.
“Supporting our people through major life events is part of who we are and is embedded in so many of our core values, from being boldly innovative to purposefully connected to generous by nature,” Jonathan C. Wishnia, managing partner of Lowenstein, said. “When WIN identified a need, our Operating Committee was thrilled at their ingenuity and provided support without hesitation.”
With over 400 attorneys across major U.S. business markets, Lowenstein Sandler becomes one of the first major law firms in the country to formalize explicit, paid leave extensions for NICU stays.
Policy highlights:
- Targeted Extension: Extends paid parental leave proportional to the infant’s NICU stay.
- Maximum Benefit: Provides up to 8 additional weeks of fully paid leave beyond standard allowances.
- Eligibility: Formalized for all firm personnel facing infant hospitalizations.
By allowing parents to preserve their standard bonding leave until after their newborn is discharged, the firm aims to relieve acute stress for families during unexpected medical crises while establishing a new benchmark for family-first workplace culture in New Jersey’s legal community.
