Part Time Lawyering?

At Concurring Opinions Nate Oman writes:

Recently one of my students asked me a question that I am embarrassed to say I don’t know the answer to. Maybe there isn’t one. She explained to me that she would like to work someplace for four or five years, and then go to working part time in order to start a family with her husband. Did I know of any fields of law or career paths which would be more accommodating to these goals? Sadly, I had to confess that my practical exposure to the profession was basically limited to the bill-hundreds-and-hundreds-of-hours-until-you-make-partner
-and-then-bill-hundreds-and-hundreds-more-hours career track. By and large, I enjoyed working at my firm. My colleagues were on the whole pleasant, intelligent, and decent people. On the other hand, I don’t know that I can in good faith advise my student that she ought to head to K Street to achieve her goals …

The comments that follow offer suggestions. I think Patent drafting and prosecution, and possibly some kinds of Trademark related law jobs offer fairly good part time potential. Any litigation heavy practice would be tough to do part time, though.

–Ann Bartow, via Susan Franck