Paternity Leave.

Yes, I took paternity leave (and I'm not afraid to admit it).

I am a husband. I am a father. I am a lawyer. I am those three things in that order. Yet often times in the midst of dealing with clients and deadlines, I forget about the true order of my life priorities. That said, I have never been ashamed of my priorities.

In my nine years practicing law, I have never taken an entire week off from work. When I got married, I only took the Thursday and Friday off before my wedding. When I planned my honeymoon, I made sure to schedule it around the Christmas and New Year holiday when my office was closed. When my wife and I had our first son last year, I only took two days off from work.

So this past November when we had our second son, I decided it was time to actually take one full week away from the office and spend it with my family. I put up an out-of-office email message and left a message on my voicemail stating that I was on paternity leave. (I actually worked the entire week I was on "leave," simply working remotely).

While I fully expected to face a challenge having two boys who are only 14 months apart, I was not at all prepared to face the negative and condescending reaction to my use of the term "paternity leave" during my time off.

I was ridiculed by one counsel for openly admitting that I was on paternity leave. I was told by another attorney that putting paternity leave as a reason for being out of the office was a sign of weakness. And then, of course, I heard from multiple older attorneys that they were back in the office the same day their children were born. I'm fortunate to be part of a firm that doesn't feel this way. But I'm in the minority.

This was not a piece I ever thought I would write, but enough is...