When Chicago lawyer Lee Muench was planning his paternity leave for his first baby, an offhanded comment by an old-school partner got under his skin.

Muench had asked around about how long other partners and associates took off for paternity leave. The firm as a whole was receptive to leave, but one partner told Muench that he wouldn’t know what to do with himself after a couple of days, and his wife would want him out of the house.

The meaning was clear to Muench: Come back to work soon. Although the firm’s policy allowed 10 weeks, he decided to take four weeks off, feeling he was pushing the boundaries.

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(This story published on law.com on May 30, 2017. You can read it online with a subscription or download a PDF.)