Sofía Velasco Martínez (Ourense, 1992) faces the fortieth week of pregnancy with her head and heart focused on July 29, the probable date of delivery. Amid her expectations for the unmatched moment of meeting her first daughter, she cannot help but think these days of other times: the deadlines for submitting documents and appeals – which do not wait – in the legal proceedings where she works as a lawyer.
Active since 2021 in the office she shares with her mother and previously with her father – who passed away in 2022 – Sofía is experiencing firsthand the difficulties of reconciliation that in some sectors and professions, like hers, become incredibly steep challenges.
The life of a self-employed lawyer forces Sofía to continue in the office every day, although since the beginning of this month, she only goes in the mornings. “Deadlines do not wait”, she emphasizes. With the help of her fellow lawyers and the good empathy she has felt in the courts of Ourense – she appreciates – she envisioned a calm time to focus on her daughter after the birth, with the assistance of her husband.
Until a court in Llanes (Asturias) set a civil hearing for July 29, the same day that Velasco is due to give birth. The lawyer submitted a medical report from Sergas, requested the postponement until after her maternity leave, and also asked for the possibility to intervene via videoconference.
“Even if I have a natural birth without complications, barely a month will have passed to make a five-hour car trip there and another five back.”
The Asturian court agreed to change the date, but it did so because the professional had other trials scheduled earlier, not because they took her personal situation into account. Since civil trials and non-urgent matters do not take place in August, they could not establish the date before September 1. Nonetheless, the rescheduled date, for the 2nd of that month, will still coincide with her postpartum recovery period, even if the birth is not delayed.
Sofía Velasco working in her office this Monday. / ALAN PÉREZ
The change of the trial date does not include a response to the request for videoconference that the lawyer has made several times already. From Ourense to Llanes, there are about 440 kilometers by road. “Since December 2023, there has been the possibility to intervene electronically as long as the means are available and it does not interfere with the process. In this case, there are medical reasons, because I don’t know how my recovery will be, and even if I have a natural birth without complications, barely a month will have passed to make a five-hour car trip there and another five back,” explains the lawyer.
If the Llanes court does not agree to the videoconference – although ideally it would be a postponement for later, to be able to focus exclusively on her daughter in the weeks following the birth – the alternative would be for Sofía to pay for the services of a fellow lawyer in Asturias, or for the client to bear the cost, with the inconvenience of changing legal representatives just before the trial.
Sofía Velasco reviewing a file in her office. / ALAN PÉREZ
“The suspension of deadlines during Christmas, from December 22 to January 6, was a step forward, but on the other hand, they are not interrupted for maternity or for a death. It is necessary to establish a protocol because reconciliation depends on the good faith of judges and colleagues,” notes Sofía Velasco.
In the Young Lawyers Association of Ourense, of which this lawyer is a member of the board, reconciliation is one of the challenges and demands of the new professionals’ group. About to become a first-time mother and despite still managing the work routine at this stage of her pregnancy, Sofía looks to the imminent future with hope and enthusiasm, but aware of the challenge. “My husband closed his business to make reconciliation easier. With support from family and work, I will organize myself,” she trusts.
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