And the Golden Carrot goes to … CONSTANGY, BROOKS & SMITH

Reason nominated: Work-life balance practices

Who benefits: Attorneys and staff

Lesson that can be learned: Balanced approach makes for happier, healthier employees.

As its attorneys balance the scales of justice in a court of law, an Atlanta law firm helps its employees balance the scales of life at work and home.

In addition to subsidizing health club memberships and publishing health newsletters that foster physical soundness, Constangy, Brooks & Smith provides work-life policies to ensure that employees can better maintain mental and emotional health. Its flexible work arrangements, maternity and paternity leaves and moderate work hours are designed to reduce the kind of stress, fatigue and burnout typically associated with law firms.

Four weeks of paid paternity leave came in handy last year for Joe Murray.

On Dec. 19, Murray and his wife, Lynn, brought home a little bundle of joy for Christmas, and Murray spent four weeks wrapping and unwrapping baby Caleb.

“It was just fantastic,” said Murray, a labor and employment attorney who used the time to support his wife and smooth the transition for his 6-year-old son, Joshua. Murray also takes advantage of flexible hours to help with the demands of raising two small children.

Constangy also provides incentives and gifts, such as $300 gas cards distributed to staff members as fuel prices soared during the summer.

One of the cards came at a good time for Candace Langston, who was headed to Destin, Fla., to celebrate her mother’s 50th birthday. With fuel costs defrayed, Langston enjoyed the trip even more.

“I felt blessed,” said the marketing coordinator who said she was spending about $40 a week filling up her Honda Civic for the 20-mile trip to her office from Lithonia.

Making time to enjoy leisure activities such as exercise has always been important for managing partner Neil Wasser, who sets a good example by exercising five days a week. He lifts weights and trains on an elliptical device before or after work at a health club near his home.

“It’s good for my mental and physical health,” said Wasser, 53, who began exercising at 15 and says he can’t imagine what his body would look like if he did not work out regularly. It also generates the energy he needs to tackle busy workdays as head of the company his grandfather founded in 1946.

The company’s focus on overall wellness has served as a good recruitment and retention tool, too, he said.

“If you think you want the best people, you’re going to have to recognize flexibility in their lifestyles,” said Wasser, whose firm operates 18 offices nationwide and has more than 200 employees in Atlanta. Fifteen of its 30 Atlanta attorneys have been with the firm more than 10 years, and five of them have been there more than 20.

Constangy recognizes other companies that promote work-life balance in their respective fields through its Work-Life Balance Human Resource Initiative Award and a Corporate Counsel Department Work-Life Balance Award. The honors are bestowed annually to companies throughout the country.

WHO DESERVES A CARROT?

Better Health recognizes those organized efforts, large and small, that might inspire other groups to initiate their own programs. And we want to hear about them. Submit your Golden Carrot nominations to betterhealth@ajc.com.