In the spring of 2025, Sarah F. King, partner at Clifford Law Offices and an established Chicago medical malpractice attorney, led a two-week medical malpractice trial while eight months pregnant. The case involved the failure to diagnose a stroke in a single mother, resulting in permanent disabilities that forever altered the woman’s life and that of her children. Through preparation, resilience, and determined advocacy, King secured a $6.84 million verdict for her client, a result that reflected not only justice served but also the power of representation in the courtroom.
Just weeks later, Sarah King gave birth to her daughter. She was able to take three months of paid family leave, a benefit provided by the firm. That time allowed her to recover, bond with her child, and return to work with focus and energy, an opportunity many Illinois women do not have.
In an article for the Women’s Bar Association of Illinois (WBAI) 2025 Fall Newsletter titled “Why Illinois Must Pass Paid Family Leave: A Trial Lawyer’s Perspective,” King draws on her personal experience as both an attorney and a new mother to bring attention to the urgent need for paid family leave legislation across the state. In her piece, she explains how paid family leave is not only a matter of fairness but also a crucial step toward equality in the legal profession and beyond.
“Here’s the truth: I am the exception. Too many Illinois families cannot afford unpaid leave, and too many women lawyers and women across all professions are forced to step back from their careers or sacrifice precious family time.”
King connects her courtroom experience to a broader issue: the lack of paid family leave in Illinois and throughout the United States. The absence of guaranteed paid leave, she explains, affects gender equality, professional growth, and family well-being. Paid family leave is not a luxury; it is essential. It improves maternal and infant health outcomes, reduces employee turnover and associated business costs, strengthens family and community stability, and promotes workplace equality by supporting both mothers and fathers, and their families.
She also notes that paid family leave benefits both clients and the justice system itself. “Representation is not an abstraction,” she writes. “Having women trial lawyers present, especially in cases about women’s health and caregiving, changes the conversation, the perspective, and ultimately the outcome.”
The WBAI, founded more than a century ago to promote the interests and welfare of women lawyers, is advocating for the passage of the Illinois Paid Family and Medical Leave Insurance Program Act, which would establish a statewide system that ensures no family has to choose between a paycheck and caring for loved ones. The proposed legislation provides 12 weeks of paid family leave annually, plus nine additional weeks for pregnancy or childbirth recovery. It offers up to 90 percent wage replacement, capped at $1,200 per week, and covers both employees and self-employed individuals who opt in. The bill also includes leave for family care, childbirth, personal health, domestic or sexual violence, and military exigencies, along with job protection, continued health benefits, and anti-retaliation provisions. King explains that such a program would provide crucial support for attorneys and professionals at every stage of their careers, especially women who often face career disruption due to caregiving responsibilities.
Having previously served as Past President of the WBAI, King is a well-known advocate for women’s rights and an experienced legal champion for women and families facing birth injuries, medical inattention, and maternal mortality. Returning to the courtroom after her paid leave, she brought a renewed sense of purpose to advocate for her clients and for a system that supports working families. Her perspective reflects a shared mission to support women lawyers both in the workplace and beyond. Paid family leave, she writes, “is not simply an employee benefit; it is an investment in justice, equality, and the future of Illinois.”
Clifford Law Offices commends King for her leadership and dedication to catalyzing meaningful conversations surrounding equality, access to justice, and the empowerment of women in law.
To read her article in full, click here.