A typical day at Varghese Summersett law firm in downtown Fort Worth includes the obvious: attorneys working on caseloads for criminal defense, family law and personal injury in their glass-wall offices. But just outside their sleek work areas, a 3-year-old “colleague” roams the halls and uses a space dedicated to him and other children. The 3-year-old, Case, is the youngest son of Anna Summersett and Benson Varghese, who founded the firm together 11 years ago. As their family of five has grown over the years, they’ve made a point to support their staff who are also working parents themselves. One way was by creating a nursery and playroom in the office where children of attorneys, like Case, have a spot to nap, play or do their homework while their parents work. In addition to creating the dedicated children’s room, the firm has received recognition for its parental leave policies and an offered benefit of a three-month Instacart membership for new parents to make grocery shopping and food delivery more convenient.
The firm also has a flexible work policy that allows staff to step out of the office to attend their child’s sports games or school events, as long as they’re able to finish their work duties in whatever manner works for them. “Aside from the fact that it’s part of our core value to support firm members and their families, I think it makes business and financial sense. Because in our experience, when you give people flexibility to never miss a kid event, they will go to bat for you in any circumstance,” Summersett said. “They will put in the extra time or the late-night work if they need to get something done, because there are some things we don’t ever get back. Loyalty, retention, work — all of it. I think that the family-friendly policies make sense.”
Varghese Summersett has been recognized by the Best Place for Working Parents for these policies. In 2022, it received the Micro Business Innovator Award from the national network of family-friendly businesses. The firm has an 89% retention rate and has grown its staff by 109% from 2021 to 2025, attributing these numbers in part to its workplace culture. At the firm’s main office in downtown Fort Worth, the children’s room has a crib with diapers and wipes, shelves of toys and books and a cozy gray chair for the adults. Space-themed prints decorate the walls with encouraging phrases like “the sky is the limit” and “to the moon and back.” On a recent Wednesday, Case played with colorful, interactive toys in the room before taking his sticker-covered race car for a drive throughout the halls of the seventh-floor office. The steering wheel of his mode of transportation was missing, but it didn’t stop him from finding his way around the labyrinth of corners of mom’s and dad’s workspace. The children’s room is used more so by children around 6 or younger, Summersett said, but older children are still welcome in the office. They usually hang out in their parents’ offices while passing the time on an iPad, for example. Kristen Carr, a senior associate in Varghese Summersett’s Family Law Division, said her two boys, 3 and 5, come to the office with her if they’re sick and unable to go to school. It’s common to see children around the office on a regular basis. Carr said she joined the firm after she had her children, and she wished she had the opportunity to take the three-month maternity leave that Varghese Summersett offers. She previously worked at a small, two-person firm where it was “fiscally impossible” to take an extended leave, Carr said.
“It was way harder at a smaller firm to take a real maternity leave. I went back to work the third Wednesday after I gave birth, and I was a C-section mom,” Carr said. “Not because my boss was anything but delightful and supportive, but because I didn’t have a support staff.” Carr, though, received accommodations after she joined Varghese Summersett while she was still breastfeeding postpartum. Figuring out where she could pump in the workplace was a stressful thought at first, as her glass-walled office didn’t provide much privacy. In Varghese Summersett’s previous work space, her bosses provided her with a separate room with a recliner chair and also gave Carr a personal fridge to store her milk. “That’s something I noticed the second I started working here. Even if the person before you didn’t need something, and you need something, they’re going to make accommodations, and they’re going to make sure you’re comfortable,” Carr said.
Looking forward, Summersett said the firm is looking to build upon its policies. It is exploring the possibility of providing financial assistance for in vitro fertilization, or IVF, to its staff, in addition to introducing an on-call nanny service on work days when staff might not be able to stay home with their child if they’re sick.
Sadie Funk, national director and co-founder of Best Place for Working Parents, called Varghese Summersett’s offerings unique. It shows that its leaders understand how to retain their top talent.
“They have a retention rate of 89%, which is incredible. They have a team that continues to grow year over year. And that really comes from their understanding that the ways they show up for their working parents really matter,” Funk said.
Funk also said she’s talked with hundreds of companies nationwide and had never heard of one offering an Instacart membership before encountering Varghese Summersett. It’s a policy that’s caught the attention of other business leaders when mentioned at roundtables and events, she said.
“It’s such an easy, tangible, affordable way to really support your parents, your working parents, during this transition,” Funk said.
