Balancing the pitter patter of little feet with the client at your doorstep

"While it is not easy, it is possible to have a rewarding legal career while being a good mom to a little one." That was one of the words of encouragement given by Christine Spinella Davis in her article, "Top 10 Issues that All Young Women Lawyers Should Know: Practical Tips for Balancing a Legal Career and First-Time Motherhood: One Woman’s Experiences and Perspective."

In trying to strive for balance and a sense of sanity, Davis offers the following advice:

• Find a reliable caretaker, and arrange for backup childcare.
• Devote time each week to your child. "Even if you have to physically mark the ’playdate‘ on your calendar, identify periods to set aside for you and your child."
• Look to the week ahead and prepare for it. Do things like develop menus and even do advance cooking where plausible. "I keep a simple dry-erase board on the refrigerator to track meetings and appointments."
• Accept help, and make other family members pull their own weight.

Perhaps one of the hardest things to remember may be the following tip: "Don’t let what anyone else thinks bother you." As Davis reminds us, "We shouldn’t judge other people and they shouldn’t be judging us – so don’t even give it a second thought."

And in between tracking doctor’s appointments, packing up lunches and striving for some quality time with the family, Davis’ final point may be more important than any of the rest. That is to "set aside time for yourself."

This article is part of the Young Lawyers Division's 101 Practice Series: Breaking Down the Basics. The online resource covers basic training in both substantive and practical aspects of law practice. With over 170 quick tips and tools, this series is an essential resource for lawyers in their first three years of practice and is exclusively available to ABA members

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