“Working from home can be an amazing experience if it is planned correctly—and an unmitigated disaster if it’s not. More importantly, if handled incorrectly there can be a lot of friction in your home. Why? Because, while your spouse and kids go off to work and school to then come home to their “sanctuary,” you are carefully and thoughtfully converting your sanctuary into a work space for a finite number of hours each day. This is a major psychological challenge.

I have worked from home for more than a decade, so it’s fair to say I have a pretty good idea of what works and what doesn’t; what lines to draw and what lines not to draw to keep you sane and your work time and space respected by your family.”

“We all make mistakes in real life. And real life includes our law practice. Most mistakes will not be fatal to our current job, let alone our future career. They may, however, erode confidence—not just our confidence in ourselves, but also the confidence others place in us. This is not necessarily right or fair. But, particularly in law firms, it is inevitable. Law firms worry about malpractice, losing cases and, worse, losing clients. They also weed out lawyers. Partners reviewing young associates and non-equity partners are asked: Has she got what it takes? Can you rely on her? Mistakes figure prominently in the answer.

The truth is this: How we handle our mistakes counts as much, if not more, than the mistakes themselves. This is especially true for women lawyers in law firms.”

“As far back as elementary school, I dreamed of going to law school and becoming a lawyer. As far as I knew, none of my school friends was even remotely interested in the law or becoming a lawyer. Years later, after gradu-ating from law school and while working as a young lawyer at a firm on the East Coast of Florida, my best friend since high school called me and, quite unexpectedly, said, “I am thinking of going to law school!” Fast-forward three and half years and my best friend’s law school graduation was scheduled for a Saturday afternoon on the West Coast of Florida. My husband (who is also a lawyer) and I were both working on the East Coast and had made plans, along with my mother, to attend graduation and the after-party at her home.

A few days before the graduation, the head of the firm at which I worked announced that he was planning a Saturday meeting that required the attendance of all attorneys. … Much of the meeting would revolve around pending cases on which I had never worked and which were not part of my caseload.

My heart fell into my feet. The meeting was scheduled on the day of my best friend’s law school graduation and I did not want to miss it.”

“My journey to law school was peculiar. I was three months away from graduating college with a bachelor’s degree in sociology and religion and had no post-graduation plan. My heart was in the music industry, and one night a musician friend’s comment gave me this notion: I should go to law school so I can protect all the cute band boys from the mean industry people who would take advantage of them.

Sure, what else would a teenager think? The friend’s comment came on a Wednesday. I conferred with my parents when I saw them that Saturday, and the LSAT was the next week. I knew no lawyers, and I didn’t know what the LSAT was or what law school was. I thought it was a trade school of sorts. Although he denied it later, on first pronouncement, my father was understandably less than happy with this whimsical, expensive idea. He quickly came around, but I realized I didn’t really know what I was getting myself into. When I pondered to my father, “What if it’s not right for me?” he said, “Go. If you don’t like it, leave.”

“The practice of law is a skill, and like most skills, takes many years and experience to develop excellence. To develop competency in any field of law takes less time and less experience. There is a reason why we attorneys call what we do the “Practice.” The Practice demands keeping at it, day-in and day-out; demands research, inquiry, and seeking answers and solutions from others; requires personal and professional examination; learning from one’s mistakes; and pursuing excellence. We begin our career attending law school where we are taught the intellectual exercises of thinking logically, rationally, and reasonably; understanding legal constructs and concepts, and developing research skills. Law school gives one critical knowledge and exposure. It does not give you competency. For that, you must step out after your degree and begin somewhere to practice law, with the building blocks developed in law school.”

“Why did you become a lawyer? I became a lawyer because I wanted a career, not a job. I wanted the fellowship provided by a profession. I wanted the opportunity to grow throughout my working life and to be intellectually challenged throughout. I wanted flexibility to remake myself, if I wanted, by pursuing new areas of interest. I wanted the security of knowing that I could always earn enough to support myself and my family. I wanted the power of knowledge and the skills to effect positive change for people and our community. After 25 years, I am grateful that I picked the right path for me.

It was not always easy. As the saying goes, “The law is a jealous spouse.” The demands of a legal career require a delicate balancing act that can tip in dangerous directions. If one is not careful and constantly recalibrating, personal health and relationships can suffer. Reflecting back, there are a few words of advice I can offer based on personal experiences.”

“Life is hard, yet success is harder. To succeed risks must be taken. Even when things go right and everything seems easy, those triumphs are often built on a foundation of failures, gambles, and numerous headaches. Part of taking risks is to accept and embrace failure. Fear did not stop Neil Armstrong from walking on the moon, nor did 1,000 failures prevent Thomas Edison from creating the light bulb. I admit I am always looking for the secret formula to triple my revenue and client base; ultimately, I am reminded, by those who have paved the way ahead of me, that I already possess the “secret.”

The secret to my solo practice and business success is working on my business versus in my business. The key component of working on my business is developing meaningful contacts with business executives. As an introvert, this is not fun, yet I push through it and I have enjoyed the rewards.”

“There’s a meme that floats around the fitness world to the effect of, “A good workout takes one hour. That’s 4% of your day. No excuses.” When I first read that, my cynical self actually did the math. Was that even right? Turns out it is, and pretty obviously so, but I had never thought about it in that way. I decided I deserved 4% of my day! I was worth it! And 4% was small! It didn’t sound selfish or luxurious or even hard to achieve! Let’s do it! Here I go! I vowed to run for an hour or enjoy that time sitting on my deck with a great book when Ohio weather allows. I vowed to do it every day.

The more I tried, the more I realized it was not as easy as that meme suggested. And that made me realize the full extent of my self-neglect.”

“As women in the legal profession, we are everything to everyone. Counselors, managers, mothers, partners, lovers, and leaders. We work at full pace from the time we wake up in the morning until we close our eyes. Even our weekend mornings are ever-filled with duties and commitments as we head off to our tennis matches, take the kids to soccer, or volunteer at our church or temple. We are always organizing, moving, and producing. The same is true for me in my business and law practice. For the past 18 years I’ve been focused on grinding out more work and growing my business, and it’s paid off in tangible successes. What I haven’t done, however, is slow it down. I’ve never been well-suited to a slow pace. I’m a grinder. Nonetheless, I have found my insistence on pushing forward actually works against me. Sometimes one needs to simply slow down to allow our brain to make the necessary connections. It is in these slower periods of relaxation or meditation that the best ideas and connections often come.”

“I was never supposed to be a lawyer. For as long as I can remember, I wanted to be a doctor. I went to university and studied life sciences: microbiology, chemistry, physiology, virology, pharmacology, and anatomy. In my third year, when my classmates were madly applying to medical schools, I had an epiphany. I loved the science (except organic chemistry), but I hated the competition and pressure. The thought of spending another few years competing against the same people to get into medical school, and then competing with them for another four years to get through medical school, was entirely unappealing. So, what should I do with my B.Sc.? Why not law school? No competition there, right?”