As the Holiday season kicks into full gear, I find myself reflecting on how deeply intertwined my journey as a mother and my journey as a lawyer have always been– and how grateful I am for being able to be both a Mom and a lawyer.
For most of my career, I’ve lived in two worlds at once: a mother raising two children on my own, and a lawyer building a practice in a demanding field. Balancing those identities wasn’t always graceful. It meant late nights, early mornings, and an emotional negotiation I rarely spoke about at the time—the self-inflicted pressure to be “fully present” in both roles at all times.
In 2003, when I became a single mother of two toddlers, I made myself one promise: my kids would never look into an audience and not see me there. Every school play, every teacher conference, every award ceremony, every graduation—I would show up. Always.
That promise guided every career decision I made. I turned down roles that would have kept me in the office too late. I accepted lower-paying positions that allowed me to work one day each week from home—long before remote work was common—because being physically present for my children mattered more than any title.
Today, with grown children and a thriving legal practice, I see those choices more clearly. They weren’t sacrifices. They were investments—into my family, my values, and ultimately, the kind of lawyer and mother I wanted to be.
I’m grateful that my path didn’t require me to choose between being a mother and being a lawyer. It simply taught me how to do both with purpose and I am so incredibly thankful for that.
