Tag Archive for: balancing career and family

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Spotlight on Flex – Diane Crabtree, Bracewell

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

July 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our July Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Diane Crabtree, Counsel, in Bracewell’s Houston office.

 

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How has the firm and/or your clients contributed to this?

Diane Crabtree: I began working at Bracewell in the litigation group after graduating from law school in 2004.  My career path has been far from traditional at a big law firm.  After the birth of my first child in 2007, I initially took a leave of absence to stay home with my daughter.  Although I cherished this time at home, after a year I started to crave intellectual stimulation and decided to return to work.  I was thrilled when Bracewell welcomed me back and offered me several potential flexible arrangements.  I decided on a 75% reduced budget arrangement and maintained this schedule for several years.  After trying a couple of different schedules, I found that I prefer to work every day but to leave at 4 p.m. to be home for dinner and after-school events. 

Most clients don’t even realize that I work part-time on my schedule.  My son was born in 2010 and I was able to take an extended leave after his birth.  When my family moved farther outside of the city several years later, I decided to stay at home again while my kids were still young.  After three years away, I returned to Bracewell in 2017 on the same reduced-budget schedule.  Now that my kids are older, I have much more flexibility to work more hours when needed and then take extended time off.  I am thankful that my firm has been so supportive of my choices over the years and has allowed me to forge my own path.

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Spotlight on Flex – Maryam Casbarro, Davis Wright Tremaine

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

June 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our June Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Maryam Casbarro, Associate, Davis Wright Tremaine

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How have the firm and clients contributed to this?

Maryam Casbarro: I formally started working a flex schedule in January of this year. It was brought about by life circumstances. In October of 2019 I found out that my baby would be born with special needs. We anticipated that she would have significant medical needs going into 2020, but of course we didn’t anticipate there would also be a pandemic! So I had a conversation with the chair of my practice on what work would look like returning from maternity leave with my baby still in the hospital.

She said I could come back on whatever schedule worked for me, and the firm would be completely flexible with my hours. At that time, my schedule wasn’t formalized so I would just take on projects that my personal life allowed. Then in September of 2020 I decided to come back full time. There was a very stark difference between working a pseudo flex schedule without a formal agreement to working full time. It quickly became apparent that life had shifted and it was not realistic for me to maintain a full-time schedule.

I spoke to the partner who oversees flexible working schedules and she walked me through what life would look like on a formal reduced hour schedule and what other attorneys had done in the past. She talked me through the process and explained that people had become partner on a reduced-hours schedule. That was something that was important to me because I didn’t want my career to be derailed by trying to accommodate the realities of my new life. So in January I formerly started to work an 80% reduced-hours schedule.

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Spotlight on Flex – Abigail B. Molitor, Sidley Austin

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

May 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our May Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Abigail B. Molitor, Associate in the Chicago Office of Sidley Austin, LLP.

 

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How have the firm and/or clients contributed to this?

Abigail Molitor: I’ve worked a flexible schedule for nearly the entire time I’ve been at Sidley.  I had my first child a few months after starting at the firm, and I returned from parental leave to an 80% reduced hours schedule. I’ve maintained that same schedule in the years since and through the birth of my second child. Over that time, I’ve found that the key to success is to periodically review and adjust how I organize my schedule within that general 80% framework.  There have been times, particularly when my kids were very small, when it has been very important for me to manage the number of hours I worked in a day to accommodate other responsibilities.  There have been other times, as my kids have gotten a bit older, where I have greater capacity to dig into more intense periods of work, then balance out my hours with longer periods of time off. In either case, I try to be intentional and thoughtful about the demands of my cases and the needs of my family to figure out how best to fit those puzzle pieces together.  And, if I’ve learned anything in the past few years, the shape of the puzzle is constantly changing.

Sidley’s flexible work policies provided the foundation for me to create a schedule that works for me, and the partners in my group have truly committed to helping make that schedule successful in practice. Because I adopted a flexible schedule early in my career, I’ve worked closely with group leadership and key mentors to be thoughtful about the cases and work opportunities I take on to ensure that I develop necessary skills, management experience, and leadership opportunities to grow in my career over the long-term.

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Spotlight on Flex – Margaux Trammell

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

April 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our April Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Margaux Trammell, Director of Professional Development, Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: Please tell us a little about your background. When did you begin working a reduced hours schedule? 

Margaux Trammell: I began my legal career in Switzerland before earning my LLM in American and comparative law and J.D. from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law in the U.S. I joined Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck over 15 years ago as a second-year corporate associate, where my practice focused on outside general counsel representation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, corporate reorganizations and finance matters. I became a shareholder at the firm in due course shortly after welcoming my first child.

Prior to my maternity leave with my second son, I approached our co-managing partners and CEO at the time about potentially enrolling in our reduced-work schedule that nobody was taking advantage of at the time. During those discussions, I wanted to make sure they knew that even though I was going to be working reduced hours, I still wanted to be fully committed to the deals I was working on and to be involved in the success of the firm. I still wanted to take an active role, and wanted to make sure that my part-time status wouldn’t sideline my involvement in firm initiatives and client work.

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Spotlight on Flex – Rachel Janger

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

March 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our March Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Rachel Janger, Senior Counsel, O’Melveny.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How has the firm and/or clients contributed to this?

Rachel Janger: I began working at O’Melveny in 1999 after my post-law school clerkship. I was full-time until 2007 when I had my second child and then transitioned to a 75% reduced hour schedule. A few years later in 2010, I requested a leave of absence to stay home with my kids. The firm agreed to my request. Once my older child was in elementary school, I asked if I could return to O’Melveny at an even further reduced-hours schedule. At that time, I believe this type of request was very rare in the industry, but it was helpful that I have a particular expertise in my area of law. O’Melveny was very accommodating and has always supported my reduced-hour schedule.

My reduced-hour arrangement works because I don’t take on more work than I am capable of fitting into my schedule but I also make sure that I’m available for our clients and colleagues when they need me. So, I work every day but I have more flexibility during my day.   My guess is that some of my clients may not know that I’m on a reduced-hour schedule because I make my schedule work for them.

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Spotlight on Flex – Chelsea Witte-Garcia, PhD

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

February 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our February Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Chelsea Witte-Garcia, PhD, Associate, Wolf Greenfield. 

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How has the firm and/or clients contributed to this?

Chelsea Witte-Garcia: I joined Wolf Greenfield seven and a half years ago in the firm’s Technology Specialist Training Program. As part of this program, I went to evening law school and was working an 80% schedule. I had done a full PhD program prior to joining the firm and had my first child during law school, so I had been extremely busy and was dealing with being a new parent. Once I took the bar exam and became an Associate, I knew I needed some flexibility. Instead of transitioning to a full-time Associate schedule, I moved to a 90% reduced hour schedule. While a 10% reduction in billable hours may not seem like a lot, to me it alleviated a lot of billing pressure and allowed time for other non-billable activities. Having that slight reduction in my annual billable hours frees up time for a personal break as well as other work-related activities such as business development, writing, or presenting at firm training sessions.

Wolf Greenfield, and in particular the Biotechnology Practice Group, has been at the forefront of appreciating flexibility. We had the opportunity to set up a home office long before COVID 19. The leadership really understood that not everyone wants the traditional career path. I’ve really appreciated that they’ve put a lot of time and investment in training individuals and they see your value, even if the day-to-day looks a bit different.

In a client-driven industry, there are always times when our jobs are unpredictable. I’m committed to being accessible and adaptable, particularly when there’s an urgent client need. I think clients appreciate that. We also leverage a very talented team of people that can pull together to meet clients’ needs. This can also be a valuable training opportunity for junior group members.

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Spotlight on Flex – Gracie Mills

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

January 2021 Spotlight on Flex

For our January Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Gracie Mills, Associate at Finnegan.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule? How has the firm and/or clients contributed to this?

Gracie Mills: I officially began working an 80% reduced hours schedule after the birth of my second son in December of 2019. When he was born I tried to maintain 100% billable hours but I found that I kept coming up short. Something was always cropping up and I felt like I was slipping further behind from my billable goal and getting stressed about it. It’s been wonderful since I officially went to 80% because now I am able to bill slightly fewer hours each day and it gives me a little more breathing room.

Finnegan has an excellent free-market system that allows me to select projects where I feel I can be successful on an 80% schedule. Each time a new project comes before me I can realistically look at it through a new lens and decide if it’s a good match for me. The firm has a very supportive culture and provides two types of reduced hour opportunities – 60% and 80% – to meet everyone’s needs. By not requiring fixed hours, Finnegan allows me to be more flexible and work when it fits my schedule. Flexibility is encouraged at Finnegan and there is no stigma associated with working a reduced hours schedule. There are also a great variety of projects to choose from which allows me to develop a diverse practice even within the confines of part time.

DFA: How has working flexibly made your career more sustainable and contributed to business development opportunities?

GM: When I was full-time, I felt like I was a B- attorney and a B- mom. I didn’t have enough time to do everything I wanted to do at the office or at home. Now that I am at 80% I can meet my billable hours and be an A+ Attorney, while also being the mom I want to be. When I was 100% I didn’t have an extra minute in my day beyond meeting my billable hours. Now I have the breathing room in my day and can devote much more time to new business development.

DFA: Looking back, would you do anything differently, or what would you tell your first year associate self?

GM: I would tell first year associates to focus on making a good first impression with everyone you meet while you have the bandwidth to do so. Build relationships during your first year and you will be known as someone who is responsive and reliable. Your reputation will continue to pay dividends throughout your career. Use your earlier years, when you may not yet have a family, to get all the opportunities and experiences you can under your belt, especially those that might require travel and longer hours.

I intend to spend my whole career at Finnegan and this is just a small chunk of my life, and I know I will go back to 100% at some point.

DFA: How do you recharge, and how do you pay it forward?

GM: I recharge by relaxing with my kids. I am now on maternity leave after recently having my third baby boy! I love to spend time with my family and enjoy just hanging out with my kids. A perfect Saturday for me is walking to the park and getting a sandwich as a family.

I feel very blessed to be working at a firm that allows me so much flexibility. I am also grateful to have the world’s most wonderful nanny. Our nanny makes it possible for me to have the career I love without feeling like I’m short-changing my children. My nanny also recently went on maternity leave and now she brings her daughter to work with her. Sometimes I am able to watch her daughter now that I’m home on maternity leave. We have a wonderful symbiotic relationship where we’re all working together to make it work. We call it “tandem families” – but we get a lot more back from her!

DFA: Has the pandemic impacted your flexible working schedule? 

GM: The pandemic has actually been really good for my flexible working schedule and family life. With everyone working remotely, there is now no stigma associated with being at home. Not having to commute has also been incredible for me as now I’m able to have breakfast with my kids and drop them off at pre-school. The pandemic has also made many more opportunities more feasible for me. Whereas a deposition would have required three days away from my family, now there is no travel and I can take a deposition from home.

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If you are a professional working a flexible schedule and would like to share your story in an upcoming Spotlight on Flex, contact Jane Caldeira.

 

 

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Spotlight on Flex – Tessa Mielke

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

 

October 2020 Spotlight on Flex

For our October Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Tessa Mielke Partner, Dorsey & Whitney (Minneapolis, MN)

 

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule?

Tessa Mielke: I graduated from law school in 2010 when the legal world seemed to be upside down (though it was certainly less crazy than now!). Because of the Great Recession, I had the opportunity to spend a year working at Harvard Law School’s transactional law clinic before transitioning to a full time associate role in the tax group in the Boston office of Ropes & Gray. In 2013, my husband started his medical residency in Minneapolis; I left Ropes and started at Dorsey & Whitney in their tax, trusts and estates group. I was working a typical full time associate schedule, but reevaluated my work schedule in 2015 after my first child was born. She had a few health concerns, including needing major surgery on her skull (she’s fine now!). I decided to reduce my hours so I could take my daughter to her numerous medical appointments without worrying about the hours I was missing at work.

I switched to an 80% reduced hours schedule with the intention of ramping back up to full time once we were done with my daughter’s medical appointments. But once that time came and things settled a bit more, I realized that I really appreciated the flexibility of a reduced hours schedule. I still came into the office every day, but I worked shorter hours and could take more vacation days (or sick days to care for my daughter or myself when we inevitably got sick the first few years) while still meeting my work obligations. The result was that both work and my family life were more sustainable.

After about a year and half of working a reduced hours schedule, I decided to increase my hours to 85% to match the hours I’d been putting in while maintain a schedule that worked for me and my family. I’ve been on this schedule ever since. It’s been wonderful, and working a flex schedule has not impeded my career trajectory at all. While working reduced hours, I was promoted to income partner in January 2018 and then to equity partner a year later (even though the typical progression is three to five years from income to equity).

Now with everyone working from home almost exclusively, “coming into the office” is quite different. I’ve still been working shorter hours to meet my family obligations, but I’ve also started using my flex schedule to take one day a month off for self-care and personal projects. This new way of incorporating flexible work has really helped continue to keep my work schedule sustainable.

DFA: How have the firm and/or clients contributed to your Flex Success®?

TM: The firm has clearly been on board with my flex success journey – the biggest example has been with my partnership progression. My practice is really conducive to flex; I work with several clients and on several projects at any given time, which makes it easier to work on fewer matters and still give clients the highest level of service.

My practice group has also been very supportive. We’ve coordinated to make sure my flex schedule works for everyone. For example, my husband is a frontline worker in the hospital, and when the pandemic started, I worried about potentially exposing my colleagues and clients. I stopped coming into the office before the firm mandated teleworking, but I still had matters that required in person signings. Without hesitation, my partners stepped in to oversee those meetings. The point is, pandemic or not, we all work together and support each other.

DFA: How has working flexibly made your career more sustainable and contributed to business/professional development opportunities?

TM: I’m able to provide the same high caliber work and service to the firm and clients because of flexibility. I can work at a pace that doesn’t overshadow my personal goals and family commitments. My flexible schedule has also allowed me to participate in business development opportunities that I wouldn’t have had time for if I was billing at 100%. I’ve been able to expand my professional development with internal clients, too. For example, Dorsey’s Women Attorneys with Children affinity group has been a great source of connecting with other attorneys in the firm with shared experiences. We understand the need for flex and can mentor one another.

DFA: Looking back, would you do anything differently, or what would you tell your younger self?

TM: I would tell myself to not be as nervous about expressing what I need. I worried that people would think I wasn’t as committed by working reduced hours at first. The mentality is quite the opposite though; it’s because I am so committed and want to excel, I knew I had to reduce my hours. I knew I wouldn’t be able to give 100% to the firm, my clients, and my family by working full time. I think it’s important to make it very clear with your colleagues from the beginning that you’re still just as committed to your work. People are understanding and receptive when you take the time to have a real discussion.

I would also be better about periodically reevaluating what my needs are. I used to look for the “answer” on how to balance work and life. But I’ve realized there is no answer that works for everyone or even an answer that works for one person for their entire career. That’s why you need to check-in with yourself on what’s working and what’s not on a regular basis. If it’s not working, then try something else. That’s been especially true for me during this pandemic.

DFA: How do you recharge, and how do you pay it forward?

TM: I’ve learned I need to spend time outside – walk, run, take bike rides – anything that gets me moving in the fresh air. It’s a mental break, and I can shift gears from focusing on work and parenting to focusing on being present. I like to knit too, and have been knitting since law school! I want to keep learning new things, and working on new, complicated knitting patterns helps me relax and refocus.

I pay it forward by informally and formally mentoring summer associates and other young attorneys. The sense of community I’ve found at Dorsey has been a great resource to me; I know that my generation of attorneys will play a major role in paving the way for flexible work and supporting those coming up after us.

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If you are a professional working a flexible schedule and would like to share your story in an upcoming Spotlight on Flex, contact Jane Caldeira.

 

 

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Spotlight on Flex – Colleen Haas

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

For our September Spotlight on Flex, we’re pleased to highlight Colleen Haas, Partner, Frost Brown Todd (Cincinnati, OH)

September 2020 Spotlight on Flex

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule?

Colleen Haas: It’s hard to believe, but I’ve been at the firm for over 20 years. I started here during my 2L summer internship and then as a first year associate right after graduation from Notre Dame Law School in 1997. After I had my first child, I reduced my hours to 90% of my original billable hour requirement but still came into the office five days a week. When I had my second child three years later, I reduced my billable goal a little more and changed my schedule slightly by coming into the office four days a week and working one day remotely.

My flexibility manifests in the form of a reduced hours schedule that is annualized to compliment my husband’s work schedule. He is a scout for a major league baseball team and his consistent “crunch time” each year, with extensive work and travel, is during the spring and summer. However, during the fall and winter months, he has much more flexibility. Knowing this, when I first approached the firm about reducing my hours, I asked for a schedule where I could work four days in the office and one day from home, but only for six months of the year. I would then go back to five days per week in the office for the other six months to ramp up my hours during my busy year end. As a transactional attorney, I knew I needed to maximize both mine and my husband’s schedules in a way that would work for our family and the changing seasons.

As you progress through your career, your goals and needs change. There was a short period of time when I took myself off the partner track and went to counsel because I thought that would fit my family needs better. I had three young kids at home and between juggling their activities, my work commitments, and my husband’s travel schedule, I didn’t want the extra pressure. My “aha” moment was, however, when other partners were telling me that I should be on the partner track because I was already doing everything they were. They believed in me and didn’t see reduced hours as a roadblock to partnership. With that encouragement from my peers, I switched back to the partner track and was promoted to the partner class very soon thereafter.

I would set my yearly billable hours and stick with that number no matter what reduced hours percentage I was working at the time. This is how I approached flexible work as an associate, and it’s how I approach it at the partner level now too. Once my third child entered kindergarten, I ramped back up to being in the office five days a week but leaving early when I needed to for any commitments. You get to a point where you’ve earned the respect and trust of your colleagues; they know your work ethic, your work quality, and that you’ll provide top notch client service.

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Spotlight on Flex – Yingli Wang, PhD

Our Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

August 2020 Spotlight on Flex

For August 2020, we are pleased to share insights from Yingli Wang PhD, Partner, Perkins Coie (Los Angeles, CA).

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success with your schedule?

Yingli Wang, PhD: I was born in China and came to the US to attend grad school and study for my PhD with the intention of becoming a professor. I’ve always been fascinated by how things are made or work, and I knew I wanted to find a career path that could merge my training and other interests. I explored patent law because it’s so different from the other legal practice areas; I knew I could combine my analytical and scientific background with my creative interests.

While I was a law student at the University of Washington, I summered at the LA office of Perkins Coie, and after graduating in 2008, I started as an associate here. We were in the height of the recession, and the partners in my practice group were doing everything they could to make sure we had work. I realized early on in my career how important business development is – it gives you security and the ability to control your career. I wanted to see the impact of my work and the results of my efforts.

I focused on building a relationship with our Shanghai office. This meant a lot of international travel and made meeting my annual billable hours difficult. I started to look into a flex schedule because I wanted to show the firm and my partners my value add by cultivating our international relationships. I knew there would be a corresponding pay cut, but I was OK with that. In 2017, I switched to a 70% reduced hours schedule and continued to come to the office every day. Not only was I able to focus on developing key professional relationships, I was able to manage my stress levels and develop expertise in my field.

Perkins Coie considers flexible work as an investment in its professionals because billable hours aren’t the only indication of a person’s value. Supporting flexible work shows trust from the firm and the partners; they believe they’ll receive a return on their investment, and it establishes a foundation to build a long-term future together. And as a testament to that, I made partner in 2019 while working reduced hours.

Because I still travel so much, I don’t feel any different than my peers who bill at 100%. I also appreciate that my partners aren’t strict about face time. With LA traffic, they understand and are flexible too. We all try to be available and responsive when we’re not physically in the office.

DFA: How have the firm and/or clients contributed to your Flex Success®?

YW: My flex schedule doesn’t affect my commitment to my work or my clients. Many of the clients are not local, some are in China and in a different time zone, so my flex schedule really doesn’t matter to them. In fact, flexible hours makes me more motivated to upkeep my international contacts.

DFA: How has working flexibly made your career more sustainable and contributed to business/professional development opportunities?

YW: I’m less stressed because I don’t have as much pressure weighing on me. I’m not constantly worried about my billable hours; instead I’m able to focus on being a better lawyer, working on business development opportunities, and providing the best service to my clients. It’s also a beneficial way to invest in myself. I can attend conferences and participate in non-billable projects to enhance my skills and build a niche practice in China.

I’m also able to train, mentor, and communicate with our Chinese staff and clients. This is a huge benefit because many of our international clients don’t understand the logistics of the US legal system. It took lots of practice to have a better understanding of clients’ needs so I can provide meaningful information and counseling. With my extensive experience in working with clients from different backgrounds, I’m able to adjust my communication style so my answers are clearly conveyed.

My commitment and early focus on our China practice was recognized in 2018; while I was still Counsel, I took over as the leader for the China patent group in the Shanghai office.

DFA: Looking back, would you do anything differently, or what would you tell your younger self?

YW: I would have considered incorporating a flex schedule sooner because it improves work-life balance.

DFA: How do you recharge, and how do you pay it forward?

I like training and talking to associates about their career aspirations. I really enjoy being a lawyer – many people with my background don’t think of it as an option, so I’m always more than happy to discuss my career path with others. I want people to know there are options and alternative careers out there, especially for women and scientists. Sometimes we just need a little encouragement and a broader perspective.

I’m happy with what I do and proud of my journey. I’m appreciative of the opportunities and support I’ve received from the firm. I hope my experiences can be a positive example for women in science and immigrants to this country. I want them to understand they can pursue a career in law. I want to speak up and show you can do it – be a trailblazer – you don’t have to wait for someone else to do it before you.