Sunday, October 4, 2009

"No One Would Want Your Life" - About my blog

I am a mother. I am also a senior partner in a national litigation law firm.
Several years ago, the law firm asked me to become its Diversity Coordinator. I had often spoken my mind about the scarcity of women in my world (at the time, 2 of our approximately 40 partners were female), but still, it was not a position I coveted. Diversity Coordinator is an important job, and a hard one, and the skills required to do it well are not necessarily the same skills that make an effective litigator.
Before accepting the post, I asked a lot of questions, and I did some hand-wringing, and I asked my closest confidants for advice. Most were in favor. But the deciding vote was my husband's. He was adamant that I should not do it, and he offered his two most persuasive arguments:

(1) "It's pointless: you will never be able to change anything."

(2) "And anyway, NO ONE WOULD WANT YOUR LIFE."

Well, I still think I can do anything if I just try hard enough. And it so happens that I like my life. It has its moments, of course, and there are days - lots of them - when I think, "I just can't do this any more!!!," - but most of the time, it's pretty good. My work is engaging and exciting; my children are marvelous (most of the time), and too, there are diversions. I love my chickens, and growing food, reading, writing poetry and skiing. I watch my children play baseball; I play my guitar; I bake bread; I waste countless hours on the internet. Occasionally, I even talk to my friends.

So, I had to become Diversity Coordinator, because it may be hectic, but if I can do it, anyone can. I haven't changed the world yet, but we're making progress. And somehow, the rest of life goes on.

This blog, about the ups and downs of one not-so-bad, cobbled together existence, is for everyone who is trying to "have it all," and if not quite getting "all," is managing to find a way to stitch a decent quilt from the pieces of all.

2012 - Please note, everything in this blog is "true," but not all of it is dead accurate. Meaning, sometimes, I homogenize experience for the sake of anonymity and story line. Questions? Post a comment and I'll respond.

2 comments:

  1. I am a young (at least I think young!) lawyer who was qualified in New York but went to London to practice there--became partner in 4 years and then decided to move back to NYC (where I am from). I am in the process of changing my career out of the law and your blog is awesome! I just found it and it's so interesting to hear about your experiences! Would love to chat!

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  2. Thank you. You will notice I haven't written for a while. After 23 years in practice, I am disengaging from law to chase other dreams. Perhaps I will come back someday: who knows? It has been an interesting and often fabulous ride. I have been privileged to have history making opportunities, and I will never regret the choices I have made. But knowing all the things I do now! there are many things I would have done differently within the inner world of law firm politics. I am happy to do anything within reason to help other women walking these paths, but any chatting will probably have to be limited to this forum, at least for now as I am not ready to "out" myself.

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