Lawyer Monthly - Women In Law Special Edition

WOMEN IN LAW EDITION LAWYER MONTHLY 53 partners and my colleagues, but having it all written down in a plan stating how long I anticipated being off for, the clients I had handed over and importantly, would like back (as you don’t want to lose the hard work you’ve put in over the years), was beneficial; stating what I wanted to do on my return also helped. For me, my plan was to come back full time but to work flexibly. I was fortunate because my husband took a year off to look after our children when I returned to work, which gave me the ability to be more flexible with my work and to devote more time to it, whilst still making sure I had time to see the children. Planning in advance was key for a smooth return and my progression. The promotion window for legal directorship was coming up whilst I was off, so I made sure that it was known that I would still like to be considered for that, even though I wasn’t going to be there in person. The application wasn’t due for another 6 months, but I made sure I completed my business plan in advance. It is all about looking into the future and really communicating to ensure that your colleagues and managers know your goals and plans. Making sure that people knew how I felt, what I wanted to do, how I was happy to be communicated with whilst I was off – I am sure lots of people don’t want to be contacted at all, but I was happy to be contacted every so often, especially for important matters - and what would happen when I returned, all helped the transition to run smoothly. Maternity can be seen as a private or sensitive topic, so being open about it and communicating everything across clearly really helped to remove that aspect and keep things running efficiently. Is it important to have a mental break during that time off, or is it more important to keep on focusing on the progression in law and working in law? Yes, I think it is very important to have almost a complete break, certainly for the first half of the time. The reason for your time off, whatever it may be, is important; you’ve got to be able to focus on whatever it is that you’re doing – which for me was keeping these little babies alive, happy and fed. There does come a point where you have to get your mind moving back towards “work mode”. You don’t want to get to day 364 of 365 and not have thought about how you want to work, what type of work you are going to be doing and how you are going to hit the ground running. I do think preparing for your return is good, but don’t do it too soon in, as you can lose the benefit of having that time off. It is almost impossible not to feel at ease around Laura’s warming presence. And it is just as impossible to imagine her crumbling under the stress the legal sector can present and the mayhem two toddler twins bring along with them. But, not a grey hair in sight (or at least that I can see), and as I learnt throughout my conversation with Laura, it seems that it could be due to her work life balance. During our brief chat with Laura, we learn how she manages to balance toddlers and directorship at a renowned law firm. How can you prepare for your first step back into law? I found that having a plan devised before you leave, where you set out what will happen when you are away and how you will ease back into things works well. I work at DLA Piper and they have a fantastic maternity coaching scheme, where you work with the executive coaching consultancy to make a maternity plan. I had sessions with them before, during and after my maternity leave and one thing that I found really interesting, was that there was a lot of planning and preparation to be done before I had even left. The coaching helped me to look, not just at the period of my maternity leave, but for my return and even into the years after that. It made me think about how I wanted to operate as a lawyer and what my ambitions and targets were for the future. All this accumulated and effectively became a “maternity plan” that I put into place before I went on leave. This was really just a form of clear communication for those I work with, too. I was obviously in touch with my Q Q “ “ Planning in advance was key for a smooth return and my progression.