Professionals across all industries have long sought the delicate balance of successfully juggling a career and parenthood. 


Just as every family structure is unique, so are the differing sets of circumstances in which they operate. Because of this, there is no one-size-fits-all approach that works for everyone. 

Mackrell International organised a panel of law firm Partners, experienced in both parenting and partnership, to come together to share their perspectives and discuss their own strategies for blending both.


The biggest adjustment, according to the panelists, was the matter of new time constraints –managing the fulfilling and endlessly demanding life of a parent, with a hard-earned career in an industry that is also endlessly demanding and where compensation is billed in increments of time. 


“You just have to figure out for yourself where you want to spend your time and your choices. And it’s okay to make those choices on both sides,” said Sarah Pape, a partner at ZKS in Orlando and mother to a 10- and 3-year-old. “When I went into being a parent and a partner, I was like, ‘I’m going to do it all.’ We all think that we can do it all, and the reality is, you can’t. You’ll drive yourself insane, and you’ll feel like you’re failing at everything.”


Pape said the simple act of giving herself permission, without guilt, to make those choices made the difference in achieving the balance that worked best for her family and her career. 

Ana-Maria Popp, a partner with Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle and a mother of a 3-year-old daughter found that adding parenthood into her established legal profession enabled her to strengthen her ability to set boundaries, and in turn, helped her become more empathetic to the needs of those she serves as group leader. 


“There were a lot of things that I didn't realize people had to juggle until I experienced them myself,” Popp said. “I think you can try to think about them in the abstract. But until you're living them, you don't fully appreciate how stretched thin you could be sometimes.”


As a single parent to a 10-year-old boy, Angela Stephens Tarter, a partner with Bose McKinney & Evans in Indianapolis, believes in becoming the architect of her own day, examining where she once spent her time and claiming some of those hours back to dedicate to motherhood. 


“You have to simply take a hard look at how you're allocating your hours and just get rid of some things that don't add to your life,” she said. “You will be a healthier person, a happier, better parent and a more well-balanced attorney.”


Panelists’ Advice for Parenting and Partnership:


  • Examine how you spend the hours in your day and be intentional about eliminating things that don’t help you. “I actually physically made a list,” said Tarter. “I just eliminated things from the list.”
  • Become familiar with your firm’s policies and plan accordingly. Know the maternity and paternity policies and other leave policies, especially because the time away and the transition back into work after your leave has ended can affect your compensation. Being aware of these before you enter parenthood can help relieve some stress. 
  • As a soon-to-be parent, do the work on the front end to ensure that those who are supporting you are the right fit for your cases and that your coverage is solid. For the new parent’s colleagues, support each other and make it as seamless as possible. “Support people by not causing unnecessary stress for them,” Popp said. 
  • Assume responsibility to clear the path for parenthood in the future by reaching out to other new parents to share advice and socialization so that no one feels isolated. 
  • The balance between work and family is most successful with advanced planning. Firms should be sensitive to the varying personal lives of each of the members and strive to provide the internal social opportunities, while being cognizant of time constraints. “For those of us who are planning those events or trying to get our people to be social and interact with each other, we have to be intentional about planning those and not over planning them,” said Pape.


Binah Yeung from Cairncross & Hempelmann in Seattle moderated this enlightening discussion, with a panel of partners including Angela Tarter from Bose McKinney In Indiana, Sarah Pape from ZKS in Florida, Ana-Maria Popp and Jennifer Faubion, also from Cairncross & Hempelmann. 

You can learn more about Mackrell International and how it connects and supports its members at www.mackrell.net