Keeping-Tabs-Fall-2023
Stay up-to-date on news and events from our Young Advocates' Standing Committee (YASC) with Keeping Tabs.
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angements. People are much more accepting<br />
of virtual meetings and working from home<br />
than they have ever been. Taking advantage<br />
of these flexibilities has been a necessity<br />
when we inevitably come down with another<br />
daycare-related plague. Seriously — since my<br />
return to work this May, our household has<br />
had strep throat, pink eye, a cold, and the flu.<br />
In addition to flexible work arrangements, I<br />
have become an entirely electronic litigator. I<br />
take advantage of electronic files, e-discovery<br />
software, Zoom discovery examinations, and<br />
a virtual task list. This allows me to work from<br />
anywhere, anytime.<br />
Delegating<br />
As litigators, we struggle with relinquishing<br />
control and in my experience, parents may be<br />
the biggest culprits. We truly believe we can<br />
be everything to everyone all of the time. This<br />
fallacy not only drains us but makes us feel inadequate.<br />
I am still struggling with relinquishing<br />
control. That said, I have tried to rely more<br />
on my junior colleagues by letting them run<br />
with research or an appearance on my behalf.<br />
Not only is this kind of delegation integral to<br />
the private practice model, it is also a mental<br />
health necessity. Let’s all take a page out of<br />
the Frozen playbook and try letting go.<br />
Not having it together<br />
In addition to my toddler, I am pregnant with<br />
my second child, so I am exhausted most of<br />
the time. It often feels like I finish one job at<br />
work and then go home for my other, unpaid<br />
gig. While I am lucky to have a supportive firm<br />
and an incredible partner, I do not have it together<br />
all the time. I am also reconciling that<br />
I am not the same litigator I was before I had<br />
children. Not better, not worse — just different.<br />
Truthfully, I am not sure I am the same<br />
person. But I have learned that for me, being<br />
my best is okay, and if it isn’t for others, that<br />
is okay too.<br />
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