The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
The Grace Period: Shining A Light on Lawyer Wellbeing
Episode 22: Reflecting on My First Year as Partner
How does a woman navigate the demanding journey to partnership in big law, and what does it feel like to finally reach that goal? Join me, Emily Logan Stedman, as I share my personal story of achieving partnership at an AmLaw 100 firm.
From the pivotal moments of self-doubt to the triumphant milestone of making partner, I offer insights into the strategic moves and mindset shifts that propelled my career. You'll hear about the importance of billable hours, the value of mentorship, and the relief and pride that accompanied this hard-earned success.
This episode also tackles the realities of gender dynamics in big law, where the disparity between female associates and partners is stark. I'll discuss the unexpected yet profound impact of becoming a role model for female associates and the responsibility that comes with it.
My experiences reveal both the challenges and the opportunities for women in this field, emphasizing the necessity for change to retain and empower more women in big law. Whether you're on your own path to partnership or simply curious about the legal world, my journey offers inspiration and a call to action for a more inclusive legal environment.
Find out more at https://thegraceperiod.substack.com/.
Welcome to the Grace Period where we get real about attorney mental health and well-being and pull back the veil on the high-stakes world of big law. I'm your host, emily Logan Steadman. In this demanding profession, it is crucial that we don't lose ourselves in the hustle for billable hours. On the Grace Period, we have honest conversations about finding consistency, minimizing chaos, developing coping strategies and destigmatizing mental health. It is time to prioritize our shared humanity, to find our grace period. Welcome to episode two of season three of the Grace Period. Last week, I talked about what it means to be on the partner track or not, and today I'll share some lessons about what I've learned after my first year as partner. So today, as I record this, it's January 7th 2025. I am seven days into my second year as partner. Let's start back in September of 2023, when I knew that I was officially up for partner. In a somewhat rare bout of self-confidence, I reached out to the people who knew this information to ask I'm on the list, right? And they confirmed Emily, you're on the list, you are up for partner. But the process for real started a year, maybe two years, before that. In September of 2022, I had my annual review with my mentor and he sat me down and said Emily, is partnership what you want? And it was. I confirmed that that's what I wanted and what my goal was, and so we discussed what my focus should be if that was going to be my last year as an associate. That last year as an associate, my focus was hitting my hours continuing to be involved as a firm citizen, mentoring, recruiting, de&i, other initiatives showing a business and ownership mindset and for me, that looked like ramping up the managing credit I received for managing files, and we'll talk about credit in another episode. I still quite haven't figured out the best way to talk about what credit is and why it matters, but it became a focus for me my last year as an associate. If we fast forward to October of 2023, I found out I made partner. As of January 1, 2024, I would be a female litigation partner at an AMLA 100 firm.
Speaker 1:What did that feel like? What did that feel like? Relief? I felt a deep wave and sense of relief. I had one of the greatest senses of relief I ever felt. I had done it. I achieved this professional milestone, one I had thought about for many years maybe a decade or more and, despite bumps and doubts I had done it. I made it. I was proud of myself for persisting through the hard times, for making a case for myself, for really doing it. I relished in others being proud of and happy for me too, and that's not something I'm great at. Accepting that congratulations. But I leaned, leaned in. I was truly surprised that this sense of relief carried me through most of my first year of partner. That allowed me to really enjoy and cherish the transition, to go all in at orientation and training and, to soak it all up I I was also surprised by what it felt like to be a woman, a female, making partner in big law.
Speaker 1:These days, when you're an associate in big law, associate classes have many more women than they used to. In the Milwaukee office of my firm in commercial litigation, where I practice, the vast majority of our associates are women, but when I became partner, that shifted, and shifted dramatically. If there are 40 partners in the Milwaukee office today, there are eight women partners. It is a jarring difference from the associate ranks. When I made partner, a young female associate wrote me a note to celebrate the promotion and her words were some of the kindest I've ever received from a non-family member, probably second only to my mom, and her words hit me. I'm the representation for her and for the other female associates. I'm an example of making it, of sticking it out. So so many women leave big law and there's lots of reasons for that and I understand them. But both can be true. We will continue to lose women and we need to find a way to get more women to stay. That's not the point of today's episode, but I raise it to highlight something that surprised me when I made partner, a feeling that surprised me. I was someone that had always been wary of women's groups. You know, I'm not a female or woman attorney. I'm an attorney. But now eight, nine years into the job, 12 years since graduating law school, I see why it matters and it really does. So a year ago I'm partner with newly partner.
Speaker 1:What did I hope to accomplish that first year? Honestly, my goal was to take some of the pressure off, to let go of the pressure that I often feel and put on myself in probably most aspects of my life. What did that look like for me? I worried a little less about my billable hours. Partners at my firm have to track 2,400 hours, a mix of billable working, client time and investment time, non-billable time. Going into being a partner, I knew my billable hours would drop, why it's common for first-year partners to have fewer billable hours as other partners don't want or can't have another partner on certain files. So the work goes to associates, not you. I also had a large case resolve, another go on pause while we awaited a summary judgment decision and another case that we thought was going to be a lot of work and it turned out to not be much of anything. All standard litigation and big law stuff. The work ebbs and flows and making partner is a juncture where that can be amplified. So I used my extra time wisely. I used the investment time to lay the foundation for my business, for business development. First I hired a coach.
Speaker 1:I started the year in a business development mastermind. I met regularly with a business development coach and every other week with a small group of women, a mastermind. My group included three other big law female litigators two who were about a year or two ahead of me and one who was about five to seven years ahead of me. It was a transformative experience. You'll hear me consistently advocate for having friends at other firms. For women that's particularly important because as you rise through the ranks, there are fewer and fewer of us. So knowing women at other firms who are going through the same things you are, who have the same goals as you, is enlightening and it creates a safe space to talk through the highs and lows of the job. You learn where the grass is greener and where it's not. You learn strategies that have worked for them that you can try yourself, and vice versa. You can push each other and encourage each other. You can celebrate the wins together.
Speaker 1:Because that mastermind was so impactful for me, I went on to hire a business development coach for one-on-one coaching for this year as a second year partner. She guides me, gives me feedback, pushes me. It's a level of accountability I need and that I've needed to lay the foundation for building what I hope will be a book of business. As a result, it feels inevitable I will build a book of business. I will be a rainmaker, even if it takes 10 more years. What I'm doing now, the foundation I have laid in this first year as partner and will continue to do in this second year of partner that work is building momentum that will push me towards those goals In year one as partner. I also spent a lot of time thinking about who I am as a human and who I want to be as a partner to clients, to associates. I mapped out my principles, my values, my mission statement. I learned more about my unique strengths and how to apply them at work so that my work is more fulfilling. So I'm bringing my authentic self to the table.
Speaker 1:In my first year as partner, I started this podcast. I grew my LinkedIn presence. I had lunches and happy hours with attorneys and business professionals across Milwaukee. I had virtual one-on-ones with people from all over the country. I attended conferences. I became a businesswoman and that will be the topic of an episode later this season.
Speaker 1:As a first-year partner, I also took a lot of naps, so many naps that I jokingly called 2024 the year of the nap. To me, this was a sign that that relief that I felt was working. I was mentally and physically recovering from all those years of being an associate. I don't say that as an exaggeration or a negative. I mean it. It's a journey and at times it's a grueling one. So with any transition like the one to partner, I recommend giving yourself grace and space, celebrate, recover before ramping the intensity back up. In a lot of ways, the transition from associate to partner is like going from high school senior to college freshman You're independent, you know a lot, but there's still so so much to learn and so much time ahead of you. So as a first year partner, I learned. I continued doing work for and with the partners I enjoyed working with as an associate. I sought out new opportunities across the firm and I invested in myself and my future.
Speaker 1:Thank you for joining me on this episode of the Grace Period. I hope this discussion has provided some insights about the transition from associate to partner. Next week I'll share about how I stay motivated or not, and what I do to cultivate sustainable motivation throughout the year. Remember you don't have to sacrifice your well-being for career success. By prioritizing self-care, setting boundaries and seeking support, you can survive and even thrive in the law and in big law. Until next time, take care of yourselves and each other. That is the path to our grace period. Disclaimer this podcast is for informational and entertainment purposes only. It does not constitute professional advice of any kind, including legal advice. No attorney-client privilege is created by listening to this podcast.
