I don’t feel like I need to hide the reality of being a mother to be successful. In fact, I think talking about my children with clients, women or men, actually helps me build relationships.

Much has been done to shift norms and to ensure women who take maternity leave stay on an advancement track. Has enough progress been made?

Breaking down stereotypical gender roles is so important, and although things aren’t perfect, we’ve made progress. It wasn’t that long ago, even after law schools began admitting women, that women couldn’t get jobs practicing law. And even after that changed, there was still a notion that a woman needed to hide the mothering part of her life at work to be successful and avoid being seen as weak.

But we've come a long way in changing stereotypes around gender roles. My husband stays home to care for our children while I practice law. Everyone who knows me professionally knows that I have small children. I recently had coffee with a client’s Chief Legal Officer, and before we talked business, she asked, “How are those babies?” Although her daughters are grown, she still relates to me on a working-mom level. I don’t feel like I need to hide the reality of being a mother to be successful. In fact, I think talking about my children with clients, women or men, actually helps me build relationships.  

Describe a time when work and parenthood collided. How did you manage it?

It was December 22, 2016, and I was on a road trip in the South with my husband and daughter. A major decision came in on a huge case I had tried a few months prior. Because I was traveling and couldn’t get the order on my phone, I called my local counsel to get the detail. It was a complete victory for our client. It was such a thrilling, memorable occasion. The moment was also memorable because we were sitting in a parking lot at a clinic in Alabama where we were scheduled to hear our son’s heartbeat for the first time—also a thrilling occasion, but one that was delayed 15 minutes to soak in the feeling of a trial victory!

How has Pillsbury supported you? 

I made partner in a class that was half women. And I made partner while I was at home on maternity leave. A couple of decades ago, these things would never have happened.

When I found out I was pregnant, I already knew I wanted to go up for partner the next year, and I immediately defaulted to, “Oh no, is this going to be a problem? Should I take a shortened maternity leave? How can I make partner when I’m pregnant?” I went to two colleagues who are both mothers and partners, and have navigated all the difficulties of being a working mom, and they set me straight: It shouldn’t matter. You’re making partner based on your experience, the practice you’ve built and your ability to succeed. Taking a leave to have a baby doesn’t change any of that. The message I got from Pillsbury was clear: You can take time off to be with your baby and then come back and still be a successful partner.

Laura LoBue is a Litigation partner in Pillsbury's Washington, DC office. She has two children.