Like many of you, I went straight from college to law school and from law school straight into private practice, without much thought to what I wanted other than a prestigious job, good pay, and the life I imagined being a lawyer would allow. After trying practice at a couple of law firm jobs as an associate I found long hours, high pressure, and unending client demands. The difference between my naive image of life as a lawyer and the reality of modern legal practice began to sink in. Like many lawyers, I then made a transition to in-house practice thinking that would help me find the part that was missing. Ultimately the move in-house did help, allowing me to gain close exposure to the inner workings of a business and insight into team building and team leadership. I got to lead high profile corporate and regulatory efforts, and ultimately got to do cutting edge work leading the intellectual property and data privacy functions for the department at the dawn of AI.

But I still found something just didn't fit. I love law and found a great deal of purpose and satisfaction practicing. Despite a successful career with a company I admired, I couldn't help but see how many lawyers I mentored and worked with, when we really talked about what they were dealing with, were finding themselves stressed, unfulfilled, and dissatisfied with their professional lives. It was in this space that I found my true calling and how to best serve this profession I believe in. In 2022 I made the jump and helping other lawyers to truly hone in on what was causing their dissatisfaction and to make changes that allowed them to see massive shifts in their satisfaction, reconnect to their purpose, and make leaps in their careers,  without leaving the profession. Sometimes this meant coaching through changes in employers or practice areas, but most often I found that simple intentional practices like better boundary setting, really honing in on their own needs and aspirations, and simply tapping into a greater perspective on their role and the value of their work made a marked difference in how fulfilled and effective these lawyers became. After years of finding myself serving informally as a mentor to hundreds of lawyers in all stages of career, I one day realized that perhaps my role in the health of the legal system was no longer about being the best lawyer myself, but in helping other lawyers to be their best. With that idea, Presence in Practice was born. I now get to leverage my years of experience as a practicing lawyer to help other lawyers become the best versions of themselves. It is my calling and an honor I hold dear.