My guest today is Michelle Kallen, a senior associate in the DC office of the large, NY-based law firm of Paul Weiss. Michelle has a 3-year-old son and a husband who is a doctor in surgical pathology at Johns Hopkins in Baltimore. Michelle shares how she spends her busy days working at the office, working from home, and taking care of her son, Gabriel. Managing work between clients and partners, writing briefs, and being a wife and mommy make for very busy days for Michelle!

What you’ll hear in this episode:

1. An overview of Michelle’s parenting story
2. How her son was born prematurely and she secured generous maternity leave of 5 months
3. Today, her son is in preschool and a nanny helps out at home
4. Going through the NICU experience with a husband who is a doctor
5. Balancing work and love for her career with a new child
6. Traveling as a nursing mother with a breast pump
7. What it’s like in “big law” being an associate with a young child
8. The perspective of parents with a healthy child
9. Parenting focus of the Women’s Bar Association in DC
10. Challenges for Michelle’s husband in becoming a father
11. The disparity in leave taken by moms and dads
12. Gender role differences with millennials and their differing parenting habits
13. Michelle’s advice to her younger self: “We all put this façade on Facebook and in pictures in our offices of the perfect parent life. No one posts the horrible moments and challenges or reality parenting. No one has it all together and I’m happy to share the difficulties. Every day is a new struggle and a new joy.”