Insight

Striking a Balance

As you navigate your legal career, regular honest assessments of your professional, personal, and civic responsibilities and achievements will help you make the most of each.

Striking a Balance
Cecily T. Barclay

Cecily T. Barclay

June 18, 2021 12:00 AM

This article was originally published in our 2021 "Women in the Law" Business Edition.

Much to my surprise, I’ve now been practicing law for 30 years with a private firm. I’ve developed relationships with so many people who have given me opportunities to build my legal skills, deepen my client relationships, hone my client service, assume a variety of firm and community leadership roles, and raise a family. This seems like a good time to share some thoughts about what I’ve learned, how I balance all my commitments, and the ways I help support other female attorneys.

Why practice law? During law school and my early years in private practice, I didn’t think I’d stay at a firm for more than two or three years. Like many, I viewed working at a large law firm as an opportunity to learn from others before opening my own practice, moving in[1]house, or maybe even starting my own business. I chose to go to law school, after all, because of the flexibility a law degree would give me to change career paths, entering and exiting the workforce as I raised my family.

That’s not what happened, though: I stayed. Why? Deep down, it’s because of the colleagues and clients I’ve worked with for so long, as well as the support I want to give those I work with now and those I hope to work with in the future.

Getting started: I’ve often shared with other women—particularly those in their first decade of practice—my view that one’s legal career isn’t a race, or even a marathon. It’s a journey, one that’s likely to change tack many times over 30 or 40 years. Throughout, many women will find themselves holding down a multitude of important family roles—daughter, niece, mother, stepmother, aunt, great-aunt, grandmother. As a female attorney, you’ll increasingly become someone on whom others rely, the way you’ve relied on so many people well into adulthood.

You might also participate in community groups, as well as local or national nonprofits. When you begin practicing law, focus on strengthening your legal skills, forging strong client and colleague relationships, and taking on some committee work in your profession and your community. If you start a family, you’ll constantly need to recalibrate the time you devote to each of these important roles.

Finding your fit: When I consider why I’ve stuck with private practice at a law firm, I’m reminded that I decided to change firms after just a year of practice. I had an 8-month-old daughter at the time, and when the October 1989 Bay Area earthquake hit, it separated me, by a broken bridge, from her and the rest of my family for many hours. I realized how much I wanted to move to a firm closer to home.

It was therefore an easy decision some months later when I found McCutchen, Doyle, Brown & Enersen, a 250-attorney firm that had promoted six women (and a handful of men) to equity partner in the spring of 1990. That might not sound like much today but promoting a half-dozen women to partner was almost unheard-of back then. McCutchen became my home away from home for the next 21 years. Working closer to my family, I raised my daughters alongside many women partners, associates, and non-attorney staff, confident that I was in a place I could practice law successfully (both full-time and part-time), care for my family, and give back through pro bono and committee work.

Although there were exceptions, the attorneys I worked with, men and women alike, were strongly committed to supporting and mentoring female attorneys and legal staff. Indeed, many of us still work together at Perkins Coie, where we moved together as a group so we could keep practicing together in 2011.

Hitting your stride: As you enter your second professional decade, find a practice you love and seek roles that enable you to lead on issues that are important to you. With luck, you’ll have gained a variety of skill sets across numerous areas of the law. Focus on the ones you enjoy, the ones that make you want to get out of bed in the morning.

Working closer to my family, I raised my daughters alongside many women partners, associates, and non-attorney staff, confident that I was in a place I could practice law successfully, care for my family, and give back through pro bono and committee work."

For me, one such area was land-use and development law, which I didn’t encounter until several years after I became a partner. Now—even though I otherwise lack artistic talent—when a new project comes in, I find the first client call or meeting to be akin to a painter’s blank canvas, on which I can start to fill in a vision by learning the client’s goals and challenges, creating strategies and solutions. With time, I’ll often be able to complete the picture with the construction of a new project—a residential community, affordable housing, educational facilities, or a redeveloped life-science campus. If you can experience a similar sense of challenge and accomplishment in your work, you will thrive as a lawyer.

Mentoring and empowering others: This is also the time to focus on hiring, training, and promoting women attorneys, particularly those of color. It’s a time to delegate work and empower others to learn by doing, not just watching. In my own early associate years, my mentors sent me to court on my own, included me in client meetings, and invited me to speak alongside them at conferences— opportunities that gave me the tools to become a versatile attorney and the commitment to do the same for others in turn.

If you’re new to practicing law, seek out these opportunities. If you’ve been at it for a while, provide similar chances to others. This is your time to offer guidance, training, mentoring, and sponsorship while continuing to build your own skills and those of your teams. Their strengths will become your strengths. Remember, though, your career isn’t a race—this might also be a time to step back a bit from work and community commitments to spend more time caring for your family, including your extended family.

Giving back: Once you’ve been a partner or senior in-house counsel for a decade or two, you’re in a great position to provide work opportunities and guidance to others. You might find that the junior in-house attorney you knew as an associate is now general counsel of an international company; that you’ve developed the skills to join a firmwide management or executive committee; or that you know female attorneys across the country (or just across town) whom you can connect with people who need their legal expertise.

As you find your voice—and as others listen—you might also foster and pursue firmwide or community initiatives on social issues that are important to you, as I have in my recent roles on our firmwide executive committee and as chair of a national practice group. Through your experience, long-term commitments, and nurtured relationships, you’ll be positioned to continue to bolster your own client work and also provide a positive, lasting influence on your workplace culture.

None of this is easy. Almost every day I rethink what I’m doing, asking myself (and perhaps my husband, my mom, or one of my daughters), “Am I doing the right thing? Do I need to change the amount of energy I’m devoting to my career, my client work, my leadership roles, my community, and my family?” By continuously searching for that balance, you’ll be able to find and maintain the energy necessary for you and those you mentor to succeed, over time, in every aspect of the law—and of life.

Cecily Barclay is the firmwide Chair of the Real Estate and Land Use Practice at Perkins Coie LLP in San Francisco where she focuses her practice on land use and entitlements, real estate acquisition and development and local government law. She regularly speaks and writes on topics involving land use and local government law, including programs and articles for the American Bar Association, American Planning Association, California Continuing Education of the Bar, League of California Cities, University of California Extension programs, Urban Land Institute and other state and national associations and conferences.

Related Articles

A Beautiful Mind: Motown Beginnings, Top Dealmaker


by Sara Collin

Motown scion Farah Fakir Cook has achieved her own stardom away from the klieg lights, helping clients navigate ever-changing currents in intellectual property and technology. One crucial topic looms especially large for her in the years ahead: How current law will contend with the rise of artificial intelligence.

Woman wearing pink suit standing against desk

Crucial Alliances


by Jane E. Young

Workplaces everywhere have changed since the start of the pandemic in ways that can be highly beneficial to women. Here’s a road map for consolidating recent gains—and making the most of them going forward.

Woman at desk working with roadmap behind her

Progress and Potential


by Michele M. Jochner

Women have undeniably made great strides in our profession in recent decades, but much remains to be done. What’s the current state of the industry, what lies ahead—and what do lawyers (male and female alike) say are the most important issues going forward

Watercolor image of person on a mountain looking at night sky

The Breadwinner


by Courtney E. Ervin

Two lawyers, one big life decision: How my husband and I are working to eradicate the stigma of putting my career first.

Silhouette of women in suit stands in the middle of equal scale

Top of the Mountain


by LaVon M. Johns and Patricia Brown Holmes

Making partner, ginning up huge business, earning peer respect and industry influence are laudable goals—but it’s important to pursue them methodically and mindfully. One dynamic duo who have reached the mountaintop show how it’s done.

Red flag sitting on the top of a mountain summit

Canadian Women in the Legal Profession: From Non-‘Persons’ to Chief Justices


by Sara Collin

We take an in-depth look at the challenges and optimistic future of women in the Canadian legal sector.

Canadian Women in the Legal Profession

The Future of Litigation Is Changing for Female Solicitors in the U.K.


by Catherine Baksi

The support of entire law firms, organizations and senior counsel members will be the key to encouraging female solicitors and positive change in the industry.

Changing Litigation for UK Female Solicitors

New Sheriff in Town on ESG


by Patricia Brown Holmes

Various regulatory agencies within the Biden Administration are stepping up enforcement of corporate malfeasance in the ever-trendy ESG space.

ESG Enforcement in the Corporate Environment

Follow the Money


by Rachel F. Sifuentes

Women are the future of fintech—but in the here and now, they’re still being underserved in an industry otherwise marked by explosive growth. Here’s why that must change.

Women and the Future of Fintech

Privacy Practice


by Casey Waughn

Data protection is all the rage among tech companies and state, national (and even transnational) governments alike. Is it a passing fad or here to stay? And how should businesses and groups of all sizes handle compliance with a blizzard of new laws?

Data Protection Prompt New Privacy Laws

The Upcycle Conundrum


by Karen Kreider Gaunt

Laudable or litigious? What you need to know about potential copyright and trademark infringement when repurposing products.

Repurposed Products and Copyright Infringemen

The Compensation Situation


by Liz S. Washko

Pay discrimination has been outlawed for decades. Yet the issue has taken on new salience in recent years. Here’s what to know about compensation equity—and where the legal risk lies for companies.

Pay Discrimination and Equity in Legal Indust

Remote Controls


by Cynthia Morgan Ohlenforst

How law firms, lawyers and taxing authorities must adapt to remote work

Law Firms Adapt to Remote Work

Changes and Challenges


by Megan Norris

As the pandemic ebbs and many people return to the office, midsize law firms in particular must navigate a host of unprecedented questions about costs, culture and client expectations.

Changes, Challenges and Cost of the Pandemic

Carrying the Torch While Raising the Bar


by Sharen L. Nocella

Catherine Pyune McEldowney makes waves as one of the few Asian-American women at the pinnacle of a U.S. law firm.

Asian-American Representation in Law

Forging Bonds, Building Business


by Crystal L. Howard and Lizl Leonardo

As disorienting and occasionally frightening as the pandemic has been, it has also forced lawyers to find innovative new ways to stay connected and do business.

Pandemic Sparks Innovative Ways of Conducting

Trending Articles

Presenting The Best Lawyers in The United Kingdom 2024


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is proud to announce the 12th edition of The Best Lawyers in the United Kingdom™ and Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch™ in the United Kingdom for 2024.

Big Ben and bridge over water in London at sunset

Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America for 2023


by Best Lawyers

The third edition of Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch in America™ highlights the legal talent of lawyers who have been in practice less than 10 years.

Three arrows made of lines and dots on blue background

Announcing the 2023 The Best Lawyers in America Honorees


by Best Lawyers

Only the top 5.3% of all practicing lawyers in the U.S. were selected by their peers for inclusion in the 29th edition of The Best Lawyers in America®.

Gold strings and dots connecting to form US map

The Best Lawyers in New Zealand™ 2024 Awards


by Best Lawyers

The Best Lawyers in New Zealand 2024 awards include an elite field of top lawyers and law firms.

Auckland, New Zealand Skyline at twilight

Presenting The Best Lawyers in Singapore™ 2024


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers offers the most prestigious awards for lawyers and law firms in Singapore for 2024.

Singapore skyline at night

The Best Lawyers in Australia™ 2024 Launch


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers is excited to announce The Best Lawyers in Australia™ for 2023, including the top lawyers and law firms from Australia.

Australian Parliament beside water at sunset

Announcing The Best Lawyers in Japan™ 2024


by Best Lawyers

We are proud to present the 2024 edition of Best Lawyers awards for Japan which include the top lawyers and law firms in the country.

Mt. Fuji in the background with fall leaves and structure in front

IN PARTNERSHIP

Salvi & Maher, LLP: Illinois and Wisconsin's Personal Injury Firm


by Justin Smulison

For more than 35 years, Salvi & Maher LLP has defended their clients throughout Illinois and Wisconsin in various areas of personal injury law, including medical malpractice, motor vehicle accidents, premises liability and trucking litigation.

Skyline of Chicago with green river and blue background

IN PARTNERSHIP

Athea Trial Lawyers


by Justin Smulison

Athea Trial Lawyers is a nationally recognized firm who has received record-breaking victories throughout the country on behalf of personal injury victims.

women with shades of blue in mass arrangement

IN PARTNERSHIP

Mastering the Art of Trial Practice


by John Fields

With its billion-dollar track record, Morelli Law Firm has earned a reputation as one of the country's most successful trial firms.

Morelli and team at table in office with windows

IN PARTNERSHIP

Rash Mueller Knows What it Means to Help


by Jeffrey Beasley

David Rash of Rash Mueller draws from first-hand experience on the affects of tragic personal injury and loss. His Florida law firm has spent years dedicated to helping the injured find justice.

Doctor with scope reviewing brain scan on screen

The Best Lawyers in South Africa™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

Best Lawyers proudly announces lawyers recognized in South Africa for 2023.

South African flag

The Role of a Lawyer in the Slip-and-Fall Settlement Process


by Best Lawyers

Let’s examine the role of a lawyer in the slip-and-fall settlement process and how they can help you achieve a fair and just outcome for your case.

Unseen man with wrap on wrist sits across from woman in suit

Choosing a Title Company: What a Seller Should Expect


by Roy D. Oppenheim

When it comes to choosing a title company, how much power exactly does a seller have?

Choosing the Title Company As Seller

Announcing The Best Lawyers in The United Kingdom™ 2023


by Best Lawyers

The results include an elite field of top lawyers and firms from the United Kingdom.

The Best Lawyers in The United Kingdom 2023

Famous Songs Unprotected by Copyright Could Mean Royalties for Some


by Michael B. Fein

A guide to navigating copyright claims on famous songs.

Can I Sing "Happy Birthday" in Public?