Women, Influence & Power in Law 2026 Roundtable

I started my counseling practice to provide the support all women deserve.

As a coach with Phoebe, I work with moms in law and finance navigating their return from parental leave and integrating family life with their ambitious professional goals.

Ten years ago, I returned to work from my own maternity leave as a first-time mom and young lawyer. Today, I joined my colleagues Emily Klingbeil and Anne Welsh (and about 1,000 senior legal professionals) in Nashville for the 2026 Women, Influence & Power in Law (WIPL) Conference, where we led and participated in meaningful conversations on self-care and well-being that the younger version of me would have loved to hear.

We talked about how burnout is not a personal failure but rather a leadership problem; we emphasized that mental health must be destigmatized and prioritized; and we explored ways firm cultures must adjust to retain their female talent. As we discussed in our roundtable session on attrition, women tend to leave law firms and even the paid workforce altogether during major life transitions (postpartum, perimenopause, while caregiving for young children or aging parents) because they feel pushed out, their needs aren’t being met, and they believe they have no choice while feeling spread thin or unlike themselves.

But it doesn’t have to be this way.

I wish I could tell my younger self that when I said gender bias needs to be called out and women need to be recognized as full humans, the whole room cheered and applauded. I’ll settle for telling anyone reading this that women (and all employees) deserve flexibility, resources, and compassion, especially during personal identity shifts.

Reach out if you want to have conversations that can lead to significant change, for yourself and/or your workplace. And please know you are not alone.