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BALANCING PROFESSIONAL CAREER, COMMUNITY SERVICE AND PRIVATE LIVES Many recognize the iconic Lady Justice symbol, representing the fair and equal administration of the law. The depiction of a woman portraying justice actually dates back to ancient Greece and Rome. In the American justice system, it is most commonly portrayed as a blindfolded woman carrying a sword facing downward in her right hand and a set of balance scales in her left. The blindfold is said to represent objectivity in administering justice; the sword represents punishment, and is portrayed below the scales to show that evidence is presented before punishment. The scales represent weighing the evidence on its own merits in a balanced manner. In this modern era of the legal profession, the scales also could represent weighing a balance between a fulfilling career, giving back to those who have helped, charitable endeavors that benefit the community, and cultivating a successful family life. There are numerous examples of women in the legal profession in the metropolitan St. Louis region who have strived and succeeded at balancing their law-related careers with their commitments to their families. For this year’s Women in the Legal Profession issue, St. Louis Lawyer magazine chose to feature two talented, accomplished, energetic and ambitious women who are striving to balance both.
By Susan Sagarra, Assistant Executive Director of Membership and Marketing - BAMSL
Christina Lewis Abate Director of Underwriting The Bar Plan Mutual Insurance Company Abate, a graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law, started her career as a trial attorney with the Missouri State Public Defender System. “I went to law school because I wanted to understand how to navigate systems, either for my own benefit or for the benefit of the community,” Abate said. “When challenges arise, I wanted to know how to navigate obstacles. A legal education provides that. I also wanted to help people in the community so I went with the idea of public interest.” Abate said that is the reason she initially became a public defender, staying in the Rolla area for three years. “I loved it, but I wanted to get back to St. Louis and there weren’t any public defender openings,” Abate said. “I do miss practicing law, the excitement of being in trial preparation, working with clients. I have a lot of respect for attorneys. It’s a hard job and takes a lot of commitment and sacrifice.” But she also enjoys the current career and personal path of her life. After working as a public defender, Abate was hired as The Bar Plan’s risk manager, a position she held for eight years before being promoted a couple of years ago to the director of underwriting. She manages the underwriting department, educates insureds about the underwriting process, and ensures attorneys are given the best possible coverage and price appropriate to their firms and practices. She also regularly presents and writes articles about ethics, professionalism, and malpractice avoidance to help provide a better legal climate for lawyers and their clients. “The Bar Plan presented a good opportunity,” Abate said. “They were willing to teach me what I needed to know. They took the time to educate me on the rules of ethics and malpractice avoidance. I’m not doing any trial work and I would have continued as a public defender if the opportunity was there. But I still get to be part of the legal profession. I get to talk to lawyers about ethics and malpractice avoidance. The Bar Plan allows me to still be active in the legal profession.” Abate stressed how important it is for lawyers, particularly women, to recognize that it is OK to not be practicing law but still have a connection to the profession. “The Bar Plan supports my interest in being part of the legal profession,” Abate said. “That’s the neat thing because the legal profession is a profession where you have the ability to find your niche and what works best for you at certain points in your life.” Abate has remained active within the legal community, both locally and nationally, and has served on numerous Young
Lawyer Committees within the ABA, The Missouri Bar, and BAMSL. She is a recipient of both the Saint Louis Bar Foundation Spirit of Justice Award and the Missouri Lawyers Weekly Up & Coming Lawyer Award. Abate currently serves as co-chair of the Saint Louis Bar Foundation’s Motion for Kids program. “I have participated in this great event since law school, when it was called Project Angel Tree,” Abate said. “It was a fun for me to get involved in BAMSL when I started with The Bar Plan. I’ve always had a special place in my heart for foster kids and it always amazes me how people are able to open their homes to these children who aren’t their own. Especially with having my own children now, I appreciate what they do.” Abate said it was a natural fit to work with the children’s program because when she was in Rolla, she mentored a child in the foster system. “I like being associated with Motion for Kids,” Abate said. “Even if you can’t foster, you can still give back. The party is a way to make sure the children know they are valued and loved. I hope they are making good memories. It’s a small thing on our part but it makes huge difference for them. We’re all busy but there are little ways to get involved and this is a small contribution to make the holidays better for these children.” Abate also donates time to charitable organizations that utilize her legal experience and law degree. She has volunteered for the Volunteer Lawyer’s Program (VLP) through Legal Services of Eastern Missouri and at the St. Liborious Social Ministries through LSEM; the Voter Protection Coalition; St. Vincent’s Home for the Children; Volunteer Tax Assistance Program; Habitat For Humanity; and the Martineztown House of Neighborly Service as well as the Barrett House for Women, Albuquerque, N.M. Abate said her job and her contributions to the community work well with her family life. She and her husband have two children, ages 3 and 5. “I’m proud of the fact I have a career and a family,” Abate said. “I think we all need support, whether we are a woman or not. It’s a challenge to find a balance but I think that’s true for so many professions, and for men and women alike. Our generation is realizing both the professional and the personal are important.” Abate said when she was in law school that more than half of the students were women. But she has observed that not all of those women are practicing law. “I don’t know what happened to all of them,” Abate said. “So many women fall away from the legal profession because of other aspects of life, which is fine. We need to be supportive of each other. Women need to be supportive of each other, no matter which path we take. I’ve learned now with my career and having kids, life is full of compromise. The sooner you
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accept that, it becomes easier to balance both. You don’t have to be all in. We get a lot of mixed messages. For me, it’s really important to have both.” It also is important for Abate to be involved in the community and to encourage other women. “I recognize where someone has talent and I try to help connect them with others and help them grow professionally,” Abate said. “I get calls from women who took time off and want to come back. I talk to them about getting involved in organizations such as BAMSL and that they need to find the places where someone will help them navigate getting involved. And of course, I always tell them to get involved in Motion for Kids.”
“I’m not practicing law but I travel for my work,” Abate said. “I have a supportive husband and our partnership is 50/50. That works for me. Right now, my husband, my kids, my job and traveling with my family are my priority. I have a pretty full life right now. Once my kids are older, I am looking forward to getting more involved in community initiatives. But right now, I want to spend time with my family. I’m exactly where I need to be at this point in my life.”
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And sometimes Abate needs a boost herself. That is when she leans on other women, such as her colleague, Susan Baltz, director of marketing for The Bar Plan. “When I need a sounding board, I go to Susan,” Abate said. “I think it’s really important having people we can talk to who have been there.” Most importantly, Abate enjoys sharing her time between her work, the community and her family.
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Claire Kaltenbach O’Brien Associate Lewis Rice LLC O’Brien knew as a little girl that she wanted to be a lawyer. “My Dad was my main influence,” said O’Brien, who hails from Paducah, Ky. “He was in private practice for 10 years before becoming a prosecutor for 14. When I was a little girl, I would see him dictating, listening to tapes of witness interviews, and there were yellow pads everywhere. The summer after graduation, my Dad sat me down on our back porch and walked me through Herb Stern’s method in ‘Trying Cases to Win.’” When she started law school in 2009, her dad was appointed as McCracken County Circuit judge. She skipped class for a good reason. “I missed my civil procedure class to be at his swearing in ceremony,” O’Brien said. “That was a big year for both of us.” O’Brien attended Saint Louis University of School of Law, earning her J.D. in 2012. She was a Dean’s scholar and Staff Member of the Year for the Saint Louis University Law Journal. While attending law school, she clerked for Dan Rabbitt of the Rabbitt Law Firm LLC. Out of school, she began her career at Childress Ahlheim Cary LLC in St. Louis. O’Brien was an associate at Williams Venker & Sanders LLC for nearly four years prior to joining Lewis Rice in August, just a month after getting married. O'Brien practices in the Litigation Department at Lewis Rice. The firm’s biography of O’Brien describes her as a naturally inquisitive “people person,” and she says these qualities are great assets to a litigator. “My strength is in relating, connecting and empathizing with people and their problems,” O’Brien said. “I felt litigation would be where my natural talents were best served.” She has had help along the way, and encourages anyone starting out to seek out those who are willing to lend a hand. “As young lawyers, it’s important to have mentors you can go to and be able to ask, ‘if I make a certain decision, from your experience, how do you think it might go?’” O’Brien said. “Every successful law firm has that, where people collaborate and help each other. Tom Stewart, an evidence professor at SLU Law, was instrumental in opening doors and shifting my mentality from law student to lawyer. At Williams Venker Sanders, I had numerous mentors, including Ted Williams, Bob Bassett, Mike Hunter, and Nate Leming. They taught me the importance of making a decision - being decisive and sticking with that decision. The decision needs to be well-researched and thought out, and once the decision is made, you stand behind it. Good lawyers aren’t wishy-washy.”
Since joining Lewis Rice, O’Brien has appreciated the Lewis Rice Women to Women (LRW2W) forum, which hosts events, such as guest speakers and panel discussions directed and targeted to women in the profession and female clients. Internally, LRW2W provides a vehicle to build careers through relationships at all levels. The forum offers younger attorneys the chance to learn from and be mentored by senior women attorneys of Lewis Rice. In return, senior attorneys can benefit from the injection of fresh perspectives that new hires bring to the firm. “Lewis Rice has so many strong female attorneys,” O’Brien said. “Three months in, I feel very lucky to be surrounded by dedicated women lawyers. I look to women who have done this much longer than I have for inspiration and coaching – how do you make this work for you? How do you do it all? And what does ‘doing it all’ mean for you? I am learning while much of the practice is the same, in many ways it is an intensely unique experience for each person, especially women.” As part of her own desire to honor her oath to the legal profession, O’Brien is actively involved in BAMSL. She currently chairs BAMSL’s Membership Committee and serves on the Board of Governors and Executive Board. For the last five years, she served as chair of BAMSL’S Read Across America initiative. She was named to the St. Louis Business Journal’s 30 Under 30 Class of 2016 and received BAMSL’s Award of Merit for her 2015-16 contributions. Away from the job, O’Brien spends time with her new husband. But sometimes, the law invades their private life as well. “Even though Pat’s not a lawyer, he’s picking up on the attorney lingo,” O’Brien said. “He will make a ‘request for extension of time’ to do household chores. He’s also learned to put anything that could be questioned later into writing.” In all seriousness, the newlyweds understand each other’s careers. “He’s a financial advisor, so we are both working as advisors to people on their most important issues,” O’Brien said. “I’ve learned from him, seeing how he takes care of his clients. He’s really good at that. He’s analytic and reflective and he’ll hold me back where I’m a little more impulsive. He is very systematic.” Speaking of striking a balance, the newlyweds departed Oct. 18 on a delayed honeymoon to Greece. And O’Brien promised to try and shift the balance more toward her personal life, at least for 10 days.
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