Counsel & Director of Client Relations, Tanenholz & Associates, PLLC

WBA President-Elect (2021-2022)

 

Why did you join the WBA?

I joined the WBA because I am very passionate and committed to women’s rights and women’s leadership. Also, my good friend from American University Washington College of Law and Howrey-LLP, Ferdose al-Taie, was very involved in the WBA and encouraged me to get involved at the perfect time!

What benefits has your membership brought you?

I love getting to know other women engaged in the practice of law and justice. The networking benefits have been by far the most important gifts the WBA provides. I also have learned so much from our leadership, particularly with regard to navigating this profession as a working parent. My daughter was just seven years old when I joined as a co-chair. She is now 16. Learning from other working moms who had been there, done that, helped me navigate life and the working world.

Why do you think others should join?

I cannot say enough about what the WBA has meant to me both personally and professionally. Every attorney– regardless of where they are located– should join for the benefits in networking, education, promotion of women’s rights, and the programming on everything from telecommunications law, rules regarding hiring an au pair, and negotiating a salary.

What are you excited about now?

I am most excited (and nervous) about being President Elect this year and President of the WBA beginning 2022. I am learning from the best, thankfully! Bridget Bailey Lipscomb, Sadina Montani, and Susan Kovarovics have been wonderful already! I am also joining my daughter in France for a week in August and can’t wait to show her Paris for the first time (a dream we have always shared!).

How has your status as a mother enhanced your career?

Working moms have so many things in common, and as women rise up in law firms and corporate America more and more, it is that kinship that helps us achieve even more. Engaging with the WBA is such a powerful way to relate and network, which is a huge advance in the legal profession. When I conduct business, such as looking for speakers or hiring vendors, I focus primarily on my network – both men and women – but I call those I trust first, and most often they are the professional women in my life. Just as men have done for years, we are doing it now. We have further to go to get more women, people of color, and LGBTQIA equity partners and CEOs, but I truly believe those who choose to do so can be both a mom and a legal professional.

Also, as a mom to my talented daughter Kate, I wanted to make sure she saw me both as a successful woman and a loving mom. My mom was such a strong, successful teacher and community leader in her own way, but growing up in Alabama, girls and women did not have the same opportunities that we have here now. I wanted to make sure that Kate knew that she could do anything she put her mind to and that meant believing in herself first, and then working hard. I see the WBA as giving us all that blueprint. It has definitely been there for me to help see myself as a leader of others. All of our voices matter so much! When one person is silent, we all lose that wisdom.