The Art of Balancing a Personal Injury Career and Motherhood - PIMM109 Podcast

Levin & Perconti is a leading personal injury law firm based in Chicago. Joining us today is managing partner Margaret Battersby Black. Margaret is an award-winning attorney who has obtained many large verdicts and settlements including record ones for her clients especially in the areas of nursing home and medical malpractice cases at Levin & Perconti. Margaret is committed to the advancement of women in the legal profession and serves as a mentor to law students and younger lawyers. In 2023 she was bestowed the “Carole K. Bellows Women of Influence” award which honors those who are advocates for action addressing women’s issues and promote involvement by women in the legal community at all levels. Additionally, Margaret will be installed as the 3rd Vice President of ITLA, ascending to the presidency in 2028 as the organization’s 75th president. She will become the 4th woman president in the organization’s history. Today, she’s going to talk with us about what it’s like being both a personal injury attorney and a mom with two young kids. Visit Margaret online here: https://www.levinperconti.com/attorneys/margaret-p-battersby-black/. See all episodes or subscribe to the Personal Injury Marketing Minute here: https://optimizemyfirm.com/podcasts/. Transcription: Lindsey: Welcome to the Personal Injury Marketing Minute, where we quickly cover the hot topics in the legal marketing world. I'm your host, Lindsey Busfield. Every year, more and more women have been joining the legal profession. According to the ABA, women now comprise 41% of all lawyers in the United States. With women now making up over 56% of all law school students, this trend is only expected to escalate. But women face some hurdles in their careers that men simply don't, at least not to the same degree. This is especially true when it comes to balancing motherhood and a high-pressure career. To be clear, many male lawyers are amazing fathers who are actively engaged in their kids' lives, and y'all deserve support and praise too. But as women continue to join the legal profession in droves, it is important to be mindful of the challenges and opportunities to provide support as we push forward in our path to legal excellence. Margaret:, an award-winning... Attorney from Levin & Perconti joins us today to discuss life as a personal injury attorney and a mom with two young children. In 2023, she was bestowed the Carol K. Bellows Women of Influence Award, which honors those who advocate for women's issues and promote women's involvement in the legal community. Thank you so much for joining us today. Margaret: Thanks, Lindsey. I'm glad to be here. Lindsey: Well, tell us a little bit about yourself and how you got started in your legal career. Margaret: Sure. So I've actually been working in my legal career, and this is now my 18th year, I think, 17th year as a lawyer. But I actually started with this firm as a law clerk back in 2006. And so backing up a little bit, I grew up in Michigan. I come from a family of lawyers and judges, and according to my parents, I always had a sense of fairness and justice. And so I think that was probably a challenge for my parents, but they understood that maybe it meant that I had some spirit that was destined to, you know, take me to into the field of law. And so I did, actually, law was not my first career. I went to the University of Michigan, had the great fortune of getting into their undergrad business school, and there were a lot of opportunities for me coming out of undergrad to move to Chicago and work at a financial firm. So I did that for several years. I liked it. I had great opportunities, but I did realize that I probably wasn't meant to sit at a desk in crunch numbers. And the idea of law school was always in the back of my mind. My dad had suggested that I take some time off and work. Work,