My family has an 80-plus year history of women in the law. It started with my mother, Mildred Reynolds Statuta, who became one of Massachusetts’ first hundred female lawyers in 1934, when she received an LlB from Northeastern School of Law and joined the Massachusetts Bar. I followed my mother into the profession, graduating from the University of Maryland with a JD and joined the Maryland Bar in 1973. In 1978, I moved to Florida with my husband and one child and joined the Florida Bar. I have practiced family law for 45 years, in solo practice, small firms and three large law firms.

However, neither of my daughters is a lawyer. They observed their mother and grandmother. They concluded that lawyers work too hard. Their decision has made me reflect about what we can do not only to encourage women to join the legal profession, but also help them achieve long and successful careers as lawyers. That was the subject of a recent ABA panel in Chicago.