My Mom, the Lawyer and author Michelle Browning-Coughlin were featured in on the ABA Journal’s podcast The Modern Law Library. You can listen here ..read more

I know you are ready to go. It’s a new year, a new decade, and you are ready to make 2020 your year. Your resolutions are made. Your motivation is high. You’re going to achieve those goals come hell or high water. Except, you’re a mom lawyer, right? You know that high water inevitably will come. The energy and momentum of January quickly fades into the gray doldrums of February. I don’t know if it’s Valentine’s day or what but that month just has a way of turning those resolutions made only weeks before into regrets. I’m not trying to be a Debbie Downer here; I’m honestly not. I think it’s awe ..read more

If you need a mug, a onesie, or a t-shirt with to show your support for MothersEsquire, check out our new store at www.teespring.com/mothersesquire. All proceeds go to help with MothersEsquire advocacy issues ..read more

Almost four years ago, I found myself in an attorney’s conference room outside a Houston courtroom, half-undressed in a skirt suit and heels, trying to frantically pump over a brief lunch break during a week-long jury trial.  The door did not have a lock, so I shoved a chair against the door and hoped I would have enough time to shout — “THIS IS A PRIVATE MEETING!” — if anyone tried to walk in. Continue reading here ..read more

Nursing mothers should not have to worry about whether they will have time to pump during the bar exam or have to choose between pumping or using the restroom. If a lactating mother is forced to take the bar exam without additional accommodations like extended break time or a private room to pump, it can cause her pain and health issues that will ultimately distract her from performing her best on the exam.   Female students in law schools are beginning to outnumber their male counterparts. According to the ABA, as of 2020 for the fifth year in a row in accredited law schools, women made ..read more

Dear MothersEsquire community members, sponsors, and friends: We are thrilled to announce that our MothersEsquire Together We Rise conference is officially rescheduled for May 13th, 2022 in Louisville, Kentucky! Making the decision to postpone this September’s conference was difficult, but the universal support we’ve received from our community members, sponsors, and vendors reassured us that rescheduling for the spring is the best option to bring our supportive, dynamic community together safely. This spring we will be able to move forward with what has always been our goal for the conference ..read more

Dear MothersEsquire community members, sponsors, and friends: We are deeply saddened to share that we are postponing the MothersEsquire Together We Rise conference.  Our primary goal with this conference has always been to create a powerful in-person community-building experience for our members, who as mother lawyers, are familiar with navigating what risks we’re willing to take with our own health and the health and safety of our children and families. While waiting for the fall to host our conference seemed like the most prudent path forward just a few months ago, the sad reality today ..read more

By: Nicole Gehringer & Lyndsey Siara   A South Florida lawmaker introduced legislation which would require Florida courthouses to provide lactation spaces. Senator Lori Berman filed SB 196 with an eye towards improving the quality of life for women entering Florida’s courthouse facilities. Her efforts reinvigorate our passion and provide a shining example for other states to follow. Nearly four years after opening two lactation rooms at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse in Tampa, Florida, we reflect on the experience and offer five ways to improve a courthouse lactation room. These a ..read more

Mothers Esquire thanks the Kentucky Bar Foundation for its financial support in our efforts to get a Parental Continuance Rule adopted in Kentucky! What is a PARENTAL CONTINUANCE RULE? A Parental Continuance Rule shifts the burden to the opposing party to prove it would cause undue harm to the case when a new parent requests continuance on a case, as opposed to having the parent subjected to potential unconscious caregiver bias. Mothers Esquire advocates for each state to adopt a Parental Continuance Rule, wherein courts would presumptively grant a request for a parental continuance by ei ..read more

My vanity is home to a large collection of products ranging from dry shampoo rejects (I should probably throw out) to various hues of beauty blenders. I am a self-proclaimed “girly girl”.  As a millennial, I have grown up in a generation of Youtube makeup gurus and influencers who have preached hair and skincare commandments at me since puberty. While I do not enjoy the toll this takes on my morning routine, and to be honest my sleep, I do generally enjoy wearing makeup and styling my hair for work. Although, I envy my boyfriend’s markedly shorter fifteen-minute shower to door routine. &n ..read more