Charting Your Own Course: How a Returnship Program Can Benefit Your Career
Debbie Klein has charted her own course when it comes to her career. I admire her courage in the way she has written her own story and has followed her own rules. Whatever Debbie does she does with her whole heart. She builds relationships, makes connections, becomes an expert, and is invested in the success of whatever she is involved in. From serving as an inner-city teacher through Teach for America, to working at a law firm to being a “professional” volunteer when she was a stay-at-home-mom and then returning to the same law firm through a returnship program, Debbie has embraced the career path that has unfolded in front of her.
When Debbie graduated college, she joined the Teach for America program and served as a classroom teacher in Oakland, California. She had a vision that she would change the world by advocating for juvenile rights, but the universe had other plans for her. After graduating from Yale Law School, she ended up working at Davis Polk & Wardwell, a prestigious law firm. She was surprised to discover that she thrived there as a corporate lawyer specializing in capital markets. She found it exciting to be an active member of the deal team and to participate in many closings. International travel was a welcome “perk” too!
Eighteen years later, she was given an opportunity to find a way back to Davis Polk through the Davis Polk Revisted program. The program welcomes back to the firm former Davis Polk lawyers who have taken a break from the legal profession and wish to return to full-time legal careers. She had never anticipated she would be able to return to a law firm after being out for so long.
During the sizeable gap in between her two stints at Davis Polk, Debbie threw herself into her community, volunteering for the local schools, her synagogue, political campaigns, and other causes. She became a “professional” volunteer.
When Debbie’s oldest daughter was eleven, she began working full-time for a non-profit and was able to earn a paycheck and get back into the rhythm of having a job. She saw that she could work consistent hours while raising kids. After working there for several years, she moved on to a job at an insurance company and then at a Human Resources compliance training company. Each of these jobs helped her acclimate to being a working mom and stay connected to the professional world.
When she received the alumni newsletter from Davis Polk in 2016 announcing the Davis Polk Revisited program, she immediately clicked to learn more – this was exactly the path Debbie was seeking to find her way back. When she interviewed for the job, she spoke from the heart about what it would mean to her to have this opportunity. And when she got the offer, she was both elated and understandably a little nervous.
She was assigned to a practice area of the firm that was new to her. In hindsight, she thinks it benefited her. She could really be a blank slate and learn along with the first-year lawyers in her group. Debbie was 48 years old working with young people in their mid to late 20s who had just graduated from law school. The young associates helped her with the newer technology and she helped them by using her life experiences to share different perspectives. “I immersed myself and felt a part of the team”, she says. Debbie laughs when she recounts the time her practice group coordinator reached out to her to rally her colleagues to attend a happy hour. Debbie responded, “you do realize you are reaching out to the oldest member of the group to rally people to come?” But this does not surprise me. Knowing Debbie as well as I do, I know how she is able to bring people together.
The program was a full year and at the end of the year, Debbie was offered, and accepted, an invitation to stay. There was certainly not a shortage of resources which contributed to Debbie’s success. The professional development trainings both within her group and firmwide were invaluable and she credits the incredible alumni team who ran the program for their unwavering guidance and mentorship along the way. Davis Polk also provided Debbie with an executive coach who met with her periodically throughout her first year and helped her with the transition. The biggest challenge for Debbie was the piece around her family. She had to find help at home, manage a demanding commute and adapt to a new way of life with her family. She collaborated with her coach to figure out how to achieve a healthy work-life balance which involved recognizing what things she would not give up – what the coach called the “non-negotiables” (kids’ birthdays, dance recitals, back-to school nights etc.) and where she could let go.
Fortunately, she discovered that her return to Davis Polk had benefits for her family, beyond the financial rewards. Her daughters learned to cook, walked home from school and became more independent overall. Going back to work was not a walk in the park though. She often worked past 8:00 at night and yearned for her kids at 3:00 knowing they were coming home from school then, but they all made it work.
While Debbie enjoyed all of her clients, she worked extensively with one client in particular during her time at Davis Polk. She felt motivated to produce for this client and she developed a relationship of trust which she found fulfilling. This expertise allowed her to function at a more senior level for the client and eventually she left Davis Polk to work for this client directly as in-house counsel.
Debbie enjoys the variety of work she now has and appreciates her hybrid schedule and short commute. She continues to learn and grow in her role and credits the Davis Polk Revisited program as the perfect mechanism for her to return to the legal world. She is glad she took the leap and embraced the opportunity.
Debbie’s advice for returning to work after a gap:
Dive In: If you have an opportunity, go for it! Embrace the challenge fully!
Be Open Minded about the work and the people.
Recognize your Value: Even though you have a gap in your practice, you come with life experience which leads to perspective and wisdom from various roles you have had outside of work.
Find your niche and make yourself useful.
Build Relationships: Keep an open mind and connect with co-workers.
Hire a Coach to help you adapt to a new work-life situation.
Be Humble: Be willing to take a step back to make a step forward.
Kids are adaptable: If you really want or need to work, your kids will adapt.
Remember that the rest of your life is long. Debbie shared with me that she has no regrets about taking time at home. She knows that even though she returned to work at 48 years old she still has a lot of time to continue to make her mark on the world.
Interested in learning more about returnship programs? Here are some links to help with your search.
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