Leverage For Lawyers

ELIZABETH ZELINKA

By age 35, it looked as if I had achieved everything on my list.  I had graduated at the top of my class from Georgetown Law and landed a job at a top Wall Street law firm. I was in my tenth year at that same firm, handling exciting international deals.  I loved the work, my peers and the big money I earned.  I had two beautiful, healthy children, ages 1 and 3, a supportive husband, wonderful friends, and a lovely home in a charming DC neighborhood.   

So it was hard to understand why I woke up every day completely miserable. 

At the time, what I did understand is that my life had become completely unmanageable.  My career demanded just about everything I had to give in terms of time and energy.  I had hired a stable of people to live my personal life for me—nanny, housekeeper, dog walker, personal trainer.  When I saw my children, I was either dashing out of the house to work or racing in the house ready to collapse.  I’m not sure when I saw my husband, come to think of it.  In short, I was burned out and disconnected from the best parts of my life.

And I tried hard for a long time to ignore the extremely inconvenient thought that was forcing itself into my mind—that I needed to leave my career—the thing that I had worked so hard for, that paid my bills so well, that defined who I was. 

Long story short, in 2003 I decided to leave my firm, sell everything, and build a saner, calmer, happier life in a new place.  We moved to Tucson, and soon thereafter, I started a business working with big law firms to recruit talent.  My own small beginnings have led me to and through many changes.  Today, I am a Principal in a strong and innovative business that works with law firms all over the country in the area of talent management.  It is both exciting and rewarding in many ways.

It turns out that you can have it all.

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