For many female lawyers, the mantra of “just pushing through” across the many demands of life has become more than a mindset – it’s a survival strategy. However, Kate Redman warns that this deeply ingrained approach can be damaging and outlines what must be done to break the cycle.
Juggling the demands of being partners, spouses, and legal professionals – while striving to excel at all of them – many female lawyers have imposed on themselves the mantra of “just pushing through” every task.
While this mindset can be deeply harmful, Kate Redman, director and principal solicitor of Kate Redman & Associates, painted a stark picture of why it persists.
She described how female lawyers often feel trapped between the relentless pressures of their careers and caregiving responsibilities, leaving them with little choice but to keep pushing forward.
“I think a lot of female lawyers think they have to just push through because there aren’t any other options,” she said.
“Caring demands placed on women both for their children and for aging parents means that many essentially have two full-time jobs – lawyer and mother/daughter – and then their lawyer job.
“Neither of these full-time jobs can be given up because financially, they need their lawyer income, and personally, there is no one else who will step into the caring role, so they feel there’s no choice but to just push through.”
The relentless act of juggling both worlds and pushing yourself to make it all appear seamless can carry profound consequences, both professional and personal.
Redman highlighted this harsh reality, explaining how years of sacrificing their personal lives for their careers often leave female lawyers questioning, “Is this it?” when the promised rewards of partnership, stability, and high income fail to materialise.
“Consistently prioritising work doesn’t always come with the pay off we’re promised in law school and by society – that there’s a partnership track, that we’ll always have a stable job with a high income – and that can be really demoralising for a lot of female lawyers, especially when they have put other things on the backburner in favour of building their legal career,” she said.
“Many female lawyers feel a sense of ‘Is this it?’ When they look around after decades of working until midnight and lost track of who they are outside of being lawyers.”
To challenge this deeply ingrained mindset, Redman urged female lawyers to rethink their approach and consider joining firms that are breaking the traditional mould – offering true flexibility, transparent rewards, and a culture that values life beyond the law.
“The most important shift in mindset is to look around and realise there are lots of firms breaking away from the traditional law firm model and offering true flexibility, transparent bonus policies and prioritisation of their employees having lives outside of the law,” she said.
“It’s dangerous to think that things have always been the way they will always be.
“It can feel like a brave step to move to working for a firm like mine – maximum flexibility in hours, no billable unit requirements, generous and achievable bonus policy, recognition and rewards that don’t mean spending more time at work – but it’s worth it.”
However, Redman emphasised that supporting female lawyers and changing this reality isn’t just about individual choices, but rather requires meaningful systemic change.
She stressed that law firms must question everything, taking a step back to examine why they operate the way they do – from rigid billable hour requirements to outdated systems – and to never assume that longstanding practices are automatically effective.
“Question everything. Take a bird’s-eye view of your firm and ask yourself why you do the things you do. Why aren’t employees allowed to work from home? Why does your firm have billable hour requirements per day?” she said.
“Why doesn’t your firm do more work on a fixed-fee basis so time recording isn’t even necessary? Why don’t you have adequate systems and processes in place that support flexibility and efficiency so that your lawyers aren’t chained to their desks completing meaningless administration tasks after hours?
“I think it’s about never assuming that just because something has been done a certain way for a long time, it’s working.”
