Working
moms
just
can’t
win.
Particularly
in
the
legal
industry
where
the
adversarial
process
can
fuel
a
more
competitive
spirit
than
is
particularly
healthy
and
can
make
folks
forget
their
humanity.
Over
at
Lioness
Stories,
a
storytelling
platform
that
highlights
first-person
narratives,
there’s
a
particularly
infuriating
story
reminding
folks
just
how
toxic
the
legal
profession
can
be.
The
Instagram
post
highlights
the
story
of
attorney
Rachael
Kierych.
She
balanced
a
high-risk
pregnancy
and
a
trial.
She
won
the
case
at
seven
months
pregnant,
but
during
that
time
she
was
also
was
hospitalized
four
times
and
gave
birth
prematurely
(her
daughter
was
placed
in
the
neonatal
intensive
care
unit).
But
at
a
time
when
her
attention
should
be
on
the
health
of
herself
and
family,
instead
she
had
to
deal
with
on
attacks
on
her
professionalism.
In
her
own
words:
You
would
think
the
story
ends
there.
Sadly,
that
is
not
the
case.
After
filing
a
brief
in
this
same
matter
while
postpartum,
opposing
counsel
found
it
appropriate
to
continue
his
harassment
campaign
sending
a
letter
to
the
court
accusing
me
in
a
public
filing
of
misrepresenting
my
health
conditions,
and
refusing
to
withdraw
the
letter
even
after
being
informed
I
had
been
hospitalized
and
my
daughter
had
been
admitted
to
the
NICU.
This
is
the
unfortunate
state
of
the
legal
industry.
As
Kierych
told
the
court,
a
brief
was
filed
while
she
was
on
leave,
and
opposing
counsel
chose
to
use
that
as
a
sword
against
her
and
he
did
so
without
knowledge
of
any
of
the
medical
details
or
when
drafting
on
the
motion
was
done
or
the
allocation
of
work
on
the
plaintiff’s
team.
It’s
a
sad
attempt
at
a
“gotcha”
moment
without
regard
for
the
actual
people
on
the
other
side
of
the
caption.
Read
the
full
story
below.
Kathryn
Rubino
is
a
Senior
Editor
at
Above
the
Law,
host
of
The
Jabot
podcast,
and
co-host
of
Thinking
Like
A
Lawyer.
AtL
tipsters
are
the
best,
so
please
connect
with
her.
Feel
free
to
email
her
with
any
tips,
questions,
or
comments
and
follow
her
on
Twitter
@Kathryn1 or
Mastodon
@[email protected].