Kathleen wanted to be a lawyer for as long as she can remember. Even today, she loves her work and can't imagine doing anything else.

But like many attorneys, she struggled with the feeling of being tied to her job for 24 hours a day. Working for one of Atlanta's most-respected large firms, she was expected to work at night and on the weekends and had little time for personal interests.

“I really liked the people I worked with and the sophisticated work I was doing at the firm, but I didn't enjoy working all the time,” said Kathleen, a native of Kalamazoo, Mich. “I needed to find something that let me breathe outside of the office a little more but still challenged me professionally.”

Counsel On Call provided Kathleen a very attractive solution. Unsure at first what the world of assignment-based legal work would bring, she was encouraged to find that the clients she worked with provided an opportunity to expand her areas of practice and increase her leadership roles on the legal teams.

“Counsel On Call is plugged in with the best firms and companies, and their attorneys get the best assignments. That was very attractive to me,” she said, noting that she works 40 hours per week, on average.

“I've graduated to a higher level of work with each assignment, from litigation support to playing the senior associate role and now basically serving as in-house counsel,” she said. “I've worked on anti-trust cases, directly with the lead litigation attorney, and even traveled a lot. It's a wonderful variety and allows me to use my bankruptcy expertise, too.”

Working with Counsel On Call has also allowed Kathleen to concentrate on volunteer work, something she thoroughly enjoys. She gives medication to sick cats at a local shelter outside of Atlanta on Saturdays and is also active with the Susan G. Komen Foundation. She recently participated in the Foundation's Breast Cancer 3-Day, a 60-mile walk in support of the fight against breast cancer.

“I love to volunteer. My time at the cat shelter is always enjoyable, and I like to dive into the causes I support,” she said. “It's very nice to know that if there's a project I want to get involved in, I can do it and not worry about it interfering with work.”