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&lt;div class=&quot;BlogArticle&quot;&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;em&gt;Tara Kelly&lt;br /&gt;Litigation Counsel&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;/wps/portal/usa/companies/company-profile/King-&amp;amp;-Spalding?companyId=397&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;King &amp;amp; Spalding LLP&lt;/a&gt;, Houston&lt;/em&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:00 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Wake up. Because I keep my blackberry by my bed, I check it before I get up to see if there is anything I need to respond to immediately. I’m an addict—I know.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:30 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Feed the dogs, let them out and make tea.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;6:45 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Drink tea with my cat on my lap, and respond to e-mail and Twitter—I have three Twitter accounts: one personal, one law-related and one related to the non-profit urban garden where I serve on the Board.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:30 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Get ready for work, kiss my sleeping daughter (she is 3 1/2 and stays at home with my husband) and drive to work. I live 15 minutes from work in a 1920s bungalow. Sometimes the longest part of my commute is driving up to the 12th Floor of the parking garage.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8:30 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Coffee (of course).&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;8:30 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Touch base with an expert and a team member on status of tasks.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9:00 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Meet client at its office. On a daily basis, my work varies, depending on where we are in preparing a case for trial. This could mean client meetings or preparing a witness for a deposition.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;11 AM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Prep, conduct and teach webinar for West on Social Media and Ethics. For lunch, I eat at my desk most days, but at least once or twice a week, I take a client or other contact out to lunch.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;1:00 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Participate in an hour-long conference call with client, miss call from elusive fact witness and read several emails from team members on discovery and deadlines. I make a quick call to our Louisiana counsel on a discovery dispute—many of our cases are venued in Louisiana.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;2:30 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Catch up with my team. The cases I work on include a number of lawyers and paralegals. Since I’m usually the one “driving the trains,” this usually means reviewing briefs, working on discovery and talking through legal issues.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;3:30 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;This day, I ran out to watch my daughter’s ballet class (the challenge: not to be on my blackberry the entire time). Call a client on the way back to the office.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;4:30 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Catch up with an expert, hold a phone conference with a pro bono client, sit with an associate to talk through a contractual interpretation issue, answer client email and try again to catch the elusive fact witness. No luck on the fact witness. During breaks, I follow up on some tasks for non-profits I’m involved in. This week, I worked on soliciting auction items for a raffle, contacting a logo designer and finding alternative energy exhibitors for Earth Day. It’s amazing what you can get done on email, twitter, or Facebook in a few spare moments.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;7:30 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Go home. But at least two or three days out of the week, I will go out. This week, I attended a board meeting, a get-together with some foodie friends and a hockey game with clients. When I stay home, I am greeted by my daughter at the door with a hug. We play, draw, and watch kids’ movies or old musicals. I respond to emails.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;9:00 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;We eat late. My husband is a fantastic cook and makes great food from local ingredients, which he plates like a professional. He takes pictures of the food for Twitter, which I get to vote on before he posts.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;10:30 PM:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;Two nighttime stories and bed for both my daughter and me. My husband cleans the kitchen.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;My day:&#160;&lt;/strong&gt;It is varied and sometimes tiring but fun.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;http://www.kslaw.com/&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;King &amp;amp; Spalding site&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;http://www.kslaw.com/people/Tara-Kelly&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Tara Kelly&#39;s Bio&lt;/a&gt;&lt;br /&gt;&lt;a rel=&quot;noopener noreferrer&quot; href=&quot;http://twitter.com/#!/TXLawDiva&quot; target=&quot;_blank&quot;&gt;Follow Tara Kelly on Twitter&lt;/a&gt;&lt;/p&gt;&lt;/div&gt;&lt;div class=&quot;SocialShare d-flex flex-row&quot;&gt;&lt;/div&gt;

Tara Kelly

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