Lori Mihalich-Levin | Making a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave

Episode #73

On this week’s episode of the Wealthy Woman Lawyer Podcast, we speak with Lori Mihalich-Levin. Lori is a healthcare lawyer, partner in a large global law firm, the Founder and CEO of Mindful Return, and the author of Back to Work After Baby: How to Plan and Navigate a Mindful Return from Maternity Leave. Called a working mama guru by Working Mother Magazine, Lori is committed to promoting women’s equality and leadership throughout her career.


Lori says, “After my second maternity leave, I went back to work, and it was just a mess. I found myself crying on the kitchen floor way more often than I could have imagined and I looked around and saw all sorts of resources focused on the baby, but not focused on the professional identity of the mom. And so I said, wait a minute, there's a problem here. I wish that there had been a program, or a curriculum, or a community I could have joined to be with other people and to learn how to go back to work in a calmer, more empowered way, so I founded Mindful Return to fill that gap.”


We speak about her journey to creating Mindful Return, as well as:

  • Helpful strategies for parents returning to work from parental leave

  • Shifting attitudes towards parental leave in the legal industry

  • Her passion for promoting equality in the workplace

  • Her advice for those struggling to balance work and childcare during the pandemic

  • And more