My mother and all my friends' mothers worked hard, partly to support us. We are all now successful and happy. I consider myself lucky to have a mother who is intelligent, independent and interesting; nothing about this article seems selfish, wrong or unusual to me. Thankyou, Ms. Savill.

Roisin McCourt, Manchester, UK

Who are you to judge this woman? Why is it her responsability to keep her marriage (her business, by the way) afloat to someone who for all you know could be a lazy, philandering bigot? Would your comments be so hard if the reason she needed a nanny was because the husband was dead?

I agree that most women could be more supportive of one another, rather than stand in constant competition with each other, but that's a wider issue.

Becoming partner is done by putting in long hours of hard work - that's just the nature of the profession - and you don't get to that level without being committed and intelligent.

Being a parent is also hard work - the more hands to help out, the better! If you haven't got a partner or family to lean on, there's no shame in employing a nanny. Most of you would do it if you could afford it, if you could only admit it to yourselves.

Learn to live with the choices you make, you bitter, jealous, twisted people!

Caroline , London,

I don't find the author's take as insecure, rather I think she was anticipating some of the flack she would receive for daring to suggest that an acceptable balance could be achieved by a woman between family life and a career, acceptable that is to her, her children and her firm. The question of balance is an intensely personal one and I applaud her courage and honesty in putting herself forward in this way. I was dismayed by the comments which implied that a woman's place was with her children 24/7 - please, take that notion back to the unenlightened cave from which you so recently emerged.

Jane, London,

Is it just me, or do you sense a great deal of insecurity in what this "separated from her kids father" successful lawyer wrote?

I particularly loved the bit where she said "And nurturing the boys has made me better at communicating messages of support and encouragement to the younger associates.". Wow! Doesn't treating adults as you would children actually define the word Patronising ?

Andrew, Oxford, England

Call me naive, but I don't think this is very representative of life as a female lawyer with kids. Sure, there are partners in City firms who have 2 nannies and never see their kids, but it doesn't have to be that way.

I am a single mother to 2 lovely kids, nearly finished the LPC and looking forward to starting my training contract with a large regional firm. I picked this firm because I know people who work there and they seem to have a decent work/life balance. I want a good job, but I do want to actually SEE my kids each day, too. I think this is achievable if you work for a regional firm, and the quality of work is still stimulating, too.

It may well be unpalatable, but the truth of being a mother is that something DOES have to give - either within your parenting, or your job. What's wrong with making the decision to work for a "lesser" firm in order to have more time for your family?

Sophie, Guildford,

There are female partners at major city firms who had children prior to being made up. It is do-able, and without missing every important moment of your children's lives too. Sensible planning - going home at 5 or 6 and then taking calls/working from home - is not rocket science and should be the norm for men and women (parents and non-parents alike) who do not physically need to be in the office. The culture of presenteeism is bad for families, yes, but it is also terrible for anyone who wants a social life or to have interests and to become a remotely rounded person. The sooner men start asking for these changes the better - then they can become the norm and stop being the province of women who realise that life is too short to spend chained to a particularly tedious desk.

Belle, London,

OMG!!! DO you all hear yourselves??? She works hard (so is allowed a nanny, a big house and nice car too if she wants James!!) & is a mother something that faces anyone who wants to have a career & a family! AND yes those commenting on the status of the father, you are being judgemental, we don't have those facts so you can't comment on them!! WHAT is she doing about it, prob being sympathetic to her employees in the same position, having seen many female partners in my law firm mellow when they start their own families it is not these women that are the problem, it is the women & men who have not had children & do not know the pressures that are unrealistic about what a lawyer should do. I know of trainees and non partners in the same position, lack of nanny means more dependence on parents and nursery but still the same rushing about. An article by them would not be so very different. AND re legal aid work, little secret, when you are negotiating a deal involving jobs that is lives

Rachel, Edinburgh, Scotland

I found the article interesting because it is the unfortunate truth about the way the profession is for women; Please be gentle with the comments on Lisbeth she has had to devise her own coping mechanism and fulfil her aspirations. My experience as a woman lawyer in private practise, you don't mix child bearing with climbing the ladder. Some of us are determined to make it and to leave a legacy to our children and that is the school of thought I belong. Similar case scenario with Lisbeth in part in that father not present and not involved, the female lawyer curse, I hope not. I practice on my own account now from home aim to ensure my daughters come home to me after school and I am in control of my time. Downside strapped for cash.

Margaret Olusegun, London, UK

It is possible to be a working mother - millions of women manage it successfully. Ms Savill sounds like she wants it all at any cost but it seems she has yet to achieve it, and I doubt she ever will to her own ideal. Some blasted man will probably always be in her way.

But then Ms Savill has chosen the dry business of Corporate Law (which, let's face it, is populated by dullards whose only skill is memorising and regurgitating text that no interesting person can be bothered to), and in what I imagine is in the morally bankrupt world of film financing - negotiating money to make 120 mins of trite brit flick that's never going to make the world feel like a better place, but the money it cost would do if used properly.

"The father of the boys, who lives seperately..."
Is it too harsh to suggest that more focus on the family might have prevented this?

Maurice Culladge, London,

Does that mean there's an extra space on the Barcelona trip?

Jimmy , London,

I have a of working with one lovely solicitor who worked day and night to make partner, found sitting in her rome crying one day as her children had started calling the nanny "Mummy".

Lisbeth would be proud I imagine.

Repeat after me "It. is. only. a. job."

Joe Flam, NYC, NY

As a budding lawyer balancing both a full time job and a part time GDL, i find this article rather deflating. This article does not, in the slightest, answer the question of how to juggle work and family - sidelining your children into the care of another person just isnt good enough for many people. Doesn't the fact that the father lives seperately just show that the balls aren't still in the air here, they've been dropped - not what i would call proficient juggling. I agree with Alex in Indiana, disappointing.

AM, London,

Snobbish, condesending and stomach churning. Finding the right Nanny to fully asume the role of mother without tarnishing your image must have been awful.
Children can be difficult, not like other accessories, they need attention even over the odd Barcelona weekend.
You confirm the image of legal practice that people despise and why they distrust the system.
Try remembering why you entered the profession or would that be too common.

James Sinclair, Peterborough,

I have to agree with Helen, Lindsey and Alex on this. Can we have the same article written by a trainee, or newly qualified? Lisbeth can hardly call herself an inspiration to us all. Shoot me if I end up as self-obsessed as her, but then I probably won't since I already have children and am still a student.... No chance for me to ever make partner I'd best get down the job centre and get a realistic job down Tescos.

Susan, Glastonbury, UK

And if you weren't a partner you certainly wouldn't be able to "take an extra 4 weeks holiday a year" - which you then presumably ruin by spending every minute on your blackberry anyway. Do you allow all the employees in your firm extra holiday if they've got children? I suspect not. Women like you make me sick - you make partner, and then abuse your position to make sure the people who work for you are forced to make the choices that you haven't had to. As for your "high end" job - try doing legal aid work where there are real people's lives at stake and then tell me your job is terribly demanding and difficult because you can sit at home making phone calls to LA.

Helen , Liverpool,

would the same opinion be held if a man had written this email.

Parental responsibilities should apply equally to both a mother and father. If a woman works hard to get to the top of her career, why then should she be made to feel guilty that she is neglecting her family. Why should a woman be deprived of a professional career, because it is seen as earned at a cost to her children. By comparison if a man works hard to reach the top, he would not suffer the same response, arguably he is seen as successful, he is doing the best to provide for his family.

Both a mother and father can ensure that their children do not suffer so-called 'working parent neglect' whereby at least one parent is available for the children, whilst the other works and then alternate.

RKW, Essex, England

"If I’d had children as an associate, it’s quite possible that my life would have taken a different course. I’ve wracked my brain, but I can’t actually think of a female lawyer I know who had children at a junior level and went on to make partner. Quite a lot of men, but no women. Isn’t that awful!"

Yes, it is awful!! What are people like you doing about it?! Shouldn't you, as a senior female, be making it possible/easier for women in a junior position to feel they are able to have children AND have a career without the enormous salary you undoubtedly get which allows you to 'have it all'? Women should help women: too often they are treated worst by women!

Lindsay, Brighton, UK

I congratulate you on showing your kids that your job is more important to you than they are. How disappointing.

Alex, Bloomington, Indiana, USA