PBN 2021 Leaders & Achievers Awards
Lauren Motola-Davis | Managing partner, Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP
Lauren Motola-Davis is a managing partner at the law firm Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith LLP and has worked out of the Providence location since it opened in 2015.
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Learn MoreOver the past six years, she has helped grow the team of attorneys and staff from six to 16 people, leading the local office of the country’s sixth-largest law firm. For Motola-Davis, leadership is something earned and developed after years of hard work, and a quality cultivated through empathy, trust and the levity of laughter.
“One does not become a leader overnight,” she said. “You have to work your way up.”
Such work often requires years of working every day, being available outside the window of 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., and having “total devotion to the entity, to the firm, to the employers.”
Motola-Davis says one of the most essential elements of being a leader is being a team player.
“Union is strength,” she said, noting this belief has been central to her career. “I could not have become a leader without the hard work of the people who report to me – it’s a team effort.”
Motola-Davis takes time to connect with her staff and believes it’s important to create a sense of belonging in the workplace.
“I try to interact with everyone on a personal level, to be cognizant of how they’re feeling and what’s going on in their families,” she said.
Laughter, too, has its place, even in a law firm.
“We laugh a lot during the day,” she said.
When the world shifted to Zoom meetings due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Motola-Davis made sure to maintain the same work environment during video calls.
“Comic relief, I’m a big proponent of that,” she said.
She also takes time to focus on her mental health and encourages her staff to do the same. For Motola-Davis, this means making time for yoga and meditation at least five days a week.
“It’s not unusual to find me doing a headstand in my office,” she said.