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.
Over 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.
