Deneen Howell, second from left, with husband Donald Vieira and their children Vivian and Jasper. Photo: Diego M. Radzinschi/ALM

Efficiency is an art form for Deneen Howell, whose clients include former President Barack Obama, novelist James Patterson and former House Speaker John Boehner. The Williams & Connolly partner and her husband Donald Vieira, a partner at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, have two children—Jasper, 8, and Vivian, 5—and two goldfish. Howell, 46, is co-chair of the employment counseling and litigation practice group and co-chair of the transactions and business counseling practice group at the Washington, D.C.-based law firm, where she's worked since 1998. Here's what a typical workday looks like for Howell, who lives in D.C.'s Cleveland Park neighborhood.

Pushups and Planks I set an alarm on my phone and I usually get up between 5:45 and 6. First thing I do is check my phone and see if any emails have come in from the night before that might make me need to shift my to-do list. Right now what I'm doing is a workout challenge. It's a series of pushups and planks, so I do that. Then I have my debate about whether I wake up the kids first or I take a shower first. They could always benefit with a little more sleep but I feel like as a family we can benefit with a little more time spent getting ready.

Peanut Butter and a Tiny Spoon My husband usually goes downstairs and makes breakfast. The kids eat the same thing and we're fairly routinized. It's usually fruit and oatmeal or sometimes some extra protein. I will eat peanut butter everyday because I would eat only peanut butter all day—that and popcorn if I was being honest. Literally I get a measuring spoon and a little dish and I spoon out a couple of tablespoons of peanut butter. I have this tiny little espresso spoon I like to use to eat it.

Trade Offs My husband and I trade off on which one of us gets the kids finished eating, their teeth brushed, their clothes on, their backpacks packed, snacks in the bag, their library books that need to be returned. Our goal is to be out the door by 7:50. We only live about four blocks from the school.

Dual Calendars Other than the first email check-in, I'm not working again until I get to my desk usually at about 9. I check emails again to see what came in between 6 or so and 9. I'll see whether that changes the way I run my day. I have a month-at-a-glance spiral paper calendar that I usually carry with me everywhere. Then I have the Outlook calendar on my phone. I try to have the same appointments in each. I make sure those things match up, and I'll think about what are my pockets of time between calls and meetings. During those times, I'm reviewing contracts, editing, talking to colleagues.

Unusual Practice I usually have 20 to 30 active client engagements going on at one time. I negotiate a variety of contracts, from publishing agreements to executive compensation arrangements. There really is no typical day. I think my practice is unique for a Big Law practice. Most lawyers are representing companies and not individuals. I have a handful of clients that are companies with employment-related work. But the vast majority of clients are individuals. I almost never know who might call me.

The Three R's When I was an associate, work was hard, but it was the only thing I was doing. When I got married and had kids, I felt I knew the law game pretty well, but I had to figure out how to make the family game work. I like to think about both my work life and home life with my own set of three R's: Being realistic, responsive and relatable. I'm realistic with my clients in helping them manage expectations about me. With my kids, I'm realistic about what they can expect from their mom. With being responsive, I try to meet their needs, whether it's clients or my kids as best I can. For relatable, I really want my clients to know and understand me and for me to know and understand them, so that I can meet their needs. I've learned that people love to talk about their families. It helps me to understand what it is that they want. Taking the time to make sure you know your clients and they know you helps with managing everyone's expectations.

Lots of Files I have three desks—three work surfaces. One is a large partner desk with no electronics or phone. I can just printout and look at things that way. Behind that I have a credenza with a computer and two-full size monitors. I also have a separate conference table that has a mobile speaker phone. I generally have lots and lots of paper around me. I have probably 35 files around me.

Early Lunch I tend to graze through the morning, and I've usually eaten whatever I'm eating for lunch by 11:30. If I pack my lunch, I'll bring humus, cut veggies, maybe a hard-boiled egg and some fruit. I eat that throughout the morning.

Steps and More Steps I try to get out of the office but some days I can't because of the pace of the calls. If a colleague wants to talk, I'll ask them if they want to go for a walk. I have three different Fitbits that I use depending on what I'm wearing, My goals are 11,000 or 12,000 steps. I don't always hit it. Some days I will bike [to get steps in]. On other days, I might take the Metro but walk a couple of stops.

School's Out Our nanny gets the kids and brings them home or takes them to playdates or to after-school activities. She prepares them dinner and makes sure my daughter gets a bath. By the time we get home around 6:30 or 7 our kids have had dinner. The kids are in bed between 8 and 8:30. For those couple hours before bed we're playing games, reading books, picking out clothes for the next day. Both my kids are voracious listeners and readers.

Winding Down After all the reading is done, that's usually when I make myself some dinner. Most nights I have salmon. I'm a creature of habit. My husband and I tend to do our own thing. He usually grabs something to eat right when he hits the door because he's super hungry and will scrounge for whatever's left in the fridge. I'm able to wait, and I'll usually make something.

Checking In After the kids are in bed, I'm almost always checking email just to see if anything I might have been working on got moved forward in any way that I need to keep up with before the next morning. A handful of nights a month, sometimes more concentrated than that, I've scheduled calls. I'll get back on the phone at 9 o'clock or 10 o'clock depending on the time zone involved. On nights when I don't have scheduled calls, it's usually just status checking, and I might respond to an email or two and reset my priorities for the next day, depending.

TV and Books I love to watch “Homeland” when it's on. I watch lots of things on BBC—I watched “Downton Abbey” when that was on, and I love to watch all the detective shows. But lately, I'm kind of getting into my kids' books. I might finish whatever I've started with them. I just recently finished the book “Wonder.” My son got the book for his birthday. I go to bed sometime between 11 and midnight.