Susan Smith Blakely PLI Webinara123.g.akamai.net/.../pm/175643/pdf/03-30-2016_1300_98835_Wom… ·...
Transcript of Susan Smith Blakely PLI Webinara123.g.akamai.net/.../pm/175643/pdf/03-30-2016_1300_98835_Wom… ·...
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Susan Smith Blakely
PLI Webinar
“Overcoming the Challenges for Women
Lawyers”
March 30, 2016
Today I Will Talk About:
S The Grim Retention Statistics for Women in the Law;
S Why women leave and why law firms should care;
S The responsibility of law firm leaders to provide
effective leadership and contribute to the solutions for
women lawyers;
S What constitutes effective leadership for women
lawyers; and
S What women lawyers must do to remain in the
profession and advance to leadership positions.
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About Susan Blakely
Practicing lawyer with experience including law firm
partner and Chief of Staff in public service;
Retired from practice in 2006 to found
LegalPerspectives LLC and Best Friends at the Bar;
Married to a private practice commercial litigator and
the mother of two --- a daughter, who is a lawyer in
NYC, and a son, who is a 3L; and
Author of Best Friends at the Bar books, speaker,
blogger, career coach and consultant on issues
related to women lawyers.
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The Best Friends at the Bar
Project
S Books AND More --- In the US and Abroad
S Blogs
S Speeches
S Newsletters
S Career Coaching
S Webinars
S Law Firm Women’s Initiatives
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Troublesome Statistics
50% of law school grads today are women;
33% of all lawyers are women;
Approximately 40% of women lawyers leave
the profession mid-career --- two to three
times as many as male lawyers;
Fewer than 20% of law firm partners are
women, and women are underrepresented
on law firm management committees;
75% of women law grads leave their first
firms after five to six years.
Recent Studies and The Need
for Change
S National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Report on
Retention and Promotion of Women In Law Firms,
November 2015: Rate at which law firms promote women
to equity partnership has not changed in nine years since
NAWL started reporting the annual survey; and
S Austin Manifesto, Women’s Power Summit on Law and
Leadership at University of Texas Law: Data on women in
positions of leadership have been discouraging and show
much less progress than had been anticipated.
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Historic Perspective
S Many women lawyers dropped out of law practice during
the 1980’s and the 1990’s as they started families;
S The work-life struggle and the male definition of success in
the law were on collision course;
S The promises of the Women’s Liberation Movement had
failed them;
S Women lawyers continue to drop out at alarming rates; and
S Leaving jobs in a weak economy with escalating costs of
living is risky business.
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S Women lawyers represent a large pool of
talent that is expensive to replace;
S Corporate clients are demanding diversity in
their legal representation;
S Law firm succession plans rely on retaining
talent in the middle of the firm; and
S Best Practices in the legal profession depends
on a diverse workforce.
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Why Law Firms Should
Care about Retaining Women
Why Women Leave
S Work-life challenges;
S Gender discrimination and unintentional bias
resulting in limited and unequal opportunities;
S Toxic or dysfunctional environments that
offend the values that women bring to the
workplace;
S Unappealing role models; and
S Failure to find meaning in the work.
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The Having It All Myth:
What Does it Mean?
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The “Lean In” Myth
“Lean In” may not be realistic for women
lawyers who bill by the hour and have both
family and professional responsibilities; and
Having an upward career trajectory at all times
should not be the exclusive definition of
success. 11
“STAY IN” Is the Answer
STAY IN --- one way or another --- to preserve
future career options and opportunities;
Anticipate your needs and the kind of practice
that fits you and your family best; and
TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR CAREER!
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Myth: We Will Return to Pre-
Recession Law Firm Practice
S The changes in the economy since 2008 have
permanently changed law firms;
S Some of the changes present opportunities for women
lawyers; and
S Taking advantage of those opportunities will be key to
success.
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A Winning Strategy for Women
Lawyers
S Realistic expectations about careers and what
it means to be “successful”;
S Commitment to careers and plans in place to
deal with the unexpected; and
S Law firm leaders taking the challenges to
women lawyers seriously and participating in
solutions to those challenges. 14
The New Balance for Today’s
Woman Lawyer
The New Balance is Work/SELF/Home and Family;
No REAL balance --- the best you can hope for is that it
evens out in the end;
Balance that works for your circumstances and includes
attention to you and your physical, emotional and
psychological needs; and
REMEMBER: You cannot be good for others if your are
not good for yourself. 15
Finding the NEW Balance
S Identify what you really love to do in the law;
S Be serious about doing it;
S Maintain your personal identity;
S Take care of your personal needs;
S Get the help you need --- at home and at the office; and
S Maintain and nurture your friendships.
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Practice Choices for Women
Lawyers
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S Full-time and partnership track in law firms;
S Part-time and flex-time (may or may not include
partnership track) in law firms;
S Solo practice, virtual law practice, and law consulting;
S Academia, in-house counsel, public interest, not-for-profit,
public service and others;
S OWN your career path and your career decisions!
Chart Your Own Course
S Start early in your career by developing a preliminary
PLAN;
S Involve the other stakeholders in your Plan;
S Tweak the Plan as your circumstances change; and
S Become the best lawyer you can be to create VALUE to
trade on when you need to change your plan.
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Achieving Your Goals
S Remember:
You cannot get further down the road UNLESS you are
ON THE ROAD!
S onrampfellowship.com
S relaunchingattorneyplatform.com
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Good Leadership Is Essential
to Lasting Solutions
S Progress for women lawyers requires effective
leadership;
S Effective leadership in a traditional profession
is challenging; and
S Effective leadership depends on
understanding who we are trying to lead and
a recognition and elimination of negative
behaviors.
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Effective Leaders MUST
S Communicate clear expectations and encourage open
dialogue;
S Lead by example;
S Identify and re-engage those who have fallen away
from the group;
S Champion, praise, reward and give proper
recognition; and
S Let others take the wheel and resist micro-managing.
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Effective Leaders DO NOT
S Talk more than listen and need to “win” every conversation;
S Insist on “adding value” that discourages dialogue;
S Judge others according to personal standards and beliefs;
S Withhold information to protect power;
S Speak when angry and make destructive comments;
S Blame others for their own mistakes;
S Play favorites; or
S Punish the messenger.
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Values-Based Leadership is a
Win-Win
S Values-based leadership is important to the retention
and advancement of women lawyers;
S Typical female values are: Sharing and teamwork,
interpersonal relationships, making a contribution,
having effort acknowledged and appreciated;
S Typical male values are: Money, power, ambition and
independence.
S A BIG DIFFERENCE!
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Key Talking Points for Leading
Women Lawyers
S The leader recognizes the value of women
lawyers and needs them as future leaders and
managers;
S Personal Definitions of Success are important
to achieving career goals and should be
supported whenever possible; and
S Achieving balance between personal and
professional lives is critical to success.
The need for many women to overachieve and
the risks in taking that approach;
S Achieving balance between personal and
professional lives; and
S Dealing with gender bias and stereotyping.
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Gender Bias MUST Be
Eliminated
S Women lawyers often do not fit the traditional
male stereotypes of success in the profession;
S Negative stereotyping can lead to intentional
and unintentional bias toward women; and
S Gender Bias is wrong, unlawful and must be
eliminated.
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Do NOT Listen for
Discrimination
S It is important to be a discriminating listener;
S BUT do not listen for discrimination.
There is a BIG difference. 26
Critical Messages for Women
Lawyers
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S Be professional in every way (including dress and
conduct);
S Pace yourself: A legal career is a marathon and not a
sprint;
S ASK for help and for work. ASK for professional
development and skills training. Master core
competencies.
S Find good mentors and sponsors; and
S Remember that leaving practice and trying to reenter
at a later date is very difficult.
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Women Helping Women
S Former Secretary of
State, Madeline Albright:
S "There's a place in hell
reserved for women who
don't help other women."
More Critical Messages for
Women Lawyers
S Have courageous conversations and advocate for yourself;
S Chose to be a leader, and do not be marginalized;
S Use your emotional intelligence and your excellent
communication skills to become an effective negotiator for
yourself and for others;
S Network, network, network to develop clients from Day One; and
S Stretch yourself and take risks that will help you grow as a
lawyer.
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CAVEATS!
Don’t be overly emotional in the workplace;
Don’t be too AGGRESSIVE in the workplace;
Don’t let others determine your direction;
Don’t let others take credit for your work;
Don’t always demand perfection of yourself; and
Don’t get carried away with spending that limits your
future opportunities and options.
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Effective Women’s Initiatives in
Law Firms
S Much more than “gripe sessions”;
S Include both male and female lawyers;
S Address the imperatives for women to advance in the law
firm setting;
S Be metrics-based and measure improvement and success;
and
S Address effective leadership for and by women lawyers.
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What to Look For in a Law
Firm
S Who controls the conversations and are women included?;
S Is there a respectful environment for women?;
S Are women represented at the management level?;
S Is there a Women’s Initiative and does the firm take it
seriously?;
S Are both men and women mentoring women?;
S Do the women of the firm support each other?; and
S Are the women getting quality work?
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Getting the Most Out of Your
Law Firm Experience
S Be the BEST LAWYER you can be from Day One;
S Get out of your office and meet and dialogue with as many
people as possible;
S Go to EVERY social event and approach it as an
opportunity to network inside the law firm;
S Take advantage of flexible work models if you need them;
and
S Embrace constructive criticism and feedback.
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Thank You!
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