Clippings: Words of Wisdom from the Lady Lawyers Who Came Before Us

I came across the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession's Oral Histories of Women Trailblazers in the Law and thought I'd share the link. The project "prepares the oral histories of women pioneers in the legal profession nationwide" and includes contributors to Ms. JD's First Women Series, including Barbara Babcock and Judge Dorothy Nelson.

New Report on How Firms Can Retain Women

The Georgia Association for Women Lawyers released a report on retaining women attorneys entitled: IT'S ABOUT TIME II: Examining Flexible Work Arrangements from the Attorney's and the Firm's Perspectives -- A Study of Part-time Policies in Georgia Law Firms.The study surveys 84 law firms in Georgia and finds that only 30% of firms have "formal, written policies regarding reduced time and flexible work arrangements." The report also looks at informal flexible work arrangements, citing "responses from 386 female attorneys to an online survey [which] suggest that informal arrangements make monitoring, scheduling, and other work-related responsibilities very difficult" for those who use them. Why should firms care about having effective part-time or flexible policies? According to the report, "it costs a firm $200,000 to replace a second-year associate." Since most firms attempt to hire diverse associate classes, losing women can be expensive. The report goes on to state that 58% of professional women "describe their careers as 'non-linear' and rely on a variety of work options such as flexible work schedules and part-time work arrangements either as a way to take some time out or as a way to transition back to full-time work." In addition, "only 5% of women who have taken some time off from work return to their original employer."

[More after the jump]

Do Other Women Lawyers Prefer Working With Men or Women?

The February 2008 issue of the ABA Journal Magazine features an article entitled What Women Lawyers Really Think of Each Other. The answer? The ABA Journal surveyed 1,400 people, of which 58% were indifferent about the gender of their co-workers. The other 42% had preferences one way or the other with female supervisors over the age of 40 preferring to work with women because women lawyers "take direction better" (80%), "take constructive criticism better" (59%), and "have more discretion" (79%). Younger female attorneys under the age of 40 who expressed a gender preference, however, thought that "male supervisors give better direction" (58%), "give more constructive criticism" (56%), and "are better at keeping confidential information private" (64%).

How can these perception differences be explained?

[Continues after the jump]

Allison Wolf Gives Advice on Rainmaking for Young Women Attorneys

Allison Wolf wrote an interesting piece on how to become a rainmaker as a young woman lawyer, even if you don’t view yourself as the conventional rainmaker. Wolf describes the stereotypical rainmaker as an extroverted man who “likes to talk” and is “a bit egotistical but keeps it in check” and "always out and about networking, attending events, and talking business.” Women who consider themselves for a rainmaking role, Wolf asserts, “determine ‘that’s not me’” based on the following reflections: “I’m not a grandstander.” “I don’t like to talk about my achievements.” “I don’t like networking events; I never know what to say.” and “I don’t want to come across as salesy.” Wolf claims these turn-offs don’t accurately reflect what rainmaking entails and that “it is important that young women lawyers adopt a business development mindset early on.”

What does building such a mindset require? Wolf states that “the way to develop business is through building trusting relationships with your colleagues, clients, and contacts.” Since it can take several years to build the kinds of relationships that will lead to new business, “the time to start building relationships is in the first years of your practice.” Basically, you need “to invest early to reap the greatest benefit later on.”

In terms of practical tips, Wolf suggests making “a list of the people most important to your success,” which will include “your clients, contacts, and partners at the firm” as well as your legal secretary and other support staff. Then ask yourself, “How are you nurturing these important relationships? Who is missing that could make a difference? Do you have a mentor? Do you need to build up your network of contacts in certain strategic areas?”

Wolf also recommends a “Connect With list,” which keeps track of the people you intend to contact over the next week, perhaps to arrange a coffee date or to send an article link or clipping that the other person might find interesting. Being busy is no excuse to neglect this relationship building: “the purpose of planning and action lists is to ensure that the time you do invest is wisely spent. You are busy. That means you have to be strategic. It doesn’t mean you should opt out.”

Advice from the Author of "Ending the Gauntlet"

Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly published an interesting interview with Lauren Stiller Rikleen, the author of Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law. There's an interesting review of the book on Ms. JD here. To research her book, Rikleen, through interviews and research, identified many "misconceptions women have about work." The main misconception seems to be that women think "if they just come in, close their door, work hard and leave at the end of the day, that as long as they're doing good work, they will succeed." However, Rikleen maintains that success is about more than good work and that "doing good work is the baseline, the starting point; it's not the end point."

So what's the second step?

Developing a "Persuasive Presence"

In a recent article, Legal Negotiation Styles: Feminine Weaknesses, Feminine Strengths, Natalie Fraser details advice from professionals on how women lawyers can avoid minimizing themselves and their professional leadership potential.

What the experts say about interview etiquette

2Ls are in the final stages of callback interviews, 1Ls are getting ready to contact law firms for summer jobs, and a second wave of job interviews are underway for recent grads who now have a bar admission under their belts. Ms.

Shifting Expectations: Women Less Inclined to Pursue Legal Careers

Leigh Jones has an article entitled Fewer Women Are Seeking Law Degrees in the National Law Journal this week. She cites statistics that since 2002 the percentage of women attending law school has declined every year from 49% in 2002 to 46.9% this year.