Lauren Stiller Rikleen

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?

Topic: Firms and the Private Sector
Optional tags: Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Networking

Book Review: Ending the Gauntlet

Submitted by bethb

Compare the following two quotes:

1- “I feel like I’ve been incredibly fortunate in my circumstances, but I almost regret that I’m in the position I’m in…. The burden of running a home and taking care of kids is on me, and the work is incredibly stressful. And once a month, I’m the one who is paying the bills and I could be earning more, but I’m not willing to do that. So I’m at the point where I’m considering walking away.
But so many women associates in this office look to me as their role model, and I can’t tell you how many people come into my office, women associates come into my office, and say, ‘It’s so great you’re doing what you’re doing. It’s great. It’s so exciting that you made partner and you have kids and you are doing it all.’ And I feel this responsibility to these women, and I always joke with them and say, ‘Please don’t look at me as a role model. I’m a complete nut.’...