NAWL

NAWL Teleconference: Connect, Listen and Learn Series

jlwallace — Wed, 28 May 2008 13:19:41 -0500

Start: 11 Jun 2008 - 2:00pm

End: 11 Jun 2008 - 3:00pm

Timezone: US/Eastern

Necessary Dreams: Ambition in Women's Changing Lives

NAWL's Ready to On-Ramp program, for those of us who haven't even graduated yet.

knb980 — Tue, 6 May 2008 16:52:03 -0500

I attended NAWL’s Ready to On-Ramp? program at Jenner & Block in Chicago, which was “designed to help lawyers develop their own personal strategy to re-entering the workforce” after taking time off, usually for raising children. Not having graduated from law school yet (one more week!), I was the youngest person there. I got some puzzled looks.But I found that the women I met, who have entered, exited, and sometimes entered the legal workforce again, had extremely valuable information to impart on a woman just starting her legal career.

Great advice was shared by the likes of Carol Fishman Cohen, author of Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work, who reiterated Lynn Hecht Schafran’s point at our Ms. JD conference last month, that Sandra Day O’Connor never entirely left the profession to raise her children—she was active in the bar and the Republican party the whole time.

Deborah Epstein Henry, founder and president of the consulting firm that released “Best Law Firms for Women,” pointed out that firms want to hire and retain talented women, and might be willing to accommodate alternate schedules and time off to keep us from leaving entirely. Firms like Skadden, Arps have developed programs in which women can take up to three years off work, raise children, and re-enter the firm still sharp on their legal skills.Finally, several panelists pointed out that working and raising children is probably the norm—as opposed to the old model of working and having a spouse raise them for you. The new model requires some shifting in the entire structure of law firms. Lucky for my generation, some shifting has already begun.

There’s no reason for law students to learn this too late. Plan ahead and look for advice from veterans who have made it through past darker days of women’s issues in the legal profession.

NAWL Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon

jessie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:37:40 -0500

Start: 15 Jul 2008 - 6:00pm

End: 16 Jul 2008 - 5:00pm

Timezone: US/Eastern

The National Association of Women Lawyers will host its Annual Awards Luncheon on July 16, 2008 at 12 PM at the historic Waldorf-Astoria in New York City. The Annual Luncheon celebrates NAWL's achievements and honors the recipients of the NAWL awards.

New York

May 6th in Chicago: NAWL's 3rd Annual "Ready to On-Ramp?" program on re-entry

jessie — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 16:32:40 -0500

Jenner & Block's Chicago offices host this year's NAWL program specifically designed to help lawyers develop their own personal strategy for re-entering the workforce. Looks like it will be a great program - especially for the bargain price of $30!

Webinar: Status of Women in the Profession

Karen H — Fri, 11 Jan 2008 19:10:59 -0600

Start: 19 Feb 2008 - 1:00pm

End: 19 Feb 2008 - 2:00pm

Timezone: America/New_York

The NCWBA’s first webinar in 2008 will feature an insightful discussion about the findings reported in the NAWL 2007 Survey of the Status of Women in Law Firms.

"Women of Color in the Legal Profession: Why It Means Success for Everyone"

Peg — Thu, 10 Jan 2008 19:06:30 -0600

Start: 16 Apr 2008 - 3:30pm

End: 16 Apr 2008 - 5:00pm

Timezone: America/New_York

Go to the NAWL site for more information.

NAWL’s National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, Part II

Peg — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 16:14:45 -0600

In a previous post, I talked about some of the results recently reported by NAWL for their annual national survey. For the first time, NAWL asked firms questions about the retention policies and efforts to retain women lawyers. The survey focused on three structural issues: large minimum hour requirements, poor part-time policies, and the existence (or not) of a women’s initiative within the firm.

NAWL’s National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, Part I

Peg — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 14:12:38 -0600

NAWL released the results of their survey two weeks ago, albeit to less fanfare that other less-involved reports. While those of us who are familiar with the topic may find that much of what the survey reports is old news, there were some things reported that were surprising to me.

First, I was surprised to learn that the drop off in the number of women attorneys at firms happens between the senior associate level and the partner level. I was previously aware that women comprise somewhere between 45-50% of junior associates (actually 49% according to this survey) and somewhere around 17% of equity partners (actually 16%). I assumed that the lower representation of women was gradual with the percentages getting less and less with each year of associate-ship. However, the survey shows something much more striking. NAWL found that women make up 43% of 7th year associates, 30% of of-counsels, 26% of non-equity partners, and 16% of equity partners. Here’s what the report says about these numbers...