WILL Registration Winding Down

The Women in Law Leadership Academy is still accepting registrations, but not for long. Early bird registration ends March 26th. The program is targeted for women 4 - 10 years out of school. I'm class of 2007, but I'm still going to try and go. Here's why:

• Carolyn Lamm, ABA President and Partner, White & Case LLP
• Michele Coleman Mayes, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Allstate Insurance Company
• Lynn Laverty Elsenhans, Chairman & Chief Executive Officer, Sunoco, Inc.
• Mary E. Snapp, Corporate Vice President and Deputy General Counsel, Microsoft Corporation and Chair-Elect, Minority Corporate Counsel Association
• Hilarie Bass, Global Operating Shareholder, Greenberg Traurig, LLP
• Pamela A. Bresnahan, Partner, Vorys, Sater, Seymour and Pease LLP
• Gail A. Lione, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, Harley-Davidson, Inc.
• Mary B. Cranston, Firm Senior Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, LLP
• Julie M. Howard, President & COO, Navigant Consulting, Inc.
• JoAnne A. Epps, Dean, Temple University James E. Beasley School of Law
• Marcia Devins Greenberger, Founder and Co-President, National Women’s Law Center
• Mary L. Smith, Senior Counsel, Civil Division, U.S. Department of Justice
• Sara Lipscomb, General Counsel, U.S. Small Business Administration
• Judge Judith S. Kaye, Of Counsel, Skadden, Arps and Former Chief Judge of the New York Court of Appeals
• Judge Barbara M. G. Lynn, United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas
• Judge M. Margaret McKeown, United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
• Judge Norma L. Shapiro, United States District Judge for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania
• Carrie J. Hightman, Executive Vice President and Chief Legal Officer, NiSource Inc.
• Thomas L. Sager, Senior Vice President and General Counsel, DuPont
• Kellye L. Walker, SVP, General Counsel and Secretary, American Water
• Catherine Lamboley, Retired Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Shell Oil Company
• Carol Ann Petren, Executive Vice President, General Counsel, CIGNA Corporation

Yup, they're all going to be there. 

Surveying the Impact of Diversity in Business Development

Harry Keshet, Ph.D  and Angela Meyer, Ph.D. are collecting new research that addresses previously unexplored issues related to business development. They're hoping you'll help them and take this survey

• How attorneys in different areas of legal specialization successfully generate new business;
• How law firms help and hinder attorneys' level of business generation;
• How diversity factors affect business origination (attorneys of different gender, race, ethnicity, sexual preferences);
• Personal factors that differentiate attorneys who have successful business origination.

Previous Research: The current research grew out of a prior national study of woman's business development practices. A free copy of that report is available at:  www.keshetconsulting.com/articles/KeshetReport.pdf.

In return for participation all respondents are guaranteed anonymity, and will receive a free copy of the executive summary of the results. The survey should take about 15 minutes to complete.

My First Year . . . as an Associate at a Small Law Firm

This is the second post in a new series called "My First Year..." In this series, which  appears the first week of each month, we feature interviews of women as they begin putting their JDs to work in a variety of fields all over the country. Each interviewee  answers a standard set of questions about her first year. We hope this project will give law students and new attorneys a realistic picture about what life is like during the junior years of a legal career. 

Today we bring you the interview of a first year associate at a five-attorney law firm specializing in pharmaceutical litigation in the Los Angeles area:

How did you decide to pursue this position--was this something you envisioned yourself doing when you applied to law school, or was this something you learned about in school or during your summer?

After graduating from college, I took a job at a large legal defense firm as a Project Assistant, a position best described as a poorly paid, untrained paralegal. I spent my weekdays in an interior office updating databases and . . . yeah, just updating databases. While the work was mundane, I did become friends with three younger, but very unhappy, attorneys. All three have since left. Two went to smaller firms, and one went back to school to get his PhD. However, I also became friends with many other attorneys who were very happy and continue to thrive at the firm.

After several months of racking my brain for an escape route, my next step was, you guessed it, a Masters in Architecture program at Georgia Tech. Why wouldn’t a political science graduate with little to no experience in architecture, mathematics, or engineering decide to get a Masters in Architecture? I think maybe I had just read The Fountainhead and was inspired. I’m not even a Libertarian. I didn’t last a semester. Not one to learn lessons, I took another job as a legal assistant, but this time it was at a smaller firm. I immediately felt much more “at home” at the smaller firm. The environment felt more relaxed, there were not required classes, meetings, forms, hours, etc. I just felt more freedom to do my work and not worry with other unimportant things. After working at the smaller firm for a while, I decided to try law school, and it stuck. Going into 1L on campus interviews, I knew that I preferred the atmosphere of smaller firms - Of course the decision is also easier when, like me, you’re not in the top 10%. I ended up at a five-attorney plaintiffs’ firm my 1L year and haven’t looked back. I split 2L year between a small plaintiffs’ firm in Birmingham, Alabama and a medium-sized plaintiffs’ firm in Los Angeles (a comparison worthy of its own blog entry).

A small firm is by no means an oasis, free from the stresses of the larger firm. Since there’s oftentimes not as much of an infrastructure of support staff, sometimes attorneys, especially younger ones, have to pick up the slack. This can mean more phone calls, more filing, more letter writing, less organization, etc. You just have to figure out what fits for you. While I don’t have to bill or attend as many meetings and workshops, I am making much less money than my big firm counterparts, I don’t have my own secretary, and I don’t get engraved iPods.

Describe a typical day on the job...

Keeping It Real: Why Won't NALP Distinguish Equity Partners?

Thanks in part to the efforts of groups like NAWJ, NAWL and MCCA, surveying and ranking organizations like Vault and AmLaw have learned to distinguish between equity and non-equity partners when collecting data from firms on stats like profits-per-partner and diversity. As you can imagine firms have an incentive to decrease the number of people they describe as partners when reporting profit-per-partner numbers and increase it to include more women or racial minorities when reporting diversity numbers. Firms care about the resulting rankings. We need to keep these firms honest to leverage the rankings as an additional force for increased diversity in firms. 

MCCA has worked with Vault to make the following distinction:

Equity partner: An attorney, generally referred to as a partner, member or shareholder, who has the right to share in the profits of the firm.

Non-equity partner: A law firm employee who has been promoted from associate to a tier of partnership in which the lawyer does not share in the profits or capital of the firm; this position is often an intermediate step toward full equity partner.

NAWL and NAWJ have been using similar language while pushing other organizations like AmLaw and NALP to reconcile firms' partnership headcounts. AmLaw has adopted the equity v. non-equity distinction. But today comes word that NALP has refused to do so.

No doubt NALP is experiencing push-back from firms who've been enjoying a world where they get to have their cake and eat it too - reporting one number to AmLaw and a completely different number to NALP. But it's time to fix this, stop enabling firms' dissembling, and increase the accuracy and value of these rankings and surveys.  

Is It Me? Or Is It the Economy?

Recently I had the chance to talk with Marissa Román, a partner here in Los Angeles at Akin, Gump. She had lots of great advice for students and junior associates, but the comment that I've been thinking about ever since had to do with lawyers reluctance to deliver criticism.

We all hear horror stories about partners berating associates, but in Ms. Román's experience - and this comports with what I often hear from folks in all sectors of the profession - lawyers often stop working with an associate rather than work on fixing problems with that associate's performance. This is really what we mean when we describe a firm as having a "sink or swim" culture. And I suspect it's unlikely to change so long as firms continue to ascribe to an "up or out" retetion model. Bottom line: if you're a junior associate and you're not getting work, then there's a problem and you need to address it. 

This morning, in an article about how difficult it's been to make partner in this economic slow-down, Daniel Hunter, a new partner at Schulte Roth remembered, "When it looked touch and go, I kept telling myself:'It's not you, it's the economy.'" BUT guess how many hours he billed in 2009?

My First Year... as a Federal Court of Appeals Law Clerk

This is the first post in a new series called "My First Year..." In this series, which will appear the first week of each month, we will feature interviews of women as they begin putting their JDs to work in a variety of fields all over the country. Each interviewee will answer a standard set of questions about her first year. We hope this project will give law students and new attorneys a realistic picture about what life is like during the junior years of a legal career.

Today we launch our series with the interview of a Federal Court of Appeals Law Clerk...

How did you decide to pursue this position--was this something you envisioned yourself doing when you applied to law school, or was this something you learned about in school or during your summer?

Having taught middle- and high-school English before entering law school, I had a pretty clear plan about what I wanted to accomplish in and after law school.  One of my goals was to pursue a federal appellate clerkship.  That being said, just because it was a “goal” didn’t mean I had any clue how to go about making it happen (or what the job would actually entail).  Still, it was a goal I hoped I could make happen.

Describe a typical day on the job... 

Silence. And more silence.  Seriously, mine is a very solitary job.  On a regular day, I come into the office, sit down, and spend the day either researching, writing, or editing.  (To be more specific, my three main tasks are to (1) prepare bench memoranda to the panel summarizing the facts and law of a case and recommending a disposition, (2) draft opinions after oral arguments, and (3) edit other judge’s opinions.  Keep in mind that at the appellate level, most matters are heard by a three-judge panel, and most judges sit only about once a month or so.  Often applicants think they will be “in court” a lot, which just isn’t so.  Lack of hustle and bustle (and human interaction) doesn’t bother me, but it might bother some.  If you don’t like being alone with your thoughts, this is not the job for you!

What is the most rewarding thing about your job so far?

The most rewarding thing about my job is the daily contact I have with my judge.  I am able to observe how he approaches cases and applies the law to them.  There really is no better experience to prepare you for practicing law than seeing how a judge thinks through a case.

Avenues to Partnership

Editor's Note: Ms. JD's annual conference, Avenues to Advancement, was held November 20-21, 2009, in Chicago. These are some tips from the Partnership panel.

At Ms. JD’s recent Avenues to Advancement Conference, held at Northwestern Law School, one of the panels, entitled ‘Avenues to Partnership,’ brought together five successful women to discuss their varied paths to partnership.  The panel began with each woman providing three top pieces of advice.

Leslie Darling, Partner, Ungaretti & Harris: 1) You should recognize the importance of business generation and begin developing a “book of business” early on in your career.  2) Never forget that a law firm is a business. Make sure you know the economy of your firm and understand the financials.  3) Be thoughtful with regard to building your social network.  Recognize that as a young associate many of your friends and colleagues will also ascend in their career paths, and you can never know where people will end up. 

Julianne Hartzell, Partner, Marshall, Gerstein & Borun: 1) Always remember that an associate’s job is to make the person you are working for’s life easier, whether they are the partner or the client.  Make sure you give people everything they need to know to answer the question or resolve the problem.  2) Find an area of law that you love.  3) Find a firm with values and goals that mesh with your own.

Patricia Brown Holmes, Partner and Diversity Committee Co-Chair, Schiff Hardin LLP: 1) Network, network, network.  2) Never forget the importance of hard work, but also learn how to work smart.  3) Learn to separate your personal life from your professional life.  Everyone will have commitments outside of work, but make sure that your personal commitments do not impede your ability to get your work done.

Jennifer Waters, Partner, Schopf & Weiss: 1) Everything positive that you do is “capital in the bank.” As an associate, you want the firm to view you as an asset worth keeping.  Think proactively and take ownership of your work.  2) Remember the importance of firm citizenship and involvement is part of showing your commitment to the firm.  Joining committees are also a good way of developing an advocate to speak up for you.  However, make sure that you do not “drop the ball” on committee work or projects.  If you do not have the time to do the job well, do not take on the responsibility.  3) To the extent that you have control over it, try to find a good assistant or secretary. This will be one of the most important relationships you will need to cultivate over the course of your career.

Amy Manning, Partner, McGuire Woods (Moderator): 1) Exceed expectations, even if you want flexibility.  The paths to partnership are varied, but regardless of your elected path ensure that you excel at your work.  2) You should not be ambivalent about making partner – internally or externally.  3) You should never lose sight of the fact that there is a PR aspect to your career, both inside and outside the firm.

All of the panelists emphasized that your network is your most important business asset.  For young attorneys looking to build a network, one panelist suggested striving to add five “high quality” contacts to your network each year.

Finally, the panelists stressed that while other people will be necessary to get you to partnership, you also have to stand up for yourself.  Learn to identify the people who can help you along the way, but also those whom you can help. By understanding the service nature of the profession, you can identify opportunities to make others (and yourself) look good.  Most importantly, find ways to share your accomplishments, those inside and outside your firm.  If you are not comfortable “tooting your own horn,” you and a friend or co-worker can partner at events and promote each
other’s achievements and successes.

Solid Advice for Junior Associates from the Legal Intelligencer

Over at Law.com The Legal Intelligencer has a great advice column from the Young Lawyer Editorial Board for junior associates titled Associates, Take Ownership of Your Legal Work.  The key insight: deliver the best possible work to your assigning partner by pretending they'll never see it.

... approach your research, writing, proofing and editing with the awareness that your input could be the last -- or only -- before filing, the intensity and focus will magically follow. ... imagine that the client or judge will be the only other set of eyes on your memorandum, you will demand more of yourself.

I suggest you read the entire column for great tips on how to report a mistake you've made up the ladder, how and when to take initiative, and how to clarify an assignment to maximize the utility of the hours you bill. 

The Future of Big Law - UCLA Above the Law Debate

UCLA recently hosted a debate between David Lat and Elie Mystal of Above the Law.  The debate centered around associate compensation and promotion in large firms.  Specifically, Mr. Lat supported the view that a merit-based system is the best way to compensate attorneys and Mr. Mystal argued that a lockstep system is optimal.  Obviously, each system has its benefits and its drawbacks in relation to all associates but women and minorities may be especially affected by which manner of compensation is used at their firm. 

When the debaters were asked how the method of compensation would affect diversity in large firms, they both seemed to agree that a merit-based system might adversely affect minorities, women, and gays and lesbians.  The theory being that firms are still disproportionately run by older, white men and that those older, white men will be making decisions about which associates have performed well enough to be promoted.  The more that these partners are empowered to make determinations about pay scale, the more minorities and women are likely to suffer.

While a merit-based system does provide partners with more leeway to either give or withhold pay raises, a lockstep system is not without its faults either. In a lockstep system, there is essentially only one promotion that matters: that to partner.  The same older, white men that make determinations about merit-based raises in firms that employ that method of promotion will be making determinations about who is to be promoted to partner in firms that employ a lockstep system.  

Ultimately, while both systems have their faults, it seems that a merit-based system may end up being disadvantageous for women and minorities and may eventually end up hurting diversity efforts as a result.

Voice of Experience: Sarah Lamar

The Glass Hammer's Voices of Experience Series recently featured Sarah Lamar, a partner at Hunter, Maclean, Exley & Dunn, P.C. and President of ALFA International, a global legal networking organization.

In the article, Lamar, mother to three young boys, reflects on juggling her career and motherhood:

“The ‘choice’ that many women make...is not made in a vacuum. I believe there is still a presumption among some, at least in the law firm environment, that the only approach to success (i.e., equity partnership) is to work full-time/all the time. This traditional view makes it harder for women trying to find a balance between work and family to succeed.  This mindset is changing, though, for the better as law firms and other employers increasingly recognize that keeping talent may require flexibility.  Alternative work arrangements are certainly more common than they used to be and are made much easier through technology.” 

To read more about Ms. Lamar and her advice to young lawyers click here.