Women are increasingly taking on more leadership roles both in law firms and corporations across the United States and abroad.

Many law firms today recognize the importance of recruiting and retaining top talent, regardless of gender, particularly in an increasingly competitive job market. The issues surrounding the retention of top female associates are admittedly complex but it seems apparent that these factors help shape how women associates interact in the law firm environment.  These issues are at the heart of why some firms, including White & Case, have embraced women's networks as well as other retention and development tools geared specifically for women.

White & Case has a strong model that includes business development, alumni relations, peer support, networking and career development.  Our program consists of a Women’s Initiative steering committee with a mandate from top management to address the main underlying issues or barriers to women's success as well as a Women's Network Committee that facilitates individual offices bringing together female associates, partners, alums and clients in a supportive environment to network, talk about issues of common concerns and offer speakers and seminars on topics that assist in the development and advancement of women associates.

We created the Women’s Initiative to ensure that women lawyers continue to have ample opportunities to step into leadership roles at every stage of their careers.  Since its inception in 2004, White & Case’s Women’s Initiative has had a positive influence on the professional development of our women lawyers, the relationships they have cultivated with clients, and the Firm as a whole.

When we formed the Women’s Initiative, we set out to achieve three specific goals:

·      Retain and promote women lawyers of all backgrounds

·      Build an inclusive, diverse environment

·      Increase flexibility in how work gets done and how careers are developed

We can proudly point to success in all areas, and some of our more recent highlights include:

·        In 2007, an executive coaching program was launched to provide support and career guidance for associates going out on or returning from maternity leave.  

·        A leadership coaching program for high performing women associates and new partners was piloted.

·        We revitalized our Diversity Initiative for the New York office by forming a Diversity Committee and hiring a Manager of Diversity Programs to help drive this effort.  As part of the Firm’s Diversity Initiative, we conducted a global minority attorney retreat in 2007.

·        The Upward Review Program was expanded to enable associates to evaluate the management and leadership performance of partners, senior associates and counsel with whom they regularly work.

·        Associates have crafted a variety of work arrangements under our Firm’s Flexible Work Arrangement Policy, allowing flex time on a gender- and reason-neutral basis.  Additionally, a Flex Work Attorney Affinity Group was formed to enable flex work lawyers to share information and ideas.

·        We revised our Leave of Absence policy for the New York office, with the input of associates, offering an option of taking unpaid leave from the Firm for various personal or professional reasons on a case-by-case basis for a period of up to six months at a time. 

To further expand business development, networking, and growth opportunities, White & Case instituted a variety of programs through the Women’s Initiative, including:

·        A conference for senior female associates held every 12-16 months.

·        Women’s network lunches and events.

·        Sponsorship of women lawyers’ attendance at networking and leadership events, such as the Women in Law Leadership Academy.

·        Publish Connections, the quarterly Women Initiative newsletter.

In February 2008, we held a national retreat for all of our senior female associates.  This two-day event held in New York brought together female associates from all our US offices, allowing them to strengthen current relationships and forge new ones.  In addition to roundtable discussions, workshop panels, and networking opportunities, there was a reception and dinner attended by our members of our Executive Committee to underscore the importance of this initiative to our organization and to provide our women associates the opportunity to interact with the Firm's top leaders. 

Just as there's rarely one simple solution for a complex legal problem, there's no easy answer on how to increase the number of women partners or retain the number of women lawyers in law firms. What we do know, though, is that we need to continue to find solutions that meaningfully increase the number of women who stay in the running for partnership. 

For additional information:

More than Just Talk: Law Firms Seek to Equip Women with Tools for Career Advancement - February 2007, New York Law Journal, By Lisa Pulitzer and Wendy Davis

Where the Women Are - July 15, 2006, American Lawyer Media's law.com, By Karen M. Asner

White & Case Named One of the Top Law Firms for Women

Contributed by:

Armilene S. Coronel

Communications Manager
White & Case LLP