Courtroom Divas Blog

"Back-to-the-Fold" Recruitment

Mon, 13 May 2013 16:28:22 GMT

By Sheryl Bjork

All of a sudden, it seems, "women in the workplace" is an issue again. Sheryl Sandberg, Anne-Marie Slaughter, and Marissa Mayer have all offered their "two cents."

But the piece that really caught my eye was Leslie Kwoh's February 2013 article in the Wall Street Journal, "McKinsey Tries to Recruit Mothers Who Left the Fold." In the article, Kwoh describes how companies are not only welcoming back former stay-at-home moms, but actively recruiting them back to the workplace. Lucky for me, I was one of those moms who was recruited back. I'm not sure I would be here otherwise.

When I graduated from law school in 1990, I was like every other eager new lawyer, ready to take on the big cases and billable hours, and start climbing the ladder. I was young and, to be honest, had not given much thought to starting a family. In fact, when a male partner (without children) asked me in an interview what my plans were for having a family, I wasn't the least bit offended. I didn't have a plan for a family so the question made no difference to me.

But, circumstances change. Lives change. Dreams change. My husband and I decided that, "yes," we did, in fact, want to have kids, and "yes," one of us should consider staying at home with them. So, after five years on the partnership track, I stepped off – to become a stay-at-home mom. Maybe I was facing burn-out at work. Or maybe maternal instincts drove the decision. But it wasn't a sacrifice; I wanted to stay at home and be the one who was present, day in and day out, with our kids. And if I had any doubts about whether to stay at home, they were resolved shortly after our first child was born. At seven months old, he was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and would require therapy several times a week. I wanted—needed—to be "hands on" with that.

That was in 1996. I read From Briefcase to Diaper Bag cover-to-cover, and settled in for the next nine years. I ditched my work wardrobe and files and, in terms of my status with the bar association, was officially "retired." But, thanks to my friend and mentor, George Soule, I didn't cut the cord completely. Once a year or so, we would have lunch. He would fill me in on the office comings-and-goings and then finish the conversation with something like, "So, when are you coming back?" My life was full and I had a difficult time envisioning how stepping back into the workforce would be a good thing.

Then, in the spring of 2005, George asked again. He said another stay-at-home mom who had left about the same time as I had was coming back part-time and that maybe I should consider it, too. That was the nudge I needed. And so nine years after leaving the law firm where I started, I was back in the fold. Of course, so many things had changed in the time I'd been gone—the internet was pervasive, paper files were waning, and panty hose were long gone (thank you!). But the best things—the people and the work—were the same. It was good to be back.

I've been back for eight years now. I'm still part-time, which is my version of "having it all." Were it not for George's "recruitment," I would have guessed that no law firm would be interested in a forty-something, stay-at-home mom who had been out of the work force for nearly a decade. You've heard the saying, "You don't know what you've got 'til it's gone." But in my case, I didn't know what I could have until I got it.

Why Sandberg's "Lean In" Message is Good

Wed, 13 Mar 2013 09:00:00 GMT

By Alana Bassin

If you have seen any news in the last week, you can't avoid the hot discussion of Sheryl Sandberg's "Lean In" book. Although I haven't read the very newly released book (like most of the other commentators), I've seen her TED talk, watched her interview on 60 Minutes and read (and blogged about) the debate stirred by Anne Marie Slaughter in the Atlantic Monthly last spring when she referred to Sheryl Sandberg's message as "rah, rah" feminism and suggested that women really can't have it all.

In short, Sandberg's message is that although there are a lot of external obstacles that women face in the work force that they cannot control, there are some things women can control. Her goal is to discuss the things they CAN control. She suggests that although many women are very ambitious, most lack ambition to lead. She notes anecdotal stories such as women refusing opportunities in the workplace in anticipation of having a family or women attributing their success to other people or luck instead of their own abilities. Her facts are statistically supported. Although there are more female college graduates than men, a very small percentage of women are leaders in companies. Her message to women is to not lean back but lean in, take a seat at the table and don't take your foot off the gas pedal. What is so interesting is not her message, but how negative her message has been received by her women counterparts when she spoke her version of the truth: Maureen Dowd, The New York Times: Pompom Girl for Feminism; The Washington Post, Sheryl Sandberg's 'Lean In' campaign holds little for most women; Forbes, Dear Sheryl Sandberg 'Leaning In' Doesn't Fix What's Actually Broken for Working Women; USA TODAY, New Front In Mommy Wars: Other Moms.

Well, maybe this isn't a message for everyone at every income level, but from someone who is in the trenches in the legal arena and close enough in age to still feel in touch with generation Y and the New Millenniums, the mass media's reaction not only reeks of irony (headlines like that . . . and they questions Sandberg's feminism?), but is out of touch. Sandberg's message is fair, accurate and a healthy message for women to hear, at least in the legal profession. For years, we have suffered the 15-50-15 conundrum where for over 15 years, women have been more than 50% of the law graduates, yet only 15% of equity partnerships are filled with women (even less in management). Women drop out, or if they don't drop out, they often take an alternative track of non-equity partnership, senior counsel, part-time etc. As always, I celebrate that these options are available to women and I understand why women take these options given the maternal wall and demands of family.

But how many of the women in the legal force that ended up on the alternative track ever wanted to be in management? I am going to wager very few. They started out thinking that to have a family they may not even stay in the work force. Or if they stayed in the work-force, they may have to go part-time. Or if they stayed working full-time and made partner, they likely would not have the time to generate business. I suspect almost none of them aspired to be on their firm's management committee. Compare this to men, I suspect that very few, if any, newly hired male graduate (single or married) thought that his career ambition would be impacted in any way by whether he had a family. Men do not start out dreaming of part-time options. They dream of equity partnership, having their own clients and running the show. They dream big.

All you have to do is spend a few hours interviewing and this reality is proven to be true. I have been hiring partner in my firm and have regularly participated in attorney interviews and my experience is exactly what the studies show: new women graduates (typically single) care more about a firm's reputation and policies related to work-family balance issues than pay, prestige or job opportunity. Comparatively, no man has ever asked me about work-life balance in an interview. And like Sheryl Sandberg, I struggle with it. I understand why the question matters more to women in that women get pregnant so it is more relevant to them. But why not grab at the best opportunity and experience that you can obtain and then figure it out when and if the time arises that you need to figure it out.

I don't lump all Gen Y's and New Millineums into this pool. Of course, there are plenty of women that are ambitious, including having the ambition to lead. I am proud to say that those are the younger women in my office that work with me. They are strong, driven women and my personal view is that they have the talent to be running this place and I can't wait for the day that this happens. It won't always be easy for them. Having nothing to do with having a family, they are matriculating in a time where law firms appear to have pulled up the ladder on partnership and it is more competitive than ever to make partner. Having nothing to do with them as individuals, they could be exposed to gender bias and stereotypes (for example, studies show that there is a negative correlation to women who lead). And having nothing to do with the law, if they choose to be mothers, they will suffer the same guilt, feelings of inadequacy and lack of sleep to which the rest of working mothers suffer. Kids will take their first step or say their first word when they are not there. And this will be hard (heart-wrenchingly hard). But these bright young women will show their daughters (and sons) that women are smart, successful, financially-contributing members of society . . . and hopefully they will stick it out to help reverse gender stereotypes and prove that women are powerful and effective leaders.

My job in the meantime is to be a good sponsor and mentor to them. Part of that is creating an environment where they can succeed, which includes things such as teaching them to be the best at their craft that they can be, helping them build their book of business, improving benefits or access for working parents (part-time, parental leave etc.), eliminating gender bias, and/or giving a shoulder to cry on when things are hard. And part of that is telling them what they can do for themselves: put up your hand, ask for a seat at the table, don't take your foot off the gas pedal, lean in and lean in hard.

Top Ten Reasons I Love Trials

Thu, 10 Jan 2013 12:00:00 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

It is easy to be critical of the number of lawsuits that are filed in the extent of the verdicts rendered, the judges you are assigned, the law in the jurisdiction you live in, the team you work with, and clearly some of those criticisms bear contemplation as we constantly strive to try our cases.

For those of us who believe that the highest and best use of our time is in a courtroom, trying a case to a jury of citizens, the opportunities to be in our element are diminishing every year. But today I woke up loving and celebrating my job and I am a trial lawyer so I have a list.

1. I like trial judges. Judges overwhelmingly are interesting people. They have seen so many cases, heard so many lawyers, seated so many juries and that makes them fascinating, challenging, unpredictable and exciting. My kids think that I argue for a living, but I don't think of myself that way. I believe I present. I have to be prepared, I have to be rested, I have to listen and react. When presenting to a trial judge, it is to an audience of one who will be working with me usually for a couple weeks or more so I have to be on my toes. I enjoy the challenge of the judge who keeps me on my game.

2. I like to finish what I start. There are theories about job satisfaction that generally stand for the proposition that people who are involved in the entirety of a project are happier, more fulfilled, more committed. When cases end prior to trial, they generally do so abruptly and in the middle of the grand design. Others have feelings of profound relief when this happens and I always have a sense of lost finality.

3. I like the courtroom setting. Some are very formal, some are very informal but courtrooms generally have an officer, a clerk, a judge, a witness box, a counsel table, a jury box and other familiar things. These people and these items fill me with a sense of belonging much like the way I imagine an athlete feels about a stadium, a surgeon about an operating room or a pilot about a cockpit.

4. I enjoy the trial team connection. You can work in an office together for years in my business but nothing that I know of compares to the connections (mostly but not always positive) you make when you have many people all working together under the stress, excitement, logistical challenges and commonality of a goal that a trial team provides.

5. I like to live my brand. We all have, or should have, a personal brand in this business. Mine is being a trial lawyer who can stand tall, put in the evidence and take a verdict. To fulfill my brand promise, I have to try cases.

6. I love to be an example of what is possible. Let's face it; there are still just not that many women trial lawyers in my line of work. In complex civil litigation, first chair women lawyers are hard to come by. Most women in our profession have a moment when the pull away from our profession may seem stronger than the pull to stay. While I can appreciate each individual story, in the aggregate, I want women to stay, to be heard, to last and to succeed. I am told, I have read, and I believe that one tensor on the pull toward staying in our profession is looking at what is possible if you work hard. I truly love the idea that young women look at me and for a moment are satisfied that possibilities of trial practice exist for them.

7. I enjoy the technical challenges that expert cross examination provides. There are many steps in the trial of a case. One of the most challenging high risk-high reward moments is the cross examination of the other sides' expert witnesses. Experts are smart, ready, and savvy to the machinations of the courtroom. Experts on direct examination are carefully scripted and tell the story they came to tell. Cross-examination is often where you win or lose the battles that define a trial. This competition between individuals of which I am one is months or years in the making and involves weeks, hours and days of preparation. The timing, the order, the reaction to unexpected responses all matter. Preparation and an understanding that you can never prepare for everything are both necessary in each moment. I am not athletic and have never played any sport at an elite competitive level-this is where I compete and it is important purposeful, grueling and exhilarating.

8. The voir dire process is fascinating. As even those of you who are not trial lawyers may know, voir dire is the part of the trial where we have the opportunity to speak to the jury directly. I believe this is sometimes hard for jury panels at the beginning because they are sitting in a very formal setting. There is usually at least one guy with a gun. There is no question it is important. You are surrounded by 20-30-40 people who you have known for maybe an hour or a day. The judge and the lawyers are staring at you and it is against this background that you are asked to recall life events you haven't thought of in years. (I sometimes seriously cannot remember last week). You have to describe not just how you feel about things but eventually you are asked whether you can, based on these memories you have just conjured and these feelings you have had to explore publicly, be fair and imp artial in the case. It is a crazy system and yet for more than 20 years, I have participated in it. Jurors, citizens, people who are not used to spending their days in the legal world do what is expected of them, do what is hard and the system works. Every time I participate in it, I learn something about people and I am always amazed.

9. I think the law is a good thing and I appreciate the opportunity to be part of its system. At the end of a case, in my closing argument to a jury, after days, weeks, months of looking at evidence, I will often convey to the jury how lucky they are that they now have (or will soon have) the law of the case. These are the rules, the guidelines, and the standards by which they must judge the evidence. I also tell them that if they ever get stuck, they should go back to the law as it generally will help them find their path. I believe in rules, structure, order and guidelines. I also believe in the notion that it should, in fact must, apply to everyone equally without regard to who they are if our society is to be a just one.

10. I believe that the jury system of dispute resolution is the best system in the world. All cultures, societies, countries have methods of dispute resolution. I believe that the United States jury system is the gold standard. To have the opportunity to draw citizens from the community with no "skin in the game" who are impartial and have them listen to both sides and then engage in deliberation is fantastic. The deliberation process is fundamentally profound to contemplate. After listening for hours, days, weeks, months, 8-10-12 people go into a room and sort it out. They do so based on having heard the same evidence but having come from 8-10-12 different life experiences. They share their perspectives, they work hard sometimes extremely hard, and they deliver their best measure of justice. Today I woke up loving my job . . .

How Far We Have Come

Thu, 13 Dec 2012 12:00:00 GMT

By Alana K. Bassin

So often we write about the work that needs to be done for women. However, with the year-end approaching, I thought I'd comment on how far we've come.

Interestingly, one of the holiday season's blockbuster movies is Lincoln focusing on Lincoln's masterful politicking behind the 13th Amendment and the abolition of slavery. A scene in the movie focuses on the discussion in the House where questions move from the abolition of slavery into what next …giving women the right to vote.

Fast forward 147 years and things have changed. Women not only vote, but played a huge role in the recent election results. Women made up approximately 54% of the electorate and fifty-five percent of them voted for Obama. In total, the gender gap added up to 18%, giving Obama strong support in swing states where Romney actually had an advantage among men and independents (other diverse voters including Latinos and African Americans also had a significant impact on the vote). We further had an historic election in November with the largest number of women ever elected to serve in the 113th Congress. An all-time high total of 20 women will serve in the Senate (11 women won their Senate races, including 5 newcomers and six incumbents), and there will be a record 78 women in the U.S. House. New Hampshire has an all-female Congressional delegation as well as a woman as Governor. In short, women have amassed an accumulation of power that far exceeds tokenism.

The number of women in top legal positions is further on the rise and accelerating. According to an annual survey by the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, women hold general counsel positions at 21 percent of companies in the Fortune 500 (108 women in GC positions in 2011). Likewise, in the business community, there are now 20 female CEOs at the 500 biggest U.S. corporations and a growing number of women on major company boards, inching past 16% in the US. These numbers include women CEOs at companies like IBM, Yahoo, Xerox, Hewlett-Packard and PepsiCo, and/or COO at Facebook.

I'm not here to say that the work is done and we have nothing left to talk about. In the new year, we can circle back to addressing attrition, equal pay, women in leadership, work-life balance, and all other issues that continue to need improvement. But just this once I thought it was worth appreciating how far we have come.

Find the Time

Mon, 10 Dec 2012 12:00:00 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

None of the things that I do is, taken individually, hard to the point of overwhelming. Being a mom, being a wife, being a small business-owner, being a law partner, being a trial lawyer, being a firm leader, being a mentor, being a role model, being a trailblazer, being a friend, and being a blogger – all have challenges and rewards. Some are more challenging, some are more rewarding, and the balance between challenge and reward are consistently shifting as life marches forward. As with most women, however, I don't want to give up on any of them. They are the combination that makes up my life. The reality is, like most lawyers, most of those of you who follow this blog and, although not exclusively, disproportionately the senior women in the legal profession have lives that take up more time than there are hours in the day. Some call this work-life balance -- I just call it juggling.

When we started this blog in May, 2010, it was important to me, and it is important to me today. I love seeing the new followers on our blog feeds and Twitter and all the other places I cannot even name. I am thrilled when someone is affected by what I say enough to mention it or engage me in conversation about it. I still get a kick out of telling people I am a blogger.

So, you ask, what is the problem? Well, it's time. All of these hats I am wearing are breaking my neck. For the last year I have been conducting an assessment of what matters to me and how much. I am 48 this year, and that is as good a year as any to take stock. The exercise has been interesting. The results unpredicted. I recommend this personal tune-up early and often. I have emerged with adjusted priorities and a more crystalized direction.

At the end of it all, being a CourtroomDiva is pretty high on my list. Now I needed to figure out how to find the time to actually do this thing that matters so much. So I did an inventory on how I spend my time. I looked at the ebbs and flows of the world that I inhabit, and once I looked hard enough, and finding the time was important enough to me, I found the space I needed.

There are those moments before the planes that I spend so much time on reach 10,000 feet when you are not allowed to use your electronic devices. Sometimes these moments are brief. This morning as I de-ice in Detroit, I have a particularly long involuntary electronic-free moment. During these moments I have committed to myself, and now do so to you, to literally put ink to paper (backs of envelopes or hotel bills – I mean who has paper anymore?) so that I might re-double my blogging efforts.

I share (over-share) this with you today so that you might grab a moment in your own crazy over-burdened, challenging and rewarding life and find a nook or cranny to fit something that matters, that makes you more you. We sometimes have it all, and that really leaves us with very little, and I submit that if we do what we do best – plan, prepare, over-analyze and revise, we may be able to bring some quality improvements we did not believe possible. Bottom line – you are stuck with me and my blog entries. Other good news – there are no treadmills on airplanes, can you imagine the turmoil I would endure fighting with myself then?

The Legacy of Half Done

Wed, 21 Nov 2012 16:19:56 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

As I contemplate my 48th birthday this month, I have come perhaps naively to the realization that I am at least half-way done. I don't know why it never occurred to me before, but this year I am looking at the notion of an "end". There are some interesting aspects to the notion that I have crested the hill of my life, my career, my contributions, my opportunities and my time.

As with anyone, there are many personal aspects to this contemplation, but the professional ones are what I want to reflect on today. Professionally I have this notion, aspiration, dream that I will leave a legacy for the men and women (I guess in fairness in my mind I picture this more for women, but that is becoming less so every day), who practice law, who try cases, who talk to juries and who defend clients for generations to come.

There are many things I can do with my life, time, hours, days but through the lens of my new contemplation, I focus on the connection between my time spend today and my legacy. And by the term "legacy" I don't know what others mean but I mean my "work", my difference, my impact. I mean the skills, values, priorities, and process that will survive me and although they evolve can be (although no one will take the time in our profession to do so) traced back to the impact I had by my actions today.

So as I contemplate these things for the roadmap to the Ezell legacy, I have determined some things which I believe will provide the principals for that plan. I share them today for your consideration and so that I, by publicly declaring them, will always have a place to go if I get lost or confused in the future.

1. I want jurors to believe that the jury system is just and fair and good. That although it is hard work for them, they are important to our system and respected and admired by those of us who make our living in front of them.

2. I want judges to believe that there is not a blue print for an excellent lawyer. I want, by my professionalism, preparedness, advocacy and persuasiveness to change the judicial expectations of women lawyers, lawyers who talk with their hands, lawyers who are loud, women lawyers who fight just as hard as their male counterparts.

3. I want clients to demand and expect excellence from their lawyers and be committed to the partnership between us but at the same time always be willing to look at the newcomers, the ones with passion and fire who don't do things the way they have always been done but have the potential for brilliant change.

4. And I think most of all I want the young lawyers, the ones who have studied so hard in and out of school and have come into a profession that has a fair share of contention and competition . . . I want them to be fearless. In spite of the student loans, in spite of the family obligations, in spite of the lawyer's nature to be cautious I wish for their spark of fearlessness to grow into a flame. It is only in this moment that their true brilliance can attain its maximum potential.

The Divas Around Us

Mon, 19 Nov 2012 12:00:00 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

Bowman and Brooke's Dallas office moved into its permanent space on May 18, 2012. That, of course, required all of us to pack up our belongings from the temporary space that had been home to us for the 16 months that had passed since we joined the Firm.

As a preliminary matter, if you ever want some insight into a person, I suggest going through the contents of his or her desk (*only with his/her permission or otherwise in accordance with the laws of your jurisdiction). It is at least as interesting as a medicine cabinet – perhaps more so depending on the person. Here are a few pieces of treasure I recovered during the move (bear in mind some of these things had already been moved once, when we left our former firm and joined B and B in February 2010): a toddler-sized peacock Halloween costume; a recipe for White Wine Sangria; six different packages of thank you notes; Christmas cards from three different years with the names of various people on the envelopes whose addresses I could not locate; an article torn from a magazine entitled "The Art of Spanxing," by Destiny Herndon De La Rosa (describing the humbling process of putting on Spanx, also referred to as "Satan-fibers," a "full body blood pressure cuff," "devil cloth," and my favorite, a "spandex cobra," publicly available at www.tiesandtutus.com/2012/01/the-art-of-spanxing/); and last but not least the Texas Lawyer October 31, 2011 "Special Report - Women in Law," complete with a post-it note with "FOR DIVA POST" scrawled on it in Sharpie by yours truly.

Fast forward to October 2012. While cleaning my new office for our Open House, I came across the "Special Report – Women in Law" once again, with the post-it still affixed as a hideous reminder of my delinquent blogging. In flipping through it, I came across the article I had intended to blog about a year earlier, "Female Boss + Female Assistant = Special Considerations," written by someone identified only as The Assistant-at-Law (hereinafter referred to as "The Assistant"). The article contains some keen observations about the dynamic between female lawyers and the women with whom they work, and The Assistant provides good advice about how to best navigate the relationship. As women, we often want "strong personal ties to those [we depend] on," creating the likelihood that working relationships will fail in the absence of such connections. To avoid those breakdowns, The Assistant reminds us to respect the boss/assistant relationship as a business one by "being a good boss, not a bad friend." She espouses using our superior communication skills as women to proactively address our needs and preferences, rather than waiting until issues arise to express what we want. She cautions against female lawyers intruding into the realm of the assistant's job by micromanaging the "how" aspects of a particular task. The Assistant also emphasizes the need to respect an assistant's personal space and avoid hovering over her while she works. And finally, she reminds us to never, ever, ask an assistant to hunt us down in the restroom to address a work-related matter, or vice versa. (Seriously?!? People do that?!? I would have thought that goes without saying, but in the event anyone needs a reminder, there you have it.)

In the end, it appears at least some of us female lawyers and female assistants can navigate this relationship successfully. According to The Assistant, "a significant minority of women assistants prefer women bosses because of the traits that distinguish them from men." Reasons The Assistant offers include "the relationship-oriented approach of a woman boss," a lawyer-mom-boss's greater understanding of an assistant's need for flexibility due to parenting obligations, and a "feminist pride" in working alongside a successful woman. And while I can't believe having a boss who shares great things like a recipe for White Wine Sangria and a hysterical article about Spanx didn't make the list, I am glad to see that some of us out there are getting it right. (Special thanks to my assistant, Kathy, as I think we fall into that category!)

Although this Post is about a year overdue in some respects, my procrastination paid off in others. This is the perfect opportunity for me to send a shout-out to some Divas, and Divas-To-Be, around me. The first one goes to our Firm Administrator, Tracy Spore. I have come across very few women in my life with her list of accomplishments (former police officer, trained in the culinary arts, and mother of eight children, to name a few). She does a great job keeping our office running like clockwork, and has mastered the art of managing relationships between all of us in the office, including the teams of female lawyers and assistants.

Beyond everything else she does, Tracy deserves special recognition for pulling off the Open House mentioned at the beginning of this Post, and for one aspect of it in particular. Prior to the event, Tracy coordinated a contest whereby students from Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts ("BTWHSPVA") and recipients of my second shout-out, sent original works of art to our office. We displayed their work at the Open House and everyone in attendance voted on their favorite pieces. The pieces with the most votes have been purchased from the students and will soon be framed and hanging in the break room. Yesterday, we had a reception honoring the winners, including Sydney Connor, Yasmin Davis, Ellie Blackman and Christian "Beatle" Geitema. Congratulations to all of you (pictured at the top with some of the winning art and artists, staff from BTWHSPVA, and Tracy (to the left of the fish painting)).

And so, a final thank you to Tracy, a true Diva for coming up with the idea, as well as all the participants from BTWHSPVA. We know many of you are Divas-To-Be, Courtroom-variety or otherwise, and we wish you the best in all your pursuits!

Did you "Popular" vote or "Swing" vote or Not Vote At All?

Tue, 06 Nov 2012 12:32:00 GMT

I have long believed in the unacceptability of the participants in a system who opine but do nothing to effectuate change. Because there are things that matter to me about my country on a national, state, and local level, I got up at 5 a.m. this morning (which was apparently not as early as many of my neighbors who had time and foresight to bring coffee). I had to vote early because I had to get to this flight that I am writing this post on. I was greeted after a 52 minute wait by a polling official who said with swollen pride in response to me saying, "good morning." "It is a great day, the lines are long so early and everyone is here to vote and they all care what happens!" When I was done, another poll official gave me my "prize" – pictured here as affixed to my sweater.

I live in a "swing state" so I have been inundated with calls, ads, pleas, and information for months. (That cannot end soon enough for me.) Because I live in Virginia, if you turn on the news even today, you will be under the impression that my vote really matters. But, what does that mean (OK, please no replies explaining the Electoral College-I get that part), and more importantly, how is that OK? As someone who has always had a problem with the notion that some votes, some voices, some people matter more than others, I find it uncomfortable to be in this position.

I used to live in Illinois; and before that I lived in Michigan; I have also lived in Texas and Missouri. The serendipity of my relocation is as random as the serendipity of gender or race or all of the other reasons that I have always believed should not make one vote more important than another. The notion of the popular vote, therefore, has become very important to me and the legitimacy of whatever happens today. The narrow margin or the overwhelming nature of any victory speaks to our beliefs and our direction and no matter what state you live in you can participate in that. I have, as you know from my prior posts, been having discussions with my children and others from generations X, Y, and beyond regarding the issues at issue in this election. It is very interesting to discuss with our future generations, who have been raised in a much less "winner take all" environment, the notions that basic civil liberties like casting your vote does not really matter.

This 2012 election has been characterized on all ends of the political spectrum as the year of the woman's referendum. In light of this, I have enjoyed (and not enjoyed but engaged in) discussions with a number of my female friends, contemporaries and colleagues about what message women should be sending, what message they will send if they do or do not speak with the same voice, what the implication for the future is if women take positions different or the same as men on fundamental rights. It has been a fascinating time.

So at the end of the day, my thought for today is that you Americans have the privilege of participation. It is a privilege that can have a profound impact at the local and state level. And, even if it is not outcome-determinative at the national level, it is still your privilege. And, once exercised, makes you a participant who can opine with the knowledge that she has also attempted to effectuate change. Moreover, the extent to which any particular set of views, beliefs, and candidates are elected today is also important because it sets the stage for the future—our future—which you can choose to participate in or watch. And as always, I say lean forward, not back; step to not from; Vote.

Lawyer-Moms and Our Sons: Proud Moments Happen on Random Political Thursdays

Mon, 08 Oct 2012 09:00:00 GMT

Like so many millions of others, I watched the recent debate on the domestic/economic issues between the two men who are running for President of the United States. I listened, I reflected, I didn’t change my mind about anything. And, if I am being completely honest, I was not really open to that possibility. I know who I am voting for but I am interested in what my guy and the other guy are saying.

This debate happened to occur when I was (shockingly) on the road at a conference. I was attending the Fall Conference for PLAC (Product Liability Advisory Council), a group of lawyers who generally spend their time doing what I generally spend my time doing. The keynote speakers were, amazingly enough, James Carville and Mary Matalin. It was truly fantastic to get to spend the politically charged morning after the debate with this politically charged couple. And, once again, complete honesty compels me to tell you that the Matalin-Carville debate for the 200 folks at PLAC was far more informative and entertaining that the one the rest of you got to see.

This sets the stage for today's post. I happened to be talking to my youngest son (now 11) on the phone on Thursday night (in that slot between the conference and the dinner-you know the one) and mentioned that I had seen this interesting presentation about the debates and the presidential candidates. He then advised me that in his social studies class, they had watched the debates. He went on to tell me that based on this debate, he believed that one candidate had a clearer message, was better for the country and would probably win. We talked back and forth for over an hour (remember: HE IS 11) about same-sex marriage, women's choices, economic turmoil, military spending and various other issues (including specificity in planning—11 years old? Really?). He talked and I listened and then I talked and he listened. We agreed to disagree about some things and agreed on others. We made concessions. In the end, we agreed to love each other no matter who won and no matter who we thought was a better candidate. This was a very cool day for me.

When moments like that happen, and they are rare, I think about what kind of man my son will be (you know, 23 years later, did I make the right choices, did I do right by my kids?). I don't know if he will be a Democrat or Republican. I have no idea if he will vote with his wallet or with his heart. I don't know if he will be a lawyer, an engineer, a musician, a shoe salesman or a tennis player. What I do know and I have known this at least as far back as that firm party 19 years ago is that my sons will be able to look at the world's choices through a different lens than the men in my generation. My contemporaries and their predecessors did not, overwhelmingly, have moms like me. Their moms were not lawyers, they were not firm leaders, they were not businesswomen. Their moms did not do what I do, see what I see, talk like I talk. The world they grew up in was different and they were shaped by it. I cannot even begin to contemplate everything that will be different but I do believe my son(s) will expect women to have a voice in important conversations in a way that is more organic than learned. Their preconceptions about roles and leadership and decision-making will be affected by us. These men we are raising will be different and I for one am very excited to see what that looks like.

So, lawyer-moms, when you struggle to make it to all of the meetings and conferences and trials while balancing the need to be at the recitals and concerts and plays and games, remember it matters. When you feel like you are not doing any of it well because you are doing too much, remember it matters. When you are sitting on a plane (not headed home yet) writing a blog post and your family is thousands of miles away doing what normal people do, remember it matters. I think being a lawyer is wonderful thing to be. I had no choice in the woman part, but that is great too. Being a mom, though, is the part of my life that matters the most and having a moment where I actually feel like my job, my passion, my "balance" doesn't hurt my kids, it may actually make them ready for the world in a way that others cannot…in a way that makes me proud…is a rare special moment and one to share.

Why Women Should Try To Still Have It All

Tue, 11 Sep 2012 17:25:07 GMT

By Alana Bassin

In the July/August 2012 Atlantic Magazine, Anne Marie Slaughter wrote an op-ed entitled, "Why Women Still Can't Have It All," where she lamented her struggles trying to manage a high-level government job working for Hilary Clinton with family who lived hours away in Princeton, New Jersey. She discusses the real struggles of working long hours during the work week and trying to make it home to see her family for two days on the weekend.

Her message is multifold. First, she is undoubtedly saying it is hard to manage family and a demanding job, especially one where you don't control your schedule. Second, she is saying the very high-powered, demanding and/or top-level jobs that would require a woman to be away from her family all week—every week—is more difficult to sustain for women than men (she reflects her struggles having moved from her family, but a colleague that moved her family leaving the husband commuting on the weekend seemed to struggle less). Third, she suggests that Gen Y women are insisting on an honest conversation about the sacrifices of a demanding job and are not sure that they want to make the sacrifices. In this part of her discussion she is a little critical of those women (me included I suppose) who give the "rah, rah" speech that it can be done without a real discussion about the challenges it brings.

I've thought a lot about her article and I'm left with thinking that she is generally right on most accounts, but I'm not sure that she is saying anything new. Of course, work-life issues are difficult and demanding, which is why there has been an on-going discussion on this issue for the last few decades. I don't know anyone who says otherwise. And of course it is generally easier for men with children (not always, but typically) to handle the very upper echelon jobs. This is not because they are more capable. It is just that most women typically want to be "involved" parents and anyone who has a job that requires an 80-hour-plus work week has limited time or availability for any involvement. We also typically don't have "wives" at home covering the domestic-side of life. At the very end of her article, almost out of nowhere, she talks about the possibility of this changing if more women had the upper-echelon jobs, as if this would change the entire infrastructure and women in these jobs would work less. I'm sure tweaks could be done to improve the infrastructure for these jobs to make it easier (picture more telecommuting and day care in Congress), but if those jobs are 80-hour work weeks or more, they are 80-hour work weeks, and it is still going to be hard.

Nevertheless, I agree with her premise that it is incredibly hard. I also agree with her that controlling your own schedule makes it easier. I spoke at a conference this year for the Saskatchewan branch of the Canadian Bar Association on the attrition of women in the law and one of my important messages to the young women lawyers is that the first ten years are really tough when you are learning your craft and working long hours controlled by other people's schedules. However, if you can get over the hump where you become more independent and can control your own schedule (either because you work for your own clients or because you are valued enough to be given flexibility), it is far more manageable. That doesn't mean the stress or work load gets better (it gets worse), but there are people to delegate to and you can decide whether you want or need to work during the 2 hour soccer game or ballet recital.

It is on Slaughter's third point, and perhaps her most significant one, where I am not sure I agree with her, or perhaps just take a different point of view. I agree that the Gen Y women are demanding an honest conversation about the sacrifices for a successful career and are not sure they want to make them. But where I am not sure I agree is that we blame the Gen X or baby-boomers for not delivering the truth or that we are wrong to question the next generation for their lack of commitment. In Slaughter's article, she is politely critical of Sheryl Sandberg for what Slaughter calls "a note of reproach" in her famous TED talk where Sandberg told women that were thinking about having children to not "leave before you leave." In short, Slaughter suggests that many of us take a condescending tone when addressing the next generation who do not know if they want to make the sacrifices, a tone that says "what is the matter with you?" Perhaps she is right that Sandberg had a bit of reproach in her speech. And perhaps we are guilty of wondering, what is the matter with the next generation? But I don't think it is because we don't think the sacrifices are real or because we are not willing to have an honest conversation about how real the sacrifices are.

The bottom line is that the next generation is different simply because they were born in that generation—which makes them different. Speaking in generalities, they were born in a child-centric world with helicopter parents as opposed to Gen Xers who grew up as latchkey kids under the women's liberation movement, or the baby-boomers who were doing the liberating. Regardless of whether you're a man or woman, the Gen Y's want more time to enjoy life outside of work. They want more time for their family or hobbies. Of course, many of them want the career and good pay, but they hope to achieve that with a well-balanced life. The women further did not grow up wondering about whether they would have maternity leave or experience sexual harassment (they were maybe 10 when Anita Hill testified in Congress), so they are left thinking about things that many women didn't have the luxury of thinking about. Combine that with a woman's desire to not be an absent mother and you have a perfect cocktail of someone who may not want to make the same sacrifices of their foremothers. Maybe the joke is on us. Maybe they have it right and we all need to change. Or maybe there is a tolerance (or over-acceptance) to "dropping out" that is noteworthy of a "what is wrong with you?"

Speaking frankly, I hate losing talented women in the work force. Not all people have the capacity to handle a tough job and also parent, and when I see a woman with the horse power to do it, a little piece of me does wish that they had a stronger connection to our foremothers, that they understood the need for women to stay in the work force for the greater good, and that they really valued work for their own self-development and independence. A little part of me does wish that the next generation had an urge to really want it all – not just to have a career but to be managing partner or general counsel – even if it meant sacrifices. It isn't that I don't respect choice because I do. I further deeply respect the women who stay home with children - to me it is harder than going to work. But I think we are all better off if women stay in the work force and help lead the workforce. Like Sandberg, I think many women are so focused on whether they can achieve work-life balance that they have stopped dreaming big and get off the ride before it even starts. And what is wrong with telling women that we still want them dreaming big? So, while I want to create an infrastructure that makes work-life balance as easy as possible for them and give them a shoulder to cry on when it gets tough (as it inevitably does), I also want them focused (or refocused) on not just kids but a successful career. So if that means telling them that it can be tough but delivering a "rah, rah" speech with a bit of reproach, I am okay with that.

A colleague once told me that when women reached the top, they needed to send the elevator back down. However, women need to be there to get on.

The Meaning of Eight

Wed, 20 Jun 2012 09:23:00 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

When I think of the number eight, I think of the following:

Troy Aikman (last Dallas Cowboy who will ever wear "8" on a jersey);
Michael Jackson (won eight awards at the 1984 Grammys);
North Carolina Tarheels (lost to Kansas after making it to the Elite Eight in the 2012 NCAA Tournament);
Duke Blue Devils (did not even make the Elite Eight in the 2012 NCAA Tournament);
Nadya Suleman (the Octomom); and
Cole Haan (specifically, my new size 8 red patent leather platform heels).

But wait . . . there is more!

On behalf of the Courtroom Divas, I am proud to announce Bowman and Brooke was ranked #8 on The American Lawyer 2012 Diversity Scorecard of the nation's 250 largest law firms. The scorecard measures ethnic minority and female attorney populations and Bowman and Brooke excelled at both. Our ethnic diversity among attorneys is at 18.2%, one of the highest percentages among law firms in the nation and nearly double the national average. Wow! Beyond that, 39% of our attorneys and 26% of our partners are women. Clearly, there are a lot more than four Courtroom Divas! Here is a snapshot of the scorecard:

We celebrate this recognition as evidence of our strong commitment to diversity. Our differences make us better trial lawyers who reflect our clients and the communities and courtrooms in which we represent them nationwide. This accomplishment confirms we have a great thing going on at Bowman and Brooke in terms of diversity and motivates us to continue our efforts. Unlike the 2012 North Carolina Tarheels, we won't stop at eight. Thanks to The American Lawyer for this recognition!

Suzanne

(P.S. Unlike the Grammys, this occasion may not be memorialized at a glamorous awards ceremony with glitzy party favor bags and fancy trophies. But please note that if I am wrong, and there is such an event, I have just the shoes and will travel! )

Happy Mothers Day

Thu, 10 May 2012 14:31:29 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

May 4, 2012, was a busy day for this Diva. First, it was the last weekday before the ninth birthday of our oldest son Jack, meaning I needed to bring a birthday treat to the school. Second, it was the day of the Kindergarten Mothers Day Tea for our middle son, Wyatt. It was one of those rare days this year where my home life dominated over work, for good reason.

Given the fact that it has been a pretty busy year professionally (see prior post entitled Managing Expectations with Style and Substance), it was of critical importance that May 4 proceed without a hitch. You see, due to my aforementioned busy status, I had already negotiated a cash payment to Jack in exchange for an agreement to forego a formal birthday party once I realized it was too late to pull one together, even for a zealous social event planner such as myself. And while I did actually plan a birthday party for Wyatt (DOB 05/10/06), I inadvertently scheduled it for May 13, which is not only Mothers Day, but also the same weekend as the YMCA campout for half the Kindergarteners. Oh. Snap. (Don't worry. I have arranged for some stand-ins in the form of Jack's third grade friends.)

My preparations for May 4 started the evening of May 3 with a trip to the mall to pick up Jack's cookie cake. Jack joined me under the guise of "wanting to help." Our first stop was the Nordstrom women's shoe department, as it is conveniently located between the valet entrance and the cookie store. While Jack was uncharacteristically patient as I browsed, he did let me know that the metallic orange AGL flats I was seriously considering purchasing were "ridiculous." I then informed Jack of the longstanding family tradition that upon reaching the age of nine, kids purchase gifts for their moms on the kids' birthdays, especially when the kid puts his mother through 17 hours of labor and weighs 10 pounds 3 ounces at birth like he did. Although he did not like the shoes, Jack did offer me his life savings so that I could buy them. Unfortunately, either Jack is not an effective saver, or the shoes were overpriced. Touched by the gesture, I ultimately turned him down and we headed to the cookie store. During that walk, Jack's true motive in joining me became clear. He started drooling and slowed down the pace considerably as we passed the Lego store, assuming we would stop. Wishful thinking by Jack, as he and the rest of the universe know my position on the "ridiculous" Swaner Lego supply. We then picked up the gigantic cookie and the accompanying gigantic plastic knife and headed home, me without new shoes and Jack without new Legos.

While getting ready for work the next morning, I thought about the Mothers Day Tea three years earlier when Jack was in Kindergarten. I had shown up at the school with no real idea of what the event entailed since Jack, like many boys, does not tell me much (other than what he thinks of metallic orange AGL flats). So, I was pleasantly surprised when the moms were ushered to the auditorium to hear the kids sing songs about moms. My eyes welled up with tears as I watched Jack perform. After that, we returned to the classroom for iced tea and cookies, and the kids presented their moms with gifts. It was a perfect event and I cherish the memories from it to this day.

Wyatt is different than Jack in many ways. He tipped me off about the plans for the Mothers Day Tea about six weeks ago by singing all of the songs around the house. While I initially thought Wyatt was cleverly making up songs about how great he thought I was, he then sang one that sounded vaguely familiar from three years ago and, in so doing, burst my bubble.

At any rate, I worked efficiently through the morning and left the office on time to make a pit stop at home for the cookie cake and then proceed to the school. Upon my arrival at the school at 12:15, I ran into another cookie-cake-carrying mom whose third grade daughter shares the same birthday as Jack. We ventured into the cafeteria together and sat down with our respective child's class. Jack was as happy to see me as any third grade boy would be to see his mother, but he and the entire class were thrilled the cookie cake had arrived. The kids quickly invaded my personal space to get at the cookie cake. I dug around for the gigantic plastic knife to start slicing away, only to realize I had left it at home on a high shelf, where I had stashed it after the boys started using it as a weapon. Thank heaven for the other cookie cake mom, who only has girls and thus arrived with her gigantic plastic knife for me to borrow. By 12:40, my cookie cake mission was complete. Next stop was the auditorium.

It is worth noting that up until then, my day had gone perfectly. I had even managed to abide by Central Standard Time rather than my preferred time zone, Swaner Standard Time, which typically runs anywhere from 10 to 15 minutes behind CST. As I headed upstairs to the auditorium, I felt a little like Kelly Ripa in the Electrolux commercials. (You know, the ones where she darts around with incredible efficiency as she makes cookies and does laundry with shiny Electrolux appliances, with perfect bouncy hair and in a very trendy color blocked outfit?) Since things had gone so well that day, you can imagine my surprise when I walked into a nearly empty auditorium! I know what you are thinking . . . I must have missed it. NOPE. To the contrary, I was 45 minutes EARLY. Unheard of in my world! Since the auditorium has little to no cell reception, I passed the time sitting in my front row seat (another rarity) flipping through Us magazine and chatting with another lawyer mom.

The kids filed in at 1:30 and proceeded to sing three songs about moms. I wasn't sure I would get teary eyed this time around, as I was pregnant with our third son at Jack's Mothers Day Tea and, as a result, very hormonal. Turns out the pregnancy hormones had nothing to do with it, as I cried once again, along with dozens of other moms. Here are the video and lyrics, in case you want to take a look and listen for yourself.

Oh Mom you're the best Mom
There's no comparison
You tuck me in at night
You wake me up

Oh Mom you're the best Mom
You take good care of me
You give give me lots of hugs
That's why you're the best
I love you Mom

You pack my lunch
You make my dinner
You always got my back
That's why you're a winner

You make me laugh
You understand me
You wipe away my tears
When I'm feeling sadly boo hoo

Oh Mom, you're the best Mom
There's no comparison
You tuck me in at night
You wake me up

Oh Mom you're the best Mom
You take good care of me
You give give me lots of hugs
That's why you're the best
I love you Mom

While us working moms may not always be there to make dinner for our children, tuck them in at night, or wake them up, I can say with confidence that we give them lots of hugs and try to do everything else in the song. And I can unquivocally say moms will always have their chidrens' backs, just like the song says. Even when the children are 41 years old. (Thanks, Mom.)

I'd like to close by sharing a picture of Wyatt on May 4, along with my Mothers Day gift.

Not to be a Tiger Mother, but please note the drawing has a few inaccuracies. I have no idea why he drew me as a brunette with a blonde overlay and, as we all know, I do not have any orange flats. (Note to self: Schedule appointment with hairsaviour ASAP. Allow extra time to stop at Nordstrom on the way.)

Happy Mothers Day, y'all!

Women’s Representation in the Federal Judiciary Has a Long Way to Go

Thu, 12 Apr 2012 10:17:57 GMT

Marcia Greenberger, Co-President, National Women’s Law Center (Guest Author)

Fifty years ago, women made up barely four percent of law students. Since then, women have made significant inroads into the legal profession: for twenty-five years, approximately 45% of law students have been women; in the last decade, women’s representation has approached 50%.

It has become increasingly clear, however, that the increased representation in the “pipeline” hasn’t yet been matched by women’s representation on the federal bench. Only 30 percent of federal judges are women, and a mere 8 percent are women of color. And unfortunately, the number of women on the federal bench has seen little improvement in recent years.

This lack of progress is cause for concern because, as the readers of this blog are well aware, female judges make a difference in the courtroom. They bring to the bench an understanding of the impact of the law on women and girls, who make up over half of the US population. Female judges contribute important worldviews and experiences that round out judicial perspectives. And that contribution improves the quality of justice for men and women alike. For example, a 2010 study demonstrated that male federal appellate court judges are less likely to rule against plaintiffs bringing claims of sex discrimination if a female judge is on the panel. And confidence in the courts as a neutral purveyor of justice is higher, when judges are representative of the population they serve.

By the nominations he has made to date, President Obama has taken an important step towards increasing the representation of women, including women of color, on the federal bench. Forty-seven percent of President Obama’s confirmed judicial nominees have been women (while 23% of President Bush’s nominees and 29% of President Clinton’s were women). Strikingly, more women of color have been confirmed to the federal bench during President Obama’s Administration than under any prior President. The number of women on a number of Courts of Appeal and district courts around the country have increased, and let’s not forget that President Obama nominated two women to the Supreme Court, paving the way for three women to sit on the Court for the first time in our history.

Therefore, the unprecedented slowdown in the United States Senate’s judicial confirmation process has kept the numbers of women on the federal judiciary lower than they would have been. Currently, there are 18 judicial nominees waiting for a vote, six of whom are women. Others among the 18 would add other kinds of the diversity to the bench as well. And stalling on those votes couldn’t be more harmful -- the federal judiciary has faced historic vacancy levels for the past three years, with nearly 10 percent of federal judgeships empty right now. As a result, people around the country are waiting for justice: civil litigants now wait on average over one year for a jury trial. Lawyers know firsthand the impact this can have upon their clients, and the judicial system overall. And perhaps even more astounding, when votes were finally allowed on the Senate floor, the overwhelming majority of nominees were confirmed with token opposition at most.

As the Courtroom Divas know all too well, we can’t change the system without making our voices heard. Members of the women’s legal community, like you, can make a real difference in pushing the Senate to vote on the nominees awaiting a Senate vote. Learn more about women in the federal judiciary and the federal judicial vacancy crisis at www.nwlc.org/judges. Share what you’ve learned with your colleagues and networks. Contact your Senators to urge them to ensure that all pending judicial nominees receive a vote. And if you’re interested in learning about more opportunities to help, contact the National Women’s Law Center’s Amy Matsui at amatsui@nwlc.org.

Spring Break is a Misnomer

Tue, 03 Apr 2012 13:51:32 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

Spring Break. To a teenaged girl in Prior Lake, Minnesota in the mid-1980s, those words signaled one thing – time to hit the tanning bed. It was an annual Rite of Spring for my girlfriends and me to purchase ten sessions from the local tanning salon (which, as an aside, was also a video store). There were two reasons to do so: (1) build up a base tan for an upcoming trip to Florida or Mexico to avoid the uncomfortable and unattractive burn and peel cycle of tanning; or (2) build up a sufficient base tan to make it appear as though we went to Florida or Mexico over Spring Break. You see, very little could top a mid-spring dark tan in the frozen tundra, especially one enhanced with big permed hair accented by Sun-In created highlights. (Sun-In, by the way, was another great invention for a Spring-Breaker, real or faux, as it worked by the heat of the real sun or the heat of the hair dryer.) The tan and the hair combined to create a look that was, like, totally awesome, at that time anyway.

Fast forward 25 years. These days, use of a tanning bed not only gives me pause, the concept of Spring Break does as well. (No comment on the highlights, although my colorist, known here only as hairsaviour, does use much-improved technology.) At the outset, I am fully aware I should be precluded from complaining about Spring Break at all. Every year our school district sends out proposed school calendars and solicits a vote before adopting the final schedule. Because they do not offer an option without Spring Break, I never vote. Perhaps next year (or the year after, since next year's calendar is probably already set) I will launch a write-in campaign to eliminate Spring Break and give everyone an extra week of summer, or to have Spring Break anytime other than spring, which also happens to be the peak of Litigation Season.

According to the latest American Time Use Survey from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, women handle more overall household responsibilities, including child care issues, than their spouses. Single mothers, of course, assume all of the responsibility in their households. Even in dual-income homes, mothers are still the primary caretakers for their children. In light of that, I offer the following options (including the pros/cons of each) for all you moms who are scrambling to make arrangements for your children over the next week or two, or who are trying to do a better job of planning ahead for next year:

1. Take the kids on a vacation.

PROS: If you can take the time off work, Spring Break seems like a good time to take a memorable family trip to some exotic destination, like Aspen or the Bahamas, or even somewhere less exotic, such as the grandparents' house. No matter where it is, the kids will be thrilled to be anywhere but at home or school. You may even get a great holiday card photo out of the trip. And, if you travel for your job, you might as well be one of the families slowing down the lines at airport security rather than one of the impatient business travelers waiting behind them. If you can't beat 'em, join 'em, I always say. (And you won't beat 'em, by the way, even if you have super duper elite status on every airline. Super duper elite status travelers have families too, you know.)

CONS: As mentioned above, Spring Break comes at the height of Litigation Season. And unlike the winter holidays or even summer, the designated "weeks off" vary across school districts. That means it is highly unlikely the courts, clients, and opposing counsel are all "off the grid", so to speak, at the same time. That opens a lawyer up to vulnerabilities. For example, the particularly sneaky opposing counsel may file some time-sensitive motion, knowing you are out of the office. Worse yet, the same sneaky opposing counsel may require an "emergency hearing" while you are at 35,000 feet unsuccessfully trying to work while your kids play Angry Birds on your iWhatever without ear phones (which "hurt" their ears). And, I don't know about you, but I routinely need a vacation from my vacation. Taking a week off during Litigation Season does not provide much breathing room to recover upon returning to the office.

2. Take the kids to work with you.

PROS: You will not have to worry about child care for one of the five days of the week.

CONS: You will have to worry about everything else. You will not get any work done. Your office will be covered in post-its. All your favorite pens will disappear, especially the Sharpies. The kitchen will smell like burned microwave popcorn. The kids will be on a caffeine high from drinking free Cokes all day. And perhaps most importantly, it will ruin the aura surrounding Take Our Daughters and Sons To Work Day on April 26, 2012 (www.daughtersandsonstowork.org), should your employer observe it. Note to my husband's employer: I will be out of town that entire week, so our three boys will have to come to your office. Please heed the above comments and take all necessary precautions. Better yet, close the office for the day.

3. Make a deal with four other moms whereby each mom watches all the kids for a day.

PROS: The kids will have a blast hanging out with their friends all week. Plus, this arrangement will only require you to take one day off from work. And while it will be hectic, the benefit of not having to worry about the other four days probably makes the chaos worthwhile.

CONS: If you have two kids, and they are not close in age, can't stand each other's friends or there is some other reason you would have to separate them the other four days of the week, your one day off could result in you watching ten kids at the same time. And even more than that if you have three or four kids. I am not sure that is even legal without a license. Not to mention the financial expense of feeding and entertaining all those kids, and the daunting task of picking up the Legos that would be dispersed all over the house like shrapnel after they left.

Our Spring Break was March 12 to 16. We exercised a fourth option, which was to do a little of everything. It did not take a whole lot of planning ahead, just a little creativity and support from others. We scheduled playdates for the kids and sent them to visit my husband's family for a night. My husband and I both took a little time off from work to take the kids on a staycation to a local hotel so they could swim in the heated pool, order room service, and watch a few movies. We all not only survived, we had fun. And most importantly, none of us went to a tanning salon.

Advocate Through Fashion…Divas Mix Fashion and Charity Giving TLC To The Future Generations of Legal Professionals

Fri, 09 Mar 2012 13:43:03 GMT

By: Sandra Giannone Ezell

Remember that pit that starts in your stomach when you sign your first student loan and grows and grows as you go on to law school and tell yourself that it will all be worth it because you will one day have a job that will make all of these financial and personal commitments worth it. Then the day(s) come when you have to justify to yourself, your supporters and the world the investments that have been made for the past years were worth it…you interview. Now, what (not?) to wear?

Perhaps no one understands the phrase "living on a budget" better than the thousands of law students aspiring to be our next generation professionals. Ramen or heavy books? Study guides or a new suit? These are very important law school questions. Luckily, we have all been there and we want to help. Take a minute and remember the days before the DSW membership (no, not gym, DSW) and the black pants collection you now enjoy and HELP your future colleagues.

The Fashion Law Society and Tender Loving Care (TLC) Community Fund will host their 2nd Annual Charity Fashion Show and Chance Auction on April 3, 2012, at 6:30 pm in the Touro Law Center in Central Islip, NY.

Please feel free to support this fabulous organization in your own way, but do try to lend your support. NY ladies-SHOW UP and bring friends. Seriously, this is an event to attend. You can also DONATE merchandise-they will gladly accept gently used business attire for the legal hopefuls who will inherit our profession. Finally, CASH donations are encouraged, appreciated and handed to those in need.

If you attend, it will be a fantastic evening with designer clothing and accessories to admire and gift cards and other items raffled off during the show. If you have gently used business attire to donate, please send it or bring it as the group hopes to collect more than $5,000 worth of merchandise to help top last year's total. Finally, cash donations will be used not only for outfitting but also to help aid students with loans and grants. Last year, the group was able to provide financial aid to 22 students with financial assistance from the $7,000 raised!

For more information, to RSVP, or to find out how you can make a tax deductible donation contact Diana Castrellon at dcastrellon@tourolaw.edu.

Happy Women's History Month: Celebrate but Don't Just Be Historical...Look Back and Look Ahead

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 13:50:30 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

Yesterday I retweeted (and it still does surprise me to say things like this since I consider myself a technological dinosaur) something to the effect that you should be the woman that you want your granddaughters to read about in the history books. I was stricken by this notion for a number of reasons.

First, I am already old enough to have granddaughters and I used to think that that was something that would define me in a negative way... you know that I am getting "old." But, I am excited at the notion of having grandchildren and what this tweet actually did to me was jettison me right past the point where I was holding the fat-cheeked little bald bundle in my arms to the point where they grew up, grew hair and looked at the totality of my life and made a decision as to whether I was important, wanting, relevant, inspirational, powerful, and historically interesting.

My second thought was that so much of what we as women do is look back. We look back at the time when we could not...could not whatever. We look back at when we could not vote, when we could not work, when we could not lead, when we could not get paid. It is important to look back, no doubt. History contains lessons and if you limit your strategic lessons, plan and vision to your own experiences and not shared experiences, then you will find yourself wanting at essential moments. BUT, only looking back is limiting as well.

As I think about how I react to the events around me, how to decide the questions put to me, how to plan the days ahead of me, how to become the me I need to be, if I only look back at history, I will necessarily be limited. As I approach my current challenges and opportunities and consider the legacy that my grandchildren will one day consider, I realize that I need to be historically critical and celebratory, current and temporally grounded and futuristically visionary.

So, this month, as I celebrate Women's History Month and the accomplishments of the women who have opened the doors, asked the tough questions, modeled the roles, and through their vision created my reality, I simultaneously look to the future. I of course am a wife and a mom, I of course seek to be a value-add to my clients and prefer to do that in a courtroom whenever possible. But, I also incorporate into this daily life a particular purpose and intent and open doors, and ask tough questions and model roles. I want someone (and how cool would it be to have it be one of my grandchildren) look back and say that something that I contributed to the world provided them a platform, a framework, a guide, a path to their desired reality.

Celebrate Women's History Month. Tell your children, your daughters and your sons, tell your husbands and your partners, tell your colleagues and your co-workers about the women in history and the women missing from history. But as you are celebrating, don't just be historical, look back and let history be the lens through which you view the future.

Continuing the Pursuit of Excellence: An Overview of The Lessons From The 2011 Women's Power Summit On Law And Leadership

Thu, 23 Feb 2012 15:42:10 GMT

By Andrea L. Moody

Given the grim statistics of women as partners in Am Law 200 law firms (15%), of women managing partners of Am Law 200 law firms (5%), and with nearly 50% of Am Law 200 firms having one or no women on their highest governing committee, The Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law sought to change some of these statistics by convening prominent women in the legal profession with the goal of advancing women lawyers into positions of powers and influence ("the Summit"). For three days, law firm managing partners, judges, general counsel, law school deans, and other senior attorneys engaged in an unprecedented examination of power and leader with academics and business leader. As a result of the Summit, Linda Bray Chanow and Lauren Stiller Rikleen for The Center for Women in Law recently published a white paper entitled, Power in Law: Lessons From the 2011 Women's Power Summit on Law and Leadership. In this white paper, Chanow and Rikleen present "seven strategies for getting, using and keeping power that emerged from the 2011 Women's Power Summit on Law and Leadership".

There should be no doubt that Chanow's and Rikleen's work, in its entirety, is a must read. However, because of its relevance and critical message to The Courtroom Divas' audience, I have noted these seven strategies for getting, using, and keeping power with an abbreviated version of Chanow's and Rikleen's summary of the Summit's discussions.

1. Get Comfortable With the Pursuit of Power – Whether it stems from internal gender bias or some other source, it is no secret that there are some women who shy away from power or the concept of power. The Summit directly address this issue providing a unanimous conclusion: "The necessary first step to building power is to understand the source of your discomfort with power so that you can address the discomfort and move on." Enough said.

2. Be Intentional About What You Are Seeking – Summit panelist, Robin J. Ely, Ph.D., Warren Alpert Professor of Business Administration and Senior Associate Dean for Culture and Community, Harvard Business School, posited the following question: "What goals are going to extricate you from the grip of gender stereotypes?" Dr. Ely noted that clarity of purpose is paramount to counteracting gender bias barriers and further explained that "when [women] are driven by something we care about, we're less depleted…[and] with energy and focus, [women are] likely to be more effective in leading change to address gender bias in their organizations."

3. Face Your Fears – In his Harvard Business Review article, Power Play, Jeffrey Pfeffer, Professor of Organizational Behavior, Stanford University Graduate School of Business, noted that one of the greatest barriers to building power is risk avoidance. In fact, Chanow and Rikleen share that nearly every one of the distinguished women on the Summit's panel admitted that they had to learn to face the fear of failure. Although many panelists offered strategies for how they faced their fears, as a part of her personal strategy, Katrina Dewey, CEO, Lawdragon, Inc., recommended that "when you face that challenge or obstacle, if you think it's too big, break it down to its component parts, because you can almost certainly solve each individual problem and then you're at the top of the mountain."

4. Identify and Build Strategic Relationships – Chanow and Rikleen noted that instead of "talk[ing] about the value of social networking broadly…[the p]anelists spoke about identifying useful connections with intentionality and utilizing specific strategies to build relationships that enabled them to reach particular career goals." Three practice pointers emerged from this discussion at the Summit which included: 1) looking beyond titles when identifying useful connections; 2) identifying "incidental random similarities" between you and the person whose help you are seeking; and 3) finding a reciprocal advantage between you and the person whose help you are seeking (e.g. finding a mutual need).

5. Act With Power - Despite the notion that "the appearance of power and influence can be as useful as power itself," this segment of the Summit addressed the challenge of competent women not being liked or being judged harshly for their assertiveness. Summit speaker Pfeffer directly encouraged those seeking power to "get over the feelings of being rejected" and to stop "worrying too much about whether or not others like you." Pfeffer's ultimate piece of advice is to "get over it. Don't take things personally." In further discussing this issue, Paula Monopoli, Professor of Law, Marbury Research Professor and Founding Director, Women, Leadership & Equality Program, University of Maryland Francis King Care School of Law insisted that "it is critical to teach…the ability and the power and the confidence to say 'no'", when saying "yes" might derail that person's goals.

6. Don't Cede The Hill – Stephanie Streeter, former CEO, United States Olympic Committee, Former Chairman and CEO, Banta Corporation, and Summit speaker, echoed the professional woman's creed: "Failure is not an option." With that sentiment as a backdrop, fellow speaker Pfeffer offered several tips for overcoming obstacles. Chanow and Rikleen succinctly summarized these tips: 1) Begin with the end in mind – what do you want?; 2) As yourself, "What would victory look like?"; 3) Play to your strengths – continue doing what you do well; 4) Depersonalize (and take the emotion out of) situations – think strategically; 5) Don't show embarrassment about your situation; and 6) Keep getting your "story" and message out.

7. Practice - The unanimous sentiment of the panelists was that self-transformation requires practice. You cannot simply expect to read an article and be changed. Instead, many panelists recommended the use of a coach. As Chanow and Rikleen pointed out, "whether by hiring a coach, volunteering, or some other means, 2011 Power Summit Speakers and Panelists urged participants to invest in themselves and master the skills necessary to build their power and advance into positions of leadership."

Many thanks to the Center for Women in Law for tackling these issues, the panelists who participated in the Summit and helped to strategize about these issues, and to white paper authors, Linda Bray Chanow and Lauren Stiller Rikleen, for memorializing the seven strategies which emerged from the Summit. A full copy of Power In Law: Lessons From The 2011 Women's Power Summit On Law and Leadership can be found here.

The Importance of a "Power Mom"

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 13:13:17 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

One of our fellow divas is always quick to remind me that one role can define her completely—be it an attorney, mother or otherwise. And, now that you have come to know her better through her posts, I am sure you can see why Diva Alana Bassin is a complex and fascinating woman, lawyer, mom, law partner, mentor, student, teacher, role model and so many other things. A local Minneapolis magazine, however, couldn't resist profiling her, and if you take a look at the article you will understand why. Recently, the unique cacophony that is her family machine, composed of her significant other, David, their four children, Talia, Solomon, Ari and Judah, and "Mama Bear" Alana herself were included in an article titled "The Kid Cities," in the February issue of Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine.

The story looks at five other local moms and their families and, Alana, not surprisingly, received the title of "Power Mom." This is a description that rings true to those of us who have seen her in action. We have witnessed as she succeeds daily (or fails but always works) at balancing her substantial client-focused legal work with what clearly passes for a functional family of six. Alana's ability to juggle a career and a family with endless responsibilities is truly inspiring to women everywhere. Alana seems to make multi-tasking look effortless, which is why Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine truly hit the mark in profiling her busy life among many others in the Twin Cities.

The acknowledgement of this award is important. I say that and I am sure that Alana laughs at it in some ways as she thinks of all of the things she has missed in her kids' lives. We all do. As working, lawyer moms, we do not get to be there for everything. Our families matter. Our clients matter. Our cases matter. Our firm and partners matter. When you have so many things that matter, you miss some of each.

What matters, what Alana does well, what I have tried to do for more than a few years now is to make sure that we make an impression on our children, we matter in our families, and we believe and convey the message that we are there even when we are not. I believe women who do what we do should have families if they want them. Families are great; they can complete us and improve us. Even more, kids raised by women like us will have a unique and different voice in the future and will come to the world with a different set of experiences and perspectives. It is hard, it is scary, but it is personally worth it and generationally imperative. So, while I enjoyed the article and encourage you all to read it, I really enjoy that ALL of the CourtroomDivas are working lawyer moms who have figured out a way make a difference and leave a legacy in those worlds in which we operate.

We are always excited to highlight the empowerment our divas bring to local communities, so read the Minneapolis St. Paul Magazine article to learn more about Alana's influence as a "Power Mom."

Managing Expectations with Style and Substance

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 14:47:26 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

I was recently at the dentist when I found myself with a few minutes of down time while the numbing agent took effect. "Grab a magazine. I'll be right back," the dentist said. I got out of the chair and flipped through the choices in the Lucite magazine rack on the wall. Field and Stream? Uh, no thanks. Parents? Only as a last resort. MORE? What is MORE? Reading more closely, I saw the complete title. MORE For Women of Style and Substance. Hmmmm. Style? I looked down. A navy Lily Pulitzer blouse and scarf, semi-cool jeans, and navy blue patent leather Tory Burch heels. A lot of blue, admittedly, but I am proud of those shoes. So, for that day and perhaps that day only, an enthusiastic "yes" on Style. Substance? I think so, although candidly I am not above the occasional idle chit chat a/k/a gossip if there is something newsworthy that requires vetting among friends. So "yes" on Substance, albeit with slight pause. I picked up the magazine and turned around to head back to the dental chair. As if to somehow validate my magazine selection, I made a pit stop at my purse and applied some Laura Mercier lip gloss (Style) and checked my iPhone for an important email I was waiting on for work (Substance). Satisfied with the legitimacy of my choice, I sat down and started reading.

I quickly came upon the Editor's Letter in the December/January issue, "Why Work-Life Balance is a Crock" by Editor-in-Chief Lesley Jane Seymour. Music to my ears. The Letter begins with a self-deprecating story about the time Seymour dropped her kindergartener off at school on a snowy day that had resulted in the cancellation of school, unbeknownst to her since her new-to-the-community family wasn't added to the "official school calling list" developed for such occasions. She only realized her mistake when the principal called after finding the kid wandering the hallways alone. (As an aside, as a working mother I understand how that could happen. Really, I do. Especially if a person lives anywhere other than Texas, where snow days are few and far between and the news media cause mass hysteria by reporting even the remote possibility of snow and encouraging people to load up on rations and prescription medication.)

Seymour cites that incident as an example of her failure to effectively balance work and family life. Her children now grown, Seymour admits she used to "cringe" when people asked, "So how did you do it all?" Seymour says the answer is simple. She didn't. With perspective that only time can bring, Seymour notes, "[T]he reality is that balance only happens over a lifetime—there will be years when you must choose family over work and years when you must do the opposite. And some, frankly, when you will run around with your hair on fire until you figure out what works for you." I read the those words again. And again. At that point, I was a little more than halfway through the Letter. Then the dentist came in and it was off with the lip gloss, out with the magazine, and time to drill. Dang it.

I thought about Seymour's words of wisdom for the next 45 minutes, interrupted only by orders to rinse and spit, the burning smell of the dental drill, the unique sensation of tooth shrapnel exploding in my mouth, and the occasional jab of stinging pain, or "nerve sensitivity" as the dentist called it. Until reading that quote, I viewed achieving the work-life balance as treading water. That is, doing just the right things to try to stay afloat for infinity – with one part of life existing below the water and one part above, and me doing my best to stay in harmony with both at all times. Until then, I had never thought of defining it in blocks of time. That is, of course, easy in hindsight. But it is certainly not impossible to forecast, either, in our profession and with a litigation practice. Since it was January, I thought about the upcoming year. Would 2012 be a year of work over family? Family over work? Anyone who knows me knows that this year it will be the former. (And anyone who knows me also knows there have been years where the reverse was true.)

The notion of defining 2012 as a "work dominant" year stayed with me after leaving the dentist. While I wanted to take the magazine, or at least tear out the Editor's Letter so I could finish reading it, such did not seem consistent with my newly-found designation as a Woman of Style and Substance. Plus, I had to go back to the dentist two weeks later and would ask for a copy of it then. With this strategy in place, you can imagine my disappointment when I returned to the office two weeks later to find the magazine MIA! Really! Who would do such a thing? I kept thinking about the article, however, and eventually did what any Woman of Style and Substance would do – found it online at www.more.com/editor-letter-december%20. (I know, I know. I should have thought of that sooner.)

After refreshing my recollection by reading the Letter (the whole thing, this time around), I went out there and managed expectations about 2012. My husband understands and appreciates what is in store for us in 2012, as do my children to a certain extent. And generally speaking, they are okay with it. To the kids, when Mommy is busy she is flying on lots of airplanes. Translation? Non-personalized airport presents. (Why non-personalized, you ask? Years ago, as a new parent, I started a "tradition" of getting my oldest son personalized airport trinkets (think South Dakota license plate keychain – cheap and lightweight). But I had to abandon that practice. You see, it was easy to find such treasures for Jack, my oldest, but impossible for my middle son, Wyatt. And let's face it, a kid will only accept so many "personalized" gifts that say "#1 Son" or "Rock Star" before he senses the injustice. So we have moved on to non-personalized magnets.) Our Nanny is in the loop that it is going to be a busy year, as are our extended family caregivers. The Room Moms were not quite as understanding when I resigned from the Valentine's Day Party Committee, but they can be a tough crowd at times. While balancing the chaos of life it isn't always fun, most of us are all on the same page in terms of what to expect over the next 11 months, courtesy of Lesley Jane Seymour. And the Room Moms will come around eventually.

Suzanne

The Change of Life

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 14:00:52 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

Change, it seems, truly is inevitable, isn't it? By way of introduction, I am excited and honored to be the new Courtroom Diva. Let me start by thanking my fellow Divas for their posts. I read and learned from all of them, especially early on where each of them defined "diva" and put this new role into perspective for me. I'd also like to thank the Divas for the invitation to join their ranks in the world of social networking. I hope to provide posts that are engaging, entertaining, insightful and true to the Courtroom Diva spirit, with a Texas spin.

A little about me. I am a native Minnesotan, turned Texan, by way of four years in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Dallas is home, as I have been here an unbelievable 18 years. ("Y'all" is part of my vocabulary, but "fixin" is not.) My husband and I have three energetic sons (ages 8, 5 and 2) who keep us busy to say the least! Every day an epic battle is re-enacted somewhere in our house, usually with minimal casualties. In addition to my roles outside of the office, I have practiced law for nearly 15 years and have worked alongside some of the best and most supportive attorneys in my field. This past year was one of professional change for me, as five of my partners from my former firm and I opened the doors to this firm's new Dallas office on February 1, 2011. We did so amidst record-breaking snowfall in the Dallas area that resulted in a "snow day" our first day in business. We survived those first cold and icy days, and a really really really hot summer, and look forward to toasting our one year anniversary with the firm in a couple months.

Early 2011 was not only time of change professionally, but personally as well. Five days before we opened the office, I turned 40. They say 40 is the new 30, but I had not rung in a birthday with any big celebration since I turned 21. For my Big 4-0, I had a fabulous staycation at a hotel in Dallas with my college friends, complemented by a trip to the spa, a fun luncheon thrown by the best friends a girl could ask for, and a couples dinner hosted by my thoughtful husband. All in all, for me, it was the perfect way to celebrate the nineteenth anniversary of my 21st birthday.

At the luncheon, I made a little speech and publicly read my "next 40 year to do list" to my friends. Nothing like saying the words out loud to a captive audience to underscore the commitment to change and improve, right? Since we are quickly approaching my 41st birthday (with a certain degree of dread, I might add), it seemed appropriate to check my progress on the list. To do so, I had to first locate the purse I was using a year ago to find the folded napkin I recalled writing my notes on for the hallmark speech. That took two days. And just for the record, I found it in a wallet, not a purse, and it was scribbled on hotel stationery and not a napkin. I blame it on my Momnesia.

At any rate, here are the results of my self-assessment. For scoring purposes, I used a scale of 1 to 3 points (1 = no progress, 2 = some progress, and 3 = meaningful progress) to evaluate personal and professional changes/improvements over the last year:

1. Exercise = 2;
2. Tell my husband when he is right = 3 (Note: He may disagree with my scoring, but he is wrong.);
3. Eat fish or take a fish oil supplement = 1 (Note: The problem is that the fish oil supplements taste like fish.);
4. Work smarter = 3;
5. Turn off my Blackberry on Saturdays and Sundays = 3 (Full Disclosure: This is only because my Blackberry froze up and I now have an iPhone.);
6. Have another baby = 1 (Note: That one was a joke just to see if anyone was listening.);
7. Spend more time playing Lego with my boys, versus sorting the Lego by color and choking hazard risk = 2 (Full Disclosure: I gave up on the sorting, which was an exercise in futility. Plus, our youngest no longer puts them in his mouth. The net result is that I do spend more time putting them together than in the past.);
8. Find a cure for Momnesia = minus 1 (Full Disclosure: I am imposing a penalty here since I have not only failed to cure Momnesia, but have also developed Momsomnia. Although on second thought, Momsomnia could be the cure since it leads to more waking hours spent trying to remember whatever it is I forgot due to the Momnesia. But I will go with my instinct that it is not.);
9. Develop a skincare regimen, but only one that comes in travel sizes so that I do not (1) have to check a bag when I travel with non-bag-checking colleagues, and (2) risk having to throw my products away at the airport = 3 (Tip: The nice ladies at the Nordstrom Laura Mercier counter give samples of EVERYTHING that are perfect for business travel. Only with purchase, I assume.);
10. Do my best to see that justice prevails in mass tort litigation in Texas = 2 (Note: The wheels of justice turn slowly but I am optimistic we will get to a 3!); and
11. Advocate for a cause I believe in = 3 (Loophole: See 10, above. I didn't say it had to be pro bono.).

So out of a total possible score of 30 points (because I am not counting number 6), I have 21. Not great, especially since some points are simply the result of good luck. But sometimes isn't it better to be lucky than good? It definitely could have been worse. Plus it has only been year one of a 40 year plan. And on the positive side, becoming a Diva wasn't even on the list! I think that qualifies me for some extra points, don't you?

To sum it up, among other things, I am a wife, a mom, a lawyer, and now a Diva, Courtroom-variety. While I like to think I do a pretty good job at managing it all, the ability to make the most of change and continuously improve and push ourselves is critical! Here's to the inevitable changes in life and the start of a great relationship over "Real Life. Real Law. Better Shoes." Cheers, y'all!

The Identity Game: Lawyer . . . Mother

Tue, 06 Dec 2011 13:32:05 GMT

By Alana Bassin

It has taken me a while to blog because I was trying to find an interesting article and I find that so many articles are re-run on themes related to women: women attrition in the work force, the world needs more women leaders etc. Sadly, I have not been any more original . . . I have blogged about these exact topics. And then an article from The Daily Beast came across my desk entitled "Don't Call Me a Mom: Why It's Time for Women to Drop That Identity" by writer Amy Reiter where she essentially writes that once she became a mother, much of her identity in how she was perceived by others became the fact that she was a mom and no longer a writer. Separate and apart from the fact that this article created an extensive amount of discussion – women who agreed that this was a problem and women who were offended by the same - this article caught my eye.

I can personally say that I have always wrestled with the need to maintain my own identity. For example, I have struggled with the concept of marriage. First, I didn't relish the idea of being identified as someone's wife. Second, I didn't want it to be perceived by my firm that my income was a secondary or supplemental income in the family . . . the one that didn't matter. There has been a history in our country of paying men more for the same job because they were perceived as the provider of the family. I look back now and I was probably off the mark on these issues. The term wife doesn't bother me and I don't think it would have mattered to my firm whether I was or wasn't married. Yet, what is most interesting is that while I spent time worrying about the impact of marriage on my identity, I failed to realize that it was the addition of children that significantly redefined who I was to the outside world.

I would normally not have thought twice about this issue but I was recently told that a staff member in my firm referred to me as "doing the 'mom thing.'" Me? Doing the "mom thing"? Setting aside the fact that there is a negative connotation to that term (that is a separate blog), I was dumbfounded that someone defined me that way. I was the one who was working from my blackberry in the delivery room. I was the one who never told a client she was pregnant if there was a way to avoid it. I was the one who worked through every maternity leave – I took a deposition eight days after a c-section when my last child was born. I DON'T DRIVE A MINIVAN DESPITE HOW MUCH MORE CONVENIENT IT WOULD BE BECAUSE I WANT TO BE ABLE TO DRIVE DOWNTOWN WITH AN IDENTITY SEPARATE FROM MY KIDS. The point is, just as Reiter suggests in the article, regardless of how many angles and dimensions we see ourselves, others see us as a mother. To be clear, I do not hide from being a mother. I love my kids (well, most of the time). I brought my six-month old to an out-of-town trial years ago. My office is plastered with pictures of my kids. And I have four kids to get out of the house in the morning . . . it is fair to say I get in later than most others and get my fair share of ridicule for the same. But to be perceived by anyone as a mom in my law firm before a best-in-class trial lawyer . . . it was a little surprising. I realize that this was a staff member who said this and one has to ask if the lawyers in my firm see me as that and I would say that they actually probably do see me and treat me as an equal or a lawyer first . . . but somewhere hidden in their subconscious, I think they probably also view me as a mom. And my guess is, they probably don't think that about all of the men who have kids.

So, I guess the question is, does it matter? I actually don't feel that it has overtly impacted the growth of my career. Although I have undoubtedly made adjustments in my life with four kids (gone are the days working at the office until 3 am – now it is at home), I can't think of many examples where I ever felt like I didn't get work or business development opportunities because I was a mother. Frankly, I probably got some opportunities because I was a mother. In fact, I will go so far as to say that the days of connecting with clients based solely on sporting events and golf games are limited. I recently spent an hour talking about lice with a handful of other women lawyers at a conference (almost all in-house counsel). We shared a common hatred that no one understands unless they have spent hours cleaning their house and picking nits through their child's hair. One woman – almost a complete stranger – sensed my paranoia and even offered to check my own hair. I won't tell you whether I let her do it. Probably not a lot of men, even fathers, could have related in the same way. So again, does it matter that I am perceived as both a lawyer and mom when I am both. I still think it sort of does. Like Reiter says in the article, "I have made sure not to rely on my role as their mother as my primary identity. Just as they are people in their own rights, . . . , I consider myself a person separate and apart from them: a woman with a career . . . ." I do not mean to suggest that being a mother (or father) is a dirty word by any means, but it is interesting, if not significant, that men are typically defined at work just by the job they do, but a woman, once a mother, will be defined as both. Is there anything we can do about it other than take down on all of the pictures in our offices and never mention them again. Probably not. My guess is that for the next generation, as men take on a greater role at home, this issue could dissipate somewhat similar to the breadwinner issue. But in the short term, as I write this article in my office at 8 PM, three hours after all of the dads on my floor went home, for better or for worse, I am going to come to work tomorrow and be defined by both my career and my motherhood.

Disturbing Numbers: Fewer Women Entering Law and Large Firms

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:30:49 GMT

By Suzanne Swaner

I had planned on making my debut as the newest Courtroom Diva with an introductory post, but then came something much more important than the back-fill on me, my life, and how I got here. We will get to all that later. For now, while I hate to be the bearer of any bad news, especially with my first post, the results of a recent study are a little concerning and worth disseminating as widely as possible.

An article recently appeared in the National Law Journal entitled, "Opportunities diminishing for women at large law firms, study finds." A study conducted by the National Association of Women Lawyers ("NAWL") reportedly found the percentage of female attorneys entering the country's 200 largest law firms dropped compared to last year, from 48 percent to 47 percent. This is, apparently, the first time that has happened in five years. One percent does not seem like a big deal, in and of itself. But when considered in conjunction with the apparent downslide in the numbers of women even entering law school, a fact also noted in the article, that downward trend could become downright scary. And then, when layered the fact that women tend to leave large firms more quickly than men, the numbers of female lawyers on the horizon at big firms could appear even more grim.

But I did see some good news in the article, at least from my perspective. The article notes women are "overrepresented" at certain attorney ranks, such as staff attorney or senior counsel. I may be going out on a limb here, but I see some of these roles as a way to keep women in the game. Undoubtedly, there are some women who want to stay engaged in the practice of law, but who also do not want the stress or added responsibility that goes along with being a partner. These other roles, to me, can create a win-win situation when used appropriately. They bring a degree of flexibility into the profession that can be a good fit for a working mother, for example, who wants to stay engaged in the practice of law but does not want the added time commitment and stress that can accompany partner status. If she is competent and well-liked by clients and the firm, this type of arrangement can benefit everyone. And who is to say she can't change her mind down the road and jump on the path to partner once again? It is, of course, another story if women are being relegated to these roles for the wrong reasons, but I am hopeful that is not the case.

The article also notes that women comprise 34 percent of the attorneys working as in-house counsel. I venture to guess that for those women and their employers, who get to select and hire their outside counsel, diversity is in demand. Many clients want their trial team, for example, to reflect their customer base, users of their products, and/or the people who will be sitting in the box listening to a case. Thus, these in-house decision makers will likely keep diversity in the spotlight when it comes to where to send the business and case staffing within a firm. This, in turn, will keep the pressure on all of us to get and keep female attorneys in our firms, which will hopefully improve the number of women in leadership roles and who are offered equity partnership.

The article includes other issues that I am not addressing here, since this is a blog post and not a book. Since 95 percent of large law firms engage in efforts to help women "overcome career barriers," however, there is certainly hope we can remedy all of these issues in time.

A Diva is Honored…and Honored Again

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 11:40:35 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

It is a privilege to "sing the praises" to a deserving colleague and a fellow diva! Check out the September, 2011, article Women in the Law: Andrea L. Moody - Michigan Lawyers Weekly. It's a great commentary about Andrea, both professionally and personally, leading-in with some delightful references to the Courtroom Divas blog, which is always a good way to start any report or conversation! It wasn't just about the author's observation of her as it also includes a good number of quotes by Andrea. One of particular significance to me is a reference by her on the subject of diversity: "We live in a very diverse world, but oftentimes our workplace doesn't reflect that. And when we talk about diversity, it's not just gender or racial makeup. It's really diversity in thought." Andrea is a brilliant woman and it makes me feel better about the profession generally to know that she is one of the next generation of leaders. She gets it and it is great to see her getting the recognition she deserves.

Not surprising to me, before I can get a post out that recognizes her for the above honor, she makes headlines again at the end of September as One of Detroit's 2011 40 under 40: Andrea Moody, 36 | Crain's Detroit Business. Personally being closer to 50 than any round number, her still qualifying for this award came as somewhat of a surprise. I was not surprised because of the way she looks, she looks fantastic. I was surprised because of the way that she thinks and the way she approaches the world. Andrea has accomplished so much at such a young age and is very deserving of this recognition. She's worked hard and has had to overcome obstacles in her journey of life and she's done it all with passion and grace.

I grow weary of women who use their gender as the most excellent excuse for why they have not accomplished things. As an African American woman, Andrea is a true role model and beacon. She will have more hurdles to get past and with that, I'm sure, more recognition to receive. As Andrea said and as our shared life experience has taught us both, "You learn to appreciate the important things in life, because tomorrow is not promised to any of us. It makes you want to do the best in all situations – a personal relationship as well as the work you enjoy doing." An eloquent woman getting the recognition she has earned…a good day.

Reality Check: Are You Participating in Female-to-Female Bullying?

Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:35:53 GMT

By Andrea Moody

I am disappointed to report that I recently received an announcement for a webinar, entitled, "Mean Girls: Female-to-Female Bullying in the Workplace". At first I asked myself, is this for real or is it just another gimmick mislabeled as a webinar. And while I did not attend the webinar, though I would have liked to, I began to give serious thought to this issue and was able to recall quite a few instances involving female-to-female contact in the workplace that could, if not qualify as bullying, certainly could be considered bad behavior.

One specific example that I recalled involved a very seasoned female attorney, one admittedly who was at the top of her game and well respected in the legal community. She was working for a mutual client with a younger (in age and experience) female attorney. Apparently, there were some differences of opinion as to how the younger attorney handled a particular issue. And instead of using that moment as a teaching moment, the more seasoned attorney called the client to complain about the younger attorney. As a result, the younger attorney ended up being challenged every step of the way by the client because of this negative seed that had been planted. Because the issue was not one that was a "make or break issue" for the case or the client, after hearing this story, I always wondered, would it have been too much to ask for the more experienced attorney to pull the younger attorney aside and say, "Listen, instead of doing "X", I would recommend that next time you do "Y"". Would that have been too hard to do? Surely, that more experienced attorney would have wanted that same type of guidance when she was younger.

And while all examples do not take the form of the above-referenced example, they can be still be just as damaging. Like most disparities in the workplace today, female to female bullying can be subtle. According to Dr. Susan Strauss, national expert on harassment, some less than obvious examples of female-to-female bullying include:

Making disparaging comments about another woman that has nothing to do with her merit or work;
Giving the silent treatment or just flat out ignoring other women in the profession;
Contributing to undermining the success of a female colleague;
Negatively judging another woman based solely on her appearance;
Feeling threatened by another woman's success or advancement;
An unwillingness to help another woman for fear of undermining your own success.

Let's face it ladies, the legal profession, and more specifically the subset of litigation, is one where women are in the minority. So, I pose this serious question to any of you who have been less than professional, less than cordial, or less than a mentor to other women in your profession – IS THIS REALLY AN ISSUE THAT WE NEED TO ADD TO OUR ALREADY FULSOME TO-DO LISTS?! I hope that the collective answer is a resounding, "NO!".

There are still a number of hurdles that we need to overcome as a group without adding more problems with female-to-female bullying. So, I challenge each of you to seriously take a look at your interactions with other women in the profession and candidly review some of your interactions. Are you being the best you that you can be when it comes to these interactions, or are you acting in a way that is less than professional? If your answer is "no" to the first question and "yes" to the second question, then I suggest that you add "stop bullying" to the top of your to-do list.

Women And Their Crucial Role In Ruling The World And The Obviousness Of It All

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:40:00 GMT

By Alana Bassin

Admittedly, a month ago I barely knew who Dee Dee Myers was. Quite embarrassing given that she was the former White House press secretary under Bill Clinton and is the recent author of "Why Women Should Rule the World."

About three weeks ago I saw her speak and I walked out of the luncheon inspired and invigorated to make positive change in the world. Three weeks have gone by and I'm, of course, bogged down by work and kids and my aspirations have dwindled a tad. However, I did buy her book. And I have read a few chapters. And I do think her message - both from her speech and book - are worthy of discussion.

For clarification, her message is not that men are bad people or leaders. She does not suggest that men shouldn't lead. She merely suggests that adding women to the leadership arena will have a positive impact.

She notes that the last century was one of the bloodiest with two World Wars and this century has been plagued with wars, religious extremists, abject poverty and disease. Even our own backyard has a political arena full of gridlock, polarization and cynicism. She doesn't blame men, but offers what seems so obvious . . . there's room for improvement. Like any managerial team or sports team, maybe it's time to change up the line-up a bit.

So, what difference would women make? Using statistics and anecdotal stories, Myers points out numerous ways in how women work differently, think differently, and could add value in resolving issues.

She discusses women in Congress and what can be an atypical approach to getting things done. For example, she cites Kay Bailey Hutchison (TX R) and Dianne Feinstein (CA D), who on paper do not have a lot in common, but they somehow manage to transcend bitter partisanship and form political alliances. They have, according to Myers, taken the time to get to know each other and their families, which then makes it easier to reach across aisles in a pragmatic and result-oriented way, looking for opportunities where they can co-sponsor a bill. Case in point being the federal Amber Alert law.

She discusses women in leadership and how they bring new ideas to the table. For example, it wasn't until the 1990's that clinical health studies routinely included women. Take heart disease, for instance. In the 1980's, there was a study examining risk factors associated with heart disease. It studied 15,000 men and no women. There was also a study of whether aspirin could prevent heart attacks. It focused on 22,000 men. The most surprising was the study of whether Estrogen protected against heart disease. No women. This was the norm until 1991 when a woman, Dr Bernadine Healy, became the Director of the National Institute of Health and everything changed.

She cites a Catalyst study of Fortune 500 companies. Those that had the highest representation of women on their boards had 53 percent higher return on equity.
She even takes it to a biological level, noting that when people are stressed, their body produced oxytocin which has been shown to increase bonding and decrease anxiety and blood pressure in animals. Estrogen boosts the effects of oxytocin while testosterone blocks it. In other words, women and men arguably have a totally different physiological reaction to stress which could lead to different ways of thinking and different results.

No doubt this theme can translate for all types of diversity - different types of people bring different perspectives and different ways to problem solve.

Even if you don't buy into the concept that women have unique and valuable leadership qualities, Myers makes the point that there are millions more women voters than men, yet only 16 percent of the Senate, 16 percent of House and 24 percent of state legislatures are women. Likewise, women make up the vast majority of consumer decisions in this country (up to 80 percent), yet they are only 16 percent of the corporate officers, 5 percent of the top earners and 2 percent of the CEOs in Fortune 500 companies. And we all know the pitiful statistics in the legal field - half of the law graduates are women but only 15 percent are partners. At the very least, don't we want our leadership to reflect our constituencies?

In both her speech and book, Myers makes the bold statement, "If women ruled the world, politics would be more collegial, businesses would be more productive and communities would be healthier."

I don't know if that is true . . . but at the very least I'd like to find out.

From Legal Divas to Courtroom Divas: The Same Great Diva Taste, But With A Brand New Diva Flavor!

Tue, 05 Jul 2011 15:47:11 GMT

By Andrea Moody

"Each of us has that right, that possibility, to invent ourselves daily. If a person does not invent herself, she will be invented. So to be bodacious enough to invent ourselves is wise." - Maya Angelou

Never more true are esteemed author and poet, Maya Angelou's words of wisdom than they are today in our competitive world. Any successful diva will tell you that success is a continuum and a real diva is able to honestly and critically look at herself, take inventory, and fine tune those details which are necessary to reinvent herself and her formula for success. A real diva is not a stereotype or created by someone else. Instead, she boldly invents and reinvents herself through her series of unique experiences and life lessons.

In true diva fashion, the Legal Divas have done just that. After a wonderful year of sharing posts filled with sage advice, witty anecdotes, stark realities, and tips on finding the most divalicious shoes, we have decided that the source of our story telling ability comes directly from our experiences not only as professional women, mothers, wives, etc., but also because of our experiences as litigators – a unique subset of the legal profession that is not known for its high concentration of women. With these unique experiences as a source of influence, the idea to be "bodacious enough to re-invent ourselves" took form with the change from Legal Divas to Courtroom Divas.

"That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." - William Shakespeare

We are the same divas that you have enjoyed following over the past year. We are committed to the same level of insight, depth, and wit that we shared as Legal Divas. We intend to provide more in depth discussions on work-life balance, pay tribute to those who have paved the way before us, address less than impressive statistics, and tackle all of the challenging issues facing professional women that you have come to expect from us. We have simply enhanced the detail of our posts to include those stories which emanate from the courtroom and from our experiences as litigators. Whether you are a litigator or a CEO, we are confident that these posts will strike a familiar chord and leave you, at times proud, at times shaking your head in disbelief, or at times nodding your head in agreement.

It would be our distinct pleasure to have you join us at courtroomdivas.com, as we continue with our diva journeys being bodacious, yet just as sweet. We look forward to celebrating another successful year with you, our fellow divas. As always, we thank you for your avid support and following.

Better blog, better shoes

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 16:21:51 GMT

Richmond, VA (June 23, 2011) – After a successful first year with nearly 2,000 regular followers, the blog created for women by women has a new name – Courtroom Divas™. The blog, originally named Legal Divas Blog, will have an even savvier look and feel.

Courtroom Divas will focus on the many challenges and successes of female attorneys in the courtroom as well as help other professional women apply lessons learned to their own lives and careers.

The blog was launched on June 23, 2010, exactly one year ago, by female attorneys at Bowman and Brooke LLP, a national trial firm and pioneer in law firm diversity initiatives, to share ideas with female executives in law and other professions.

Since then, the blog has generated pages and pages of content and dialogue. Courtroom Divas will serve as a resource for female executives and professionals, updating them on best practices, benchmarking, current issues, and trends that disproportionately affect women in leadership, business, and law.

Believing the best way to help more women gain "diva" status and break through the glass ceiling, we are excited to create the Courtroom Divas as a targeted place where we can all share ideas.

Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans!

Thu, 12 May 2011 16:40:00 GMT

By Eden Darrell

This month, DiversityInc published its list of Top 10 Companies for Asian Americans. According to DiversityInc, the companies that made the list have more Asian Americans on their boards of directors, at top level management, and in their workforce than other companies nationally, which means that they are better than others at recruiting, and more importantly, retaining and promoting Asian Americans. What makes them better? If you look at the description on diversityinc.com about how the companies made the list, you will see that all of the companies have Asian American talent development programs and employee resource groups, which ensure the inclusion and empowerment of their Asian American employees. Many of the companies on the list also have strong mentoring programs and contribute to Asian scholarship funds and nonprofit groups.

But don’t think that the companies on this list are only successful at retaining and promoting Asian American employees, or that the achievements that landed them on the list came at the expense of other minorities. All of the companies on the list have demonstrated success with respect to overall diversity and inclusion in their workforce, as evidenced by the fact that all are on DiversityInc’s list of Top 50 Companies for Diversity and most have been recognized by DiversityInc for their achievements from other diversity initiatives. For instance, managed healthcare giant Kaiser Permanente, which is number 6 on the list for Asian American employees, also made DiversityInc’s Top 10 Companies lists for Latinos, Blacks, Executive Women, People with Disabilities, and Recruitment & Retention.

So what companies made the list? In order of recognition, they are:

Delloite
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Johnson and Johnson
IBM Corp.
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Kaiser Permanente
Abbot
American Express
Proctor & Gamble
Wells Fargo & Co.

Lists like these are important because they not only recognize the successful diversity efforts of the companies on the list, they also serve as valuable resources for other companies that want to achieve greater diversity and inclusion. Companies and law firms wanting to improve the representation of Asian Americans in their workforce and upper management can look at this Top 10 list to find out which companies are the very best at attracting, retaining, and empowering Asian American employees so they can develop and implement similar diversity programs and initiatives.

To learn more about the winning companies and how they made the list, visit: http://www.diversityinc.com/article/8396/The-DiversityInc-Top-10-Companies-for-Asian-Americans/.

Undervalued Women Lawyers and Their Lower Billing Rates Reexamined

Wed, 11 May 2011 14:30:00 GMT

By Alana Bassin

Law 360 recently ran an article (April 11, 2011) entitled: Women Lawyers Less Valued, Lower Billing Rates Show. The article noted that male lawyers had an average billing rate of $312, while women averaged $259 per hour, according to an ALM Legal Intelligence survey of billing rates in small and midsize firms.

The underlying premise of the article is that this rate differential stems from undervaluing the work of female lawyers compared to that of male lawyers. In doing so, it suggests that men typically end up being the rainmakers while women are mentoring, doing committee work and developing firm capital. It further suggests that when women participate in business development pitches they don't get credit for the business within the firm. I take issue with both of these comments.

First, I think part of this equation is true in that rainmakers likely have higher billable rates and are therefore valued, but I think we are a decade behind if we are blaming this on undervaluing traditional female roles of mentoring and committee work. This mantra is tired and while it may be true that this type of work is undervalued (and may always be undervalued since it cannot be directly correlated to revenue), I think there has been a consciousness-raising for women related to business development and I don't think women in 2011 accept the "support" role like they may have in the past.

Second, I'm really torn about the concept that women are "used" to go on business development pitches and never get credit. From the outset, I want to note that I'm not sure gender plays a role in this issue at all. Regardless of gender, I suspect at most firms the person who had the business contact to create the opportunity for the pitch is likely the same person who will get "credit" for the pitch.

That being said, business development pitches can be a serious drain on time and billable requirements, representing a personal investment. It may be true, therefore, that a business case can be made that any person attending the pitch deserves partial recognition or credit. I further think that a business case for such credit could be made if women or diverse lawyers are participating in that pitch in order for the firm to meet diversity requirements. (There can be a real inequity if a firm continuously uses the same diverse lawyers as its face or spokesperson in firm pitches but doesn't financially recognize their value.) One way to cure this is for clients to demand the "sharing" of credit but I will leave that discussion for another day.

Although I just noted that perhaps "credit" should be given to all members who participate in team pitches, and arguably even more if participation fosters the firm's diversity needs, I struggle with this because I think it is a mistake for women or diverse lawyers to get complacent and expect rewards just for showing up. I further note that there are reasons to attend these pitches other than financial gain including personal growth and development. And let's not forget that you are part of a firm and with it comes responsibility to your colleagues. Just because you think others have not played fairly in the sand box, does not mean you should not.

At the end of the day, we need to accept the reality that the way to increase women's billing rates is to increase women rainmakers and the one way to do this is to build your own network of clients. Clients pay the higher billing rates to those who they perceive to be lead counsel, lawyers who add substantial value and/or those lawyers they think are indispensible. The Law 360 article notes that of the 200 Am 200 law firms, 46% report having no women in top 10 rainmakers. That is staggering and women themselves need to take initiatives to make it change. If a woman is going to wait for her firm or peers to make that happen, then she is going to be waiting a long time. Easier said than done, I know. But right or wrong, talking about rewarding support roles or team pitches is not going to effectuate any real change.

Rumors, Social Media, Linked In Status...Ezell is NOT Leaving...and Saying Goodbye To A Partner, a Friend and a Legal Diva

Mon, 04 Apr 2011 10:40:00 GMT

By Sandra Giannone Ezell

I had the smallest of glimpses of what it means to go viral last week when Jill Jacobson, former Legal Diva and now in-house lawyer, made her last post to our site. Because I have been "trained" in social media, I have (although I cannot remember how) created an auto feed for our posts to our Twitter account and my personal Linked In account. I want people to read our blog. I love our blog. We have worked very hard to stay interesting and relevant and I am personally excited to understand what the term "search engine optimization" means because it makes me feel cool. I am even more proud to contribute to our firm's SEO. Apparently, I have reached some success in proliferation and that would appear to be a good thing. But, as with anything, there is always the law of unanticipated consequences. It never occurred to me that when Jill said goodbye to all of you that so many of you would think I was leaving. I was fielding emails and calls for a number of days to the effect that I was still here, still in business, still trying cases, and still available for clients. It was both flattering and daunting. Thank you for reading, thank you for worrying, thank you for your emails and your calls. I am not going anywhere, I love my job, I love being a trial lawyer, I am staying. We are, however, saying goodbye, saying good luck, and looking for a new Diva and look forward to introducing her to you.

It is always bittersweet when you say goodbye to a colleague who you admire and have enjoyed working with. Jill Jacobson is an amazing woman who had a substantial impact on our firm and especially on the Richmond office where I spend the days that I actually spend in an office. She is a leader, a teacher, a radical, and a game-changer. She is tactical and practical. Along the way, she figured out the answer to the question we all face, namely, "What do I want to be when I grow up?" She figured out, by doing and observing, what aspects of our profession appealed to her and which ones did not. She understood the importance her just being here had for our firm, our office and our profession. She will be missed, not just for what she added but for what she would have added.

I have not been shy to say that one of the reasons there are so few women in the upper ranks in law firms is that they leave. (The reasons they leave speak to them, but they also speak to the culture and environment and policies and unwritten rules of firms and I have not been shy about this either.) We have now lost another woman from the ranks of the lawfirms. This is a statistically sad moment for me as well, therefore, as I would like to see women actually succeed in our firms. I would like to see us figure out how to hire, train, retain, promote and empower women so that they cannot imagine being anything else when they grow up. I will keep working on that; I hope you will keep working on that with me. I know that Jill will now do what so many of our excellent clients do and will drive that message from the client side by using her buying power to effect change in the firms in which we work. Thanks, Jill, for all of your contributions already logged and those yet to come and the best of luck to you in your new pursuit.

Leaving Private Practice – But Not For Reasons You’d Expect

Tue, 29 Mar 2011 16:25:00 GMT

This is my last post as an “official” diva. I suspect I’ll be doing guest posts from time to time, but I am leaving Bowman and Brooke and private practice to go in-house. As I write this, I am both happy and sad. I’m excited to be embarking on a new chapter in my career, but sad to be leaving this firm and its people. Bowman and Brooke is the best place to be if you want to be a first-rate trial lawyer or litigator. The firm has more amazing first-chair trial lawyers than most firms that are three or four times its size. These folks win cases that are considered unwinnable, not just once in a while, but over and over and over again. I have worked hard to soak up as much of the knowledge and wisdom here that I can, and can say with confidence that I have learned from some of the best in the business.

I also write this with knowledge that I am somewhat of a cliché – I am a woman lawyer leaving private practice to go in-house. The statistics show that, although half the students graduating from law school are women, and have been for a while, only 15% of equity partners in private practice are women. That number should be larger, and forests have been felled with all that has been written about why it is not. Most of the research concludes that women lawyers leave private practice to go in-house because of the need to balance work and life. Women are more likely to be the ones forgoing sleep when their child is sick or putting in longer hours shuttling to after-school activities, doing laundry, planning birthday parties, cleaning up the kitchen, doing the grocery shopping, or any of the other hundreds of tasks it takes to grow a family. It is challenging enough to do these things, but to fit all of this on top of an 1800 to 2000 hour billable legal practice takes a yeoman’s effort. And this doesn’t include evening client development events or preparing a paper to give at a conference. Although the hours may be just as long in corporate law departments, there is not the added burden of client development or billable targets to meet, which allows for more “life” activities.

But that’s not why I’m leaving private practice. Don’t get me wrong – I have two wonderful daughters and a very supportive and loving partner and I would love to spend more time with them. But that is not my motivation for leaving. My desire to go in-house stems from an intense interest in and passion for business, and a yearning to marry my legal talents with a desire to acquire a deeper knowledge about one client’s business and have the opportunity to make a real difference there. I also want to put my skills and talents to their highest and best use. My core strengths lie in case development and litigation strategy, and finding creative ways to achieve the best results; managing a company’s litigation portfolio plays right into those strengths. I am looking forward to honing my business skills, and adding those to my portfolio of legal strengths and talents. And I am thrilled to have found a place where I will have the opportunity on a daily basis to use my skills and talent in ways that will have a more direct impact on my client’s business.

As I noted above, I am sure that I will be a less-frequent but still present contributor to this blog. So this is not good-bye or farewell, it is simply the end of this chapter. The new one will start soon, and I look forward to sharing my experiences with you all in the future.

Healthy Women, Healthy Economies-Take Care of Yourself, Take Care of Your People, Take Care of the World

Mon, 14 Mar 2011 13:55:21 GMT

Increasingly, organizations and governments are recognizing the import role women play in achieving sustainable economic improvement. According to the Global Business Coalition on HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GBC), evidence shows that investing in the health and education of girls and women yields a substantially high return on investment for their communities. Some of the evidence cited on the GBC’s website: “women re-invest more than twice as much of their earned income back into their families as men do. And an extra year of secondary school raises a girl’s lifetime wages by up to 25 percent.”

Last month, the GBC, in partnership with the U.S. State Department, launched Healthy Women, Healthy Economies (HWHE), an initiative aimed at improving the health, education, and economic empowerment of girls and women across the globe. A number of multi-national corporations have signed onto HWHE, some of which are already investing in women’s empowerment programs. For instance, in 2008, Goldman Sachs started 10,000 Women, a project designed to offer business education to 10,000 disadvantaged women globally; and Coca-Cola recently announced 5 by 20, a program that will provide 5 million women access to financing and business skills necessary to run a business by 2020. The GBC’s objective for HWHE is to bring companies like Goldman Sachs and Coca-Cola together with other interested corporations, governments, and non-governmental organizations to coordinate investment efforts, form strategic partnerships, and identify new investment opportunities in the fight for women’s health and economic opportunity. Discussions will take place over the next five months between participating organizations on topics such as: family planning, gender-based violence, best practices for involving boys and men, and promoting entrepreneurship and economic empowerment. Upcoming HWHE round-tables include the Africa Business Meeting on March 8th and a forum on June 1st at the GBC 10th Anniversary Conference.

The Divas salute this important initiative and we look forward to learning more about the programs that come out of it as Healthy Women, Healthy Economies gets underway.

More information on the Global Business Coalition and Healthy Women, Healthy Economies can be found at: http://www.gbcimpact.org/hwhe.

A Century of Celebration: Happy 100th International Women’s Day-Why We Need a Day Today and Why We Should Try Not to Need One Tomorrow.

Tue, 08 Mar 2011 09:00:00 GMT

I remember the first time I attended a women’s group function and a man, a nice man, asked, “Why don’t we have a man’s group?” The answer was as clear to me as it was murky to him, “you don’t need one.” Affinity groups are not just about exploring and celebrating similarities and experiences. Affinity groups are for people who do not have power and need to form groups in order to level the playing field. If, by the nature of your gender and race, you are located at the top of the power structure, you will not organize around affinity; there will be no business or social imperative to do so. The theme of Women’s Day this year illustrates just this point, “Equal access to education, training and science and technology: Pathway to decent work for women.” This is just not a gender-neutral theme.

Today, I join the rest of the world and celebrate the women who have struggled and endured. I applaud those who fight to end violence against women. I celebrate the women who have battled the odds and won. I take today and suggest you do as well, to learn about some woman you did not know about before, who is a trailblazer, a role model, a matriarch. I take today and tell my children that gender is not what determines your role, your success, your fame, your fortune, your derivativeness, or at least is should not be. I take today to compare the world in which I practice the profession that I love to what it was when I started. We have both changed, on some days incrementally, on some days astronomically.

But mostly, I look forward to the day when we don’t need an International Woman’s Day, a Black History Month, a Hispanic Heritage Month, an LGBT Day of Silence, an Asian Pacific American Heritage Month, or any of the other days of celebration and recognition. At least we don’t need to bring these cultural celebrations to work because I believe in a future where they are not necessary to bring about equal access, workplace sensitivity and commitment to diverse and inclusive success and voice within our profession. I don’t think I will see the day when these days are no longer necessary, I hope to be surprised, but I am a realist. But, when asked what I wish for as a legacy, it is to be irrelevant. I want it to be unnecessary to be a Woman Lawyer, when I am really just a lawyer. I believe in a time when the notion of LegalDivas will be unnecessary and unfamiliar to the Legal Practitioners and Legal Scholars. I hope that I can in some small way move the world in that direction, and today I also think of and celebrate that along with everything else it means to be a woman in our profession.

When You See Someone Juggle, It Looks Like The More You Juggle, The Harder It Is...Not True When You Are Juggling Your Family and Adding One More

Mon, 28 Feb 2011 14:02:45 GMT

I just read an article called, Confessions of a Juggler, by Tina Fey, written in The New Yorker, February 14 and 21, 2011 edition. In the beginning of the article, it becomes clear that the "juggling" she refers to is about juggling work and kids (yes, we know it's hard) but then the article turns into a very real discussion about adding to the family: how many pregnancies/kids can this job take without something giving. Granted Tina Fey grapples with issues in the entertainment world that we don't necessarily grapple with in the legal profession such as timing out when you are 40 (harder to get roles) and going off set to have a child with 200 people counting on you for a job. But, even though the legal arena has its differences, much of what she discusses transfers and she raises very good points that we don't commonly discuss. Are we having multiple kids for the right reasons and, if so, can our career sustain it? I have to admit, I know a lot of successful senior women lawyers who have no kids or stopped at one.

Tina Fey throws out numerous reasons why she sees others (or even why she could see herself) having multiple kids. Reasons like: to prove you can do it, to ensure your only child has a sibling/family when you die, to ensure someone is around to take care of you when you are old, to satisfy our baby fix as your other child ages etc. Speaking frankly, I'm not above any of these reasons. In addition to some of those and picturing my family in the future with a big table full of kids, I wanted a house full of progressive strong liberal women and although my oldest was a girl, I ended up with two more boys and so of course I had to go for number four. Further, I've always selfishly been concerned that I needed someone around to cut my toe nails when I was 80, so again, I needed another girl to share the burden (I am realistically preparing for the fact that my boys will leave me when they are 25 for someone as controlling as I am). Enter Baby Judah . . . another boy.

So whatever the reason, the next question is, what happens to our career when we have multiple children and is it really worth the sacrifice? As noted, Tina Fey's concern is timing out and not getting the offers she used to if she exits the work force at 40. For those of us in the legal profession, we don't face this issue, but we have plenty of others: telling our firm that we will be gone for maternity leave AGAIN which to them means paying us when we are not billing; leaving your cases and clients during maternity leave and stressing over whether they will return to you; the missed opportunity for marketing (try doing a client pitch 7 months pregnant when you know the client is thinking that you are unavailable for the next 5 months) - and that's the easy part. Then you have 18 years of color-coded charting ahead of you that the greatest CIA agent could not decode in trying to schedule/manage soccer, baseball, swimming, piano, hockey, some random national holiday which closes the school and your out-of-town deposition. You feel like you never do anything as well as you used to (and maybe you don't). And then, things really slip when you wake up to your 9 month old with a 102 temperature (I'm actually thumbing this blog on my blackberry since that same 9 month old baby has forced me to work from home . . . he is asleep on my chest) or you tuck in your daughter at night to hear her say: you never spend any alone time with me (even though you practiced piano with her and read with her) . . . just because she knows it gets to you. But unlike Tina Fey, who, no doubt has a LOT of resources to get help and could probably sail into retirement and live a comfortable life (I'm not saying she should - she is correct in that we need women in power, and besides, she is talented and hilarious), we typically pull in a little less money and we've got golden handcuffs - the more kids, the more we have to work.

After my third kid, a powerful partner (and friend) went up to my other half at a holiday party and said: "One Word David, Vasectomy." He was saying it to be funny (really, he was) but there was some truth in that we'd be nuts to have another. And for all the things noted above, he had a valid point. I actually wrote a pros/cons list before having my fourth. The cons list was filled with more than a dozen items: 5 more years of crippling day care, we'd have to get a new car, we'd have to move (we were already pushing it with one bathroom upstairs for 5 people), I'd have to be pregnant again, it was not a good time for my business development to be pregnant or on maternity leave, what would my firm say . . . granted, I wouldn't be putting 200 people out of work, but you get the point. There was nothing - nothing - on the pro side. It was empty. Ultimately, it was a decision of the heart. I still have that list by the way (I'm going to put it in Judah's baby book). And as I sit here, working from home and getting a cramp in my arms as I try to hold him and thumb this, I can assure you that I still wouldn't send him back.

The moral here I think is that the more kids you have will no doubt have an impact on your career whether you are a famous comedian/writer/actor or a first year lawyer. The impact you allow it to have will depend on you.

I mean really Tina, why can't you work until you deliver - write it into the show if you have to - the rest of the working population does. And why does work need to stop for an extended period of time post baby. I get it. You want to take some time to recover and bond but you do have 200 mouths to consider and an alleged time limit on your career (although my guess is YOU - like Betty White - won't have to worry about this).

I am NOT suggesting that women shouldn't maximize their maternity leave if they want to or can. Six week, six months . . . Take what you need. But if you want it all, there is a sacrifice. I, like many women attorneys, worked within a few days of my kids being born. I took a deposition the day of my last son's bris (8 days after he was born). And I'm no martyr - there are many who do this. Concerned about disappearing from work and business development opportunities, I decided not to disappear. (But on a side note - it didn't all work out - yes, I still had to get a new car and yes, we are moving). And there are just as many who do the total opposite and check out. They realize life with your infant is borrowed time and they aren't going to miss it or have later regrets because they were only half present. I understand and support that. The risk in that is that while you may not be sacrificing your job, it will likely (not always) take a greater hit on your long term career / developing and maintaining clients - exiting the workforce for months at a time, multiple times over a limited time period is bound to do that.

At the end of the day, I think it really is a decision of the heart and whatever we do, just like Tina Fey's OB said in the article, it all works out. Well, it sort of does anyway. So, as I often say, we should celebrate that we as women have choices.

I have timed this ending well as my nine month old has awakened and is trying to eat my blackberry.

Ontario’s Commitment to Retaining Women Lawyers

Thu, 17 Feb 2011 14:16:25 GMT

I am Canadian, and while I work in Metropolitan Detroit, I commute home each evening across the Ambassador Bridge to Windsor, Ontario. Given my somewhat unique cross-border lifestyle, I often find myself comparing and contrasting the various legal and political systems on both sides of the border. For example, instead of the customary six weeks here in the USA, Canadian mothers receive almost a full year of partially paid maternity leave. Perhaps as a result of this and other “progressive” advances in Canadian society, the Law Society of Upper Canada (Ontario’s state bar) has spent several years encouraging law firms to adopt flexible work arrangements and working with the legal profession to improve the retention of women in private practice.

Under the auspices of something they’ve title the Justicia Project, the Law Society has focused in on creating formal policies that firms can employ in offering flexible work arrangements. Working with many of the largest firms in Canada, the Flexible Work Arrangements Working Group of the Justicia Project has developed a guide that firms can use in developing such a policy, including how to deal with compensation, benefits and bonuses. Unlike some of the initiatives out there, the Justicia Project recognizes the law is a business and the team is working with accountants at Deloitte to help firms better appreciate the profitability of flexible work arrangements in law firms.

An overview of recent Justicia Project initiatives can be found at http://www.gowlings.com/News/PDFS/OLG.pdf and I was interested to learn that Gowlings (a large Toronto based firm) first implemented a formal flex-time policy back in 2005. The above article highlights the importance of creativity in finding ways to reduce overhead for flex-time associates and provides other helpful technology tips for retaining lawyers seeing a change in the status quo.

If your firm’s goal is to recruit and keep the best and brightest associates and partners, it may be time to create a formal policy that can be used during both initial recruitment and subsequent retention efforts. I’ve seen too many great litigators leave private practice for in-house or small firm positions because there was simply no flex-time or work from home options available to them. I’ve interviewed talented law students who would make great corporate trial lawyers, but were discouraged by the perceived rigidity of a 2000+ billable hour requirement.

So here’s to Canada, and to the Law Society’s Justicia Project, for tackling this issue head on and creating a fiscally responsible plan to help retain women (and men too) as valued members of the private practice.

What You Can Learn From the 2011 Super Bowl Ads

Tue, 08 Feb 2011 08:32:55 GMT

Millions of Americans, including myself, tuned in Sunday night to not only watch the Packers and the Steelers face off, but to check out the high-priced commercials that coincide with one of America’s most-viewed broadcasts. According to several media outlets, companies paid between $2.8 million and $3 million for each thirty-second advertising spot during the 2011 Super Bowl. While critics, marketing experts, and fans will debate over the “best” and “worst” Super Bowl commercials, those that are undoubtedly the most successful are those that deliver their message clearly and concisely. One example from last night: the Chrysler commercial featuring Detroit-native Eminem driving a Chrysler through the streets of Detroit. Although it was longer than most of the other Super Bowl ads, Chrysler’s message was clear from the beginning: Chrysler automobiles are proudly manufactured in Detroit, the “Motor City.”

Without a doubt, one of the most ineffective ads was a Groupon commercial that started with scenes of Tibet and a statement that “the people of Tibet are in trouble” and ended with Timothy Hutton telling us how he saved money at a Tibetan restaurant in Chicago. The ad failed to clearly communicate its message about what Groupon offers (and also managed to generate significant backlash from viewers and human-rights groups offended by its content). Groupon likely wasted a lot of time and money with the commercial, as well as the opportunity to attract new consumers.

Attorneys can learn a lesson from these Super Bowl advertisers: to successfully sell yourself, you need to not only know what message you want to send to prospective clients and business contacts, but you need to be able to deliver it clearly and concisely. Why? Because like Super Bowl advertisers who have very little time to sell their product or service, often you only have a few minutes to talk to any given individual at a conference, industry forum, or other networking event. So before you attend any event with a business-development or networking opportunity, think about what you want to say about yourself, your specialty, your credentials and experience, the unique value you provide to clients, etc. and practice delivering your message as succinctly as possible. If you don’t plan your talking points and practice communicating them in advance, you won’t be ready to quickly deliver your message when you need to, and a prospective client could walk away from a conversation without a clear idea of what you do or why they should hire you. And while you or your firm may not be paying $3 million for you to attend an event, your attendance does cost valuable time and money. Don’t waste either by failing to deliver your message, or by sending the wrong one.

Eden M. Darrell

A New Year: A New Battle Plan

Mon, 07 Feb 2011 13:15:28 GMT

With a new year in full swing, it is a natural time to go through our yearly check lists to determine what we have accomplished and what still remains. And while it is one of the best feelings to cross off a goal on your check list, we must remember not to beat ourselves up for those items that remain. Instead, what must be done, in true diva fashion, is to develop a feasible action plan that works for you.

Like you, I go from year to year devising the battle plan for the new year's success. However, this year, instead of making what can sometimes amount to a professional wish list instead of an action plan, I decided to set and employ some fundamental rules for my 2011 goal setting.

Set Specific and Realistic Goals: Clearly, setting goals is important. None of us would be where we are professionally if we did not already know that. However, what bears significant reinforcement is the idea that we set SPECIFIC and ATTAINABLE goals. Let's face it, we are all ambitious people and often times that ambition blindly drives us to set very lofty and generalized goals. And while creativity and imagination certainly are important elements in the formula for success, like any good recipe, too much of any one ingredient can ruin the end result. So, while you are harvesting your plans to conquer the world, remember to realistically consider any limitations that you may face such as time, resources, your company's business model, and even your own lifestyle. To do otherwise, would be tantamount to setting yourself up for failure.

Create a Written Plan: Although I may have tons of goals being warehoused on my mental to-do list, as long as these goals stay in my mind, they are just ideas with no tangible connection to the real world. Committing my goals to paper transforms them from "Things I Would Like To Do" to real actionable items. This is an important distinction because once I see my action list on paper, not only does it provide a visible reminder, but it also commits it to my psyche as a "must do". Additionally, a necessary by-product of writing your goals down is that by putting pen to paper, it causes you to give thought to your goals and the manner in which you will implement them. As I write my goals down, I create bullet points as to how to implement these goals. For instance, when I write down: "Goal No. 3: Business Development", I immediately start to jot down notes about attending conferences that include job fairs to meet and greet prospective new clients. This then leads to me researching when these conference will take place. Before I know it, I have a specific entry under my Business Development Goal to attend Conference X on 4/17/11 to meet representatives from Company A, B, and C.

Set Goals In Steps: Some goals by their nature can seem monumental, and therefore, result in avoidance. As my grandmother would say: "When your plate is full, start with small bites." This too is the philosophy to employ when the plan before you seems overwhelming. Set your more expansive goals up in a way that you can accomplish them in steps or phases. Remember, some goals, by their very nature are multi-phased and can extend from year to year. By breaking your goals into phases, you make yourself a more manageable to-do list, and therefore, are more apt to accomplish them. For instance, on my action plan, I have general goals that are divided into several mini-goals spread out over the year. Such an approach helps me to keep the smaller goals front of mind and thus, increases my commitment to achieving the broader goal.

Work Smarter: A necessary accompaniment to setting realistic goals is to be selective in where you place your precious time and resources. I find that I am much more productive (and successful) when I submit myself to a few meaningful projects instead of many projects where I cannot devote my total focus. This is where you have to have discretion and work smarter. Let's face it, our time and resources are limited. And it is just not practical to spread yourself too thin and expect to put in your best work. As such, one of the first steps in your analysis should be: Where can you get the biggest bang for your buck? Stop trying to do everything and focus on those things that you do well and where you will get the best return on your investment.

Schedule Time To Work On Your Goals: You must, must, must set aside dedicated time to work on your professional goals. It is just like anything else in your life - if you do not find time to do it, you will not do it. Make appointments with yourself to work on your professional goals. Of course, there are different ways of doing this. Some set aside 15-20 minutes a day, while others set aside a couple of hours every month. How you do it is second only to the requirement that you do it. Remember that no one is going to invest in you if you do not invest in yourself.

Develop A Cheerleading/Firing Squad: One of the things that my friends and I have done is to exchange our professional goal check list so that we can serve as human reminders of our progression or lack of progression of our goals. We have committed to each other to also provide the honest criticism needed when there is a lack of progression. Many of us need some level of accountability or else the task continues to be back-burnered. My suggestion is to find that person who can be both your cheerleader and your drill sergeant.

* * *
I am sure there are as many tactics to setting and enacting your professional battle plan as there are divas out there. These are just a few of the tactics that I am employing this year as a way to become more focused on accomplishing my professional goals. However you decide to plan and implement your goals, just remember the words of Pablo Picasso: "Our goals can only be reached through a vehicle of a plan, in which we must fervently believe, and upon which we must vigorously act. There is no other route to success."

Here's to wishing continued success to all fellow divas!

It Is Confirmed…Women Do Not Rule The World…The World Economic Forum Meets at Davos And The Voices Are Decidedly Masculine.

Mon, 31 Jan 2011 12:21:00 GMT

The world we live in is not just a legal one, no matter how consuming of our time, energy and intentions that world may be. If we step back, there is a bigger world out there. It is fascinating, challenging, changing and make no mistake about it, it is influenced. There are power people in our world, some of whom you have heard of, some of whom you have not. Stop right now and think of the most economically powerful person in the world you can name, not political but powerful. Now, send me an email if that person is a woman. This inability to name powerful women world economic leaders is not unique to the lawyers reading this blog. When the World Economic Forum that meets each year at Davos to discuss and shape the most fundamental issues associated with the world economy, they have a hard time gathering powerful women as well.

Last week in Business Week, The Search for a Few Good Davos Women, http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_05/b4213012810779.htm, Lisa Kassenaar provides that for 2010, only 16% of the attendees at Davos were women. This is the attendance number after the conference organizers have been attempting to increase the number of women attendees for a decade. In addition to the issues discussed and the policies formulated at this important summit, there are other very important issues associated with women not being at the table, or in the room. This is the highest order networking opportunity. Power and influence are as much about ideas and position as they are about relationships. If you are not in the places where the relationships are formed, you will not be in the position to obtain the power; it is power math even a lawyer can understand.

It is hard, however, to argue with the conference organizers who will tell you that to attract the elite, the most powerful, you have to be exclusive. You cannot change your standards to artificially change your membership gender composition or you will lose the integrity of the organization and diminish the impact of the conference. And this is an issue that we are all familiar with, this is an issue that women lawyers see as well. We have all faced, or will face, the question of whether or not to have “different standards” for different people (in hiring, recruiting, management) and we have seen the reaction to this question.

We are now working with the concept, and I believe it is as appropriate for Davos as it is for any other organization, that the premise of power should be challenged. Is the concept as it exists today the best it can be? If we adjust the lens that we view the definition of power through to include diversity of thought, experience and ability have we strengthened or weakened it? I would submit we have strengthened and updated it. Luckily for Davos, they don’t actually define power, they leave that to the world’s biggest companies. These companies select their own leaders, they select their executive officers and thereby who is eligible to attend the conference. The other attendees are the leaders of countries, and we know how those are selected. Those are the people who sit at the table, who are in the room and who have a voice in the discussions and a place in the network. I will wait, as I hope you will, to see what the numbers are for 2011. I believe they will be higher than 16% and will continue to rise, slowly, but higher.

From Handbag to Paycheck...Women and Money…The New Definition of Controlling the Purse Strings In Today’s Sheconomy

Mon, 17 Jan 2011 13:07:32 GMT

By Alana Bassin

Looking at the pictures at the top of the blog, or meeting any of the Divas in person, one can see that women are not afraid to buy a nice suit or pair of shoes. Interestingly, that isn't the only thing women are buying. According to a recent Time Magazine article, "Woman Power: The Rise of the Sheconomy," (Click here to read) women make 85% of buying decisions in a household. Although this has been the case for a while, what is different today is the percentage of change in earnings between the genders in American households. As of October 2009, half the US workforce (in non-farm jobs) were women and 51.5% of the high-paying management and professional positions were held by women. Women now graduate college at a rate of 3 women to every 2 men.

Although, depending on who you ask, women may have long controlled the purse strings. Given that they are now actually making the money, they appear to have their hands on more than the purse. And, what is even more interesting and important to the providers of goods and services is that they exercise their spending decisions on things other than purses, shoes and clothing. When I read the aforementioned article, I expected there to be an extensive dialogue about all of the products that are being created for women since they have so much more buying power. I thought it was going to be all about the fact that products are now be driven by the woman consumer. You know, like pink golf clubs, $300 anti-aging cream and light-weight handguns that will fit in our slouchy boots (you may think I am being facetious but I wrote an article on guns, and it is, in fact, true that gun manufacturers have marketed to women as their male market has become saturated).

But surprisingly the dialogue isn't about women products at all. Rather, the article discussed the fact that women are the decision-making consumers in most household purchases, even in areas that would traditionally have been considered within the masculine sphere. In fact, women are making the decisions for things such as auto repairs, electronics and healthcare. My fellow NZoneDiva is not a loner out there in the football world, as 44% of the NFL fans are women.

I haven't quite been able to get my head around what this means, but it is interesting. Where this will take the marketing, targeting and product development is an open question. Perhaps it will mean more products for the woman executive or, at least, a change in marketing techniques targeting women. One thing for sure appears to be that most, if not all, companies need to keep women happy if they want to sell their products. Forget about the rising economy of China and other countries . . . beware of, cater to and keep happy the sheconomy.

DRI Sharing Success – A Seminar for Women Lawyers – Begins February 3rd

Wed, 12 Jan 2011 13:20:00 GMT

If the dreary winter weather isn’t enough to have you dreaming of sunny South Florida, then the DRI Sharing Success seminar will. The DRI Women in the Law Committee will host its annual gathering in Miami, Florida on February 3rd and 4th.

The Sharing Success seminar strives to help women lawyers maximize their full potential. There are sessions focusing on the unique challenges women lawyers face with practical advice and solutions for addressing those challenges head-on. Attendees will learn business development strategies that don’t depend on having a good golf game, tips on engaging in and maintaining fulfilling mentoring relationships, and best practices for a female-friendly work environment.

But, not all the sessions deal exclusively with women in the law. For example, there are sessions on dealing with generational issues and how to make technology-addicted juries pay attention at trial. Plus, in-house counsel from some of the most recognized companies in America will talk about the challenges they face as well as the steps outside attorneys can take to become trusted advisors.

More information and registration information for DRI Sharing Success – A Seminar For Women Lawyers – can be found by clicking here.

Link: http://www.dri.org/open/SeminarDetail.aspx?eventCode=20110208

Trim your practice and watch it grow.

Tue, 07 Dec 2010 16:04:56 GMT

My three-year-old wants to grow her hair really, really long. When I told her she should get a trim, she resisted. “No Mama – I want it to grow as long as Rapunzel’s hair.” I explained to her that if she wanted her hair to grow, she had to cut it so it would stay healthy and get longer. She finally relented and got the trim.

I told this story the other day to some associates who were trying to identify their market niches. Just like it’s counterintuitive to think that you must cut your hair to help it grow, it is counterintuitive to think you must limit your practice to make it grow. But that is, in fact, exactly what you should do if you want to grow a healthy practice. Cut out all the extraneous stuff and focus on doing one thing exceedingly well.

It’s scary to limit yourself that way – what if you decide to focus on learning all there is to know on breach of warranty claims based on the Uniform Commercial Code, and then hundreds of other opportunities slip past because you were not focused on them? What if you choose to focus on protecting trade secrets in litigation, and then Congress suddenly passes a law that makes your niche obsolete? What if nobody needs the particular expertise you have chosen?

Those possibilities are real, and yes, they are a little unnerving. But the flip side of not specializing, of not picking one thing and focusing on it like a laser, is being a generalist, of becoming a commodity. And if you are a commodity – if your services are the same as the next lawyer’s services and you cannot provide any “special sauce” with the menu choice – then the only thing you can compete on is price. And that is a losing battle. So, unless you are practicing in a small town, or you are a one person legal department for a corporation, being a generalist will definitely not help you stand out and get noticed. And that, after all, is the goal here – you must get noticed, by decision makers, by bosses, by inside counsel, by whomever. You must excel, differentiate yourself, become outstanding – literally – in one particular area if you want to succeed. Over the next few posts, I’ll discuss some ways in which you can identify and develop your “niche,” and provide some illustrations of how this focus has led others to success.

Don't Ask...Don't Pay: Combating Gender Disparity in Pay with Transparency

Fri, 19 Nov 2010 09:35:42 GMT

By Alana Bassin

Did you know that the Paycheck Fairness Act is being considered in Congress - already passed in the House and is expected to be re-visited by the Senate this month (or at least it was before the last election)? The bill expands damages under the Equal Pay Act and provides more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.

I'm a defense lawyer, so admittedly I'm not all that excited about increasing the ways and means to sue my clients.

But the significance of the bill caught my attention for two reasons:
(1) The mere fact that we need it . . . that there is still a disparity between men and women's wages; and
(2) The importance of transparency.

Starting with the first issue, as embarrassing as it is, I was a little surprised that the laws needed to be tweaked in this arena. It isn't that I don't know the statistics or don't have anecdotal examples of pay disparities based on gender, but this issue just seemed "tired;" battled long ago in the 70s by Justice Ginsburg who heavily fought equal pay issues (from 1973 to 1979 she argued six cases in the U.S. Supreme Court) and our other foremothers. Further, I found myself giving credence to critics of the bill who cite “individual choices” in education, experience, job tenure and family as the actual cause for unequal pay. This is a legitimate issue and one which I will perhaps one day write about. But Heather Boushey in Slate.com writes an interesting article explaining that the pay disparity is not based entirely on women's choices. http://www.slate.com/id/2268371(See also
http://www.newsweek.com/2010/09/22/why-women-need-the-paycheck-fairness-act.html)

She cites one study which shows that college-educated women earn 5 percent less the first year out of school than their male peers, and ten years later, even if they keep working on par with those men, earn 12 percent less. Newsweek had a similar article with similar statistics. Statistics show that women continue to make 77 cents on the dollar to men. To the extent pay gaps exist based on gender, I'm glad we are talking about them.

However, what I think is most compelling about the law is that it will require transparency. Boushey notes in her article that the Act gives a woman the right to know what her male colleagues make and refers to a woman who sued her employer after learning from an anonymous tip that her male colleagues made more than her for 20 years. Her case went all the way to the Supreme Court where she won, but she was not entitled to back pay because the discrimination began 20 years ago (of course, she couldn't sue because she didn't know earlier). Congress has since fixed this problem, but a person could get lawfully fired for merely asking what their colleague makes.

This is especially pertinent in the legal arena. Many law firms do not have transparency in pay. I am proud to say that my firm does. If someone has an issue about pay, they have all of the objective and subjective data available to have an open discussion about that issue. I have heard many colleagues from other firms note that they suspect significant pay gaps but don't have access to the data. I am not naive enough to think that this law will lead firms with closed financials to suddenly open up their books. But if this law helps people access information and helps to move toward a cure, then I welcome that change.

Creating Pathways to Diversity – MCCA Puts On Another Amazing Conference.

Mon, 15 Nov 2010 08:50:19 GMT

Last Wednesday I attended MCCA’s 11th Annual “Creating Pathways to Diversity” Conference. It was, as always, an innovative, educational, and inspiring event. If you’ve not been to the conference, I strongly urge you to try to make next year’s conference, which will take place the day before MCCA’s Diversity Honors Gala honoring several diversity champions. There are few better opportunities to network and meet other individuals who also share a passion for diversity.

The conference is a great mix of in-house and outside counsel who come together to discuss diversity-related issues which are at the growing edge of the diversity movement. There were a total of twenty sessions that could be attended, with topics ranging from corporate board member diversity (“Leveraging Board Diversity to Improve Corporate Governance”), LGBT inclusion, leadership (“Laws of Leadership Success”), the impact of the economy and globalization on legal diversity issues, diversity best practices, developing and managing an effective supplier diversity program, and much more. There was so much packed into the day that I was exhausted at the end of it all, and then it was time for the dinner at which three corporations (Boehringer Ihelheim USA, Staples, and MetLife) and one law firm (Davis Polk) were honored.

Many corporations which recognize the importance of diversity – both internally and externally – sent counsel to attend and participate in the discussions. Panelists and speakers included individuals from Altria, Bristol-Myers Squibb Company, GlaxoSmithKline, Korn/Ferry International, Pepco, Wal-Mart, Freddie Mac, Pfizer, Sodexo, NBC Universal, Macy’s, Time Inc., Colgate-Palmolive, American Airlines, Mary Kay Inc., The Coca-Cola Company, Capital One, and many, many others. It is exciting to see so many companies place such a high value on diversity, and it is inspiring to listen to what their in-house counsel have to say about the impact and contribution that diversity has made to their practices and their clients.

I met some great people at the conference and had some enlightening and amazing conversations about diversity and its importance. I come away with new ideas, practices and lessons learned that I plan to share with you all in future posts. Until then, save the date for next year’s conference!

Cooking Up Your Career – Woman Advocate Gives Us Cathy Lamboley’s Ingredients for Success

Tue, 09 Nov 2010 10:40:01 GMT

I’ve read a lot of articles about success and what that means, and while different folks have different definitions, there is universal agreement on one thing: it takes passion. Whether you aspire to become a millionaire or to help a million people or to try a million cases, pretty near everyone agrees that you won’t get there without a heaping serving of passion. In a recent interview published in ABA’s Woman Advocate, Cathy Lamboley, former general counsel of Shell Oil Company and current member of the ABA Commission on Women, reiterated that passion is a key ingredient in anyone’s recipe for success.

Lamboley, who, among her other spectacular achievements was able to overhaul Shell’s legal department diversity initiatives and evaluation processes for retaining outside counsel, has distilled her experience and lessons learned into five main ingredients which, if used in the right amounts, may help you cook up a wonderfully satisfying career. Those ingredients include: (1) make a self-assessment; (2) take risks; (3) take credit; (4) take a hand; and (5) take a stand.

Start with a self-assessment. Figure out where you want to go with your career – to follow the metaphor, what you want your cake to look like when you are finished making it – and then figure out where you are on the path to getting there. Look at your skills, your experience, and your contacts. What other skills or experience do you need to get where you want to go? Who do you know that can help you get those skills and experience? If you don’t know the right people, how will you meet them? Answer these questions and map out your plan for getting where you want to go. Passion plays a big part here – whatever it is you want to do with your career, make sure you are passionate about it. Whether you want to try cases, mediate disputes, negotiate a mega-merger, prosecute patents, save the environment, fight for civil rights, or manage e-discovery projects, you must have passion for it. Otherwise, you’ll often feel like the losing Iron Chef.

Lamboley also advises us to take risks. Lamboley herself took a huge risk when she was at a session to discuss issues raised in a strategic study of diversity issues and she let loose years of pent up emotions, complaints and concerns about being a woman in a male-dominated industry. Her outpouring could have knocked her off the career ladder, but instead it landed her in a high-level operations position, which itself was a rung that led to the general counsel spot. Had she not taken the risk, had she stayed in her office and produced great work, she would likely have remained where she was. Lamboley was passionate about diversity, and she was willing to take risks to promote and pursue it.

We’ve spoken before on this blog about the importance of self-promotion, and Lamboley echoes those sentiments when she tells us to take credit. Take credit for what you do and for your role in achieving company or firm goals. Do not minimize your achievements, or say “it was a team effort.” Stand up, stand out, and take credit for a job well done.

Helping others is another of Lamboley’s ingredients for success. She encourages experienced women to seek out less experienced women to coach and mentor, and she also encourages those junior women to seek help as well as accept it when offered.

Finally, Lamboley tells us to take a stand for what we think is right. The Woman Advocate article states this principle plainly: “Going along just to get along will not lead to a successful career.” Stand up for your passion – speak out, speak up, take a stand. Lamboley did, and she found herself in the GC’s chair shortly after.

InsideCounsel’s Transformative Leadership Awards Now Accepting Entries

Thu, 04 Nov 2010 10:00:22 GMT

Entry Deadline: November 12, 2010

We are inviting you to help us shine the spotlight on law firms and law departments that have achieved demonstrable results related to increasing opportunities for the empowerment of women in law by submitting a nomination for InsideCounsel's second annual Transformative Leadership Awards.

From female general counsel’s whose commitment to advancing women who have significantly impacted those they entrust; to senior leaders within law firms whose courage, conviction and authenticity have carved a groundbreaking path for economic empowerment for women in law, the awards celebrate successful woman rainmakers and looks to inspire future ones.

If your firm or legal department has made momentous progress in elevating women to leadership positions, developed significant paths of advancement for women, or has a considerable number of women on key executive, compensation or equity partnership committees, then click here to nominate them for an award.

InsideCounsel magazine’s Editor-In-Chief, Cathleen Flahardy, in conjunction with Allstate Insurance Company’s SVP, General Counsel & Chief Legal Officer, Michele Coleman Mayes, will again co-chair the National Awards Committee to select the 2011 winners.

In 2011, seven total awards are will be presented: three awards for in-house counsel, three awards for law firms and one shared award for both law firm and in-house counsel. For complete list of award category descriptions, entry instructions, and a full list of eligibility requirements, please visit: http://www.icsuperconference.com/awards
View the 2010 Awards Program

Empowered Woman Success Summit & Expo

Wed, 27 Oct 2010 15:27:34 GMT

If you are like me, your inbox is bombarded with emails for seminars and CLE presentations on a daily basis. Most of them sound good, but often over-sell and under-deliver. If I’m going to peel myself away from my clients, mountain of work, and family for a conference, it has to be worth my time – I have to come away with practical how-to’s and real-life solutions.

That’s why the invite to the Empowered Woman Success Summit & Expo taking place in Miami November 11 and 12 caught my eye. Right off the bat, organizers tell you this is not a “‘rah-rah’ motivational ‘pep rally’ that sugarcoats reality.” Instead, this seminar promises real strategies and tactics for improving your business. Plus, with sessions like “Badass is a State of Mind” and “Finding Your G-Spot” (“G” for genius, of course), how can you go wrong?

The Expo is free to attend, and you are able to sit in on a few sessions, visit the expo area, and network, network, network without paying a dime. There is a small fee for the Summit sessions ($10 for a session pass and $35 for a VIP day pass), and organizers encourage you to choose one day to attend the Summit – some of the sessions are the same both days. Ann Cecilia Velasco’s Power Networking Exercise on November 12th, which is pitched as an “interactive, improvised, fast-paced experience,” intrigues me, as does Kathy Dedek’s presentation on “How to Turn All Those Contacts Into Contracts.”

Last year this event drew more than 600 businesswomen. This year it is expected to be the largest businesswomen’s event in South Florida.

Check here for more information about the Empowered Woman Success Summit & Expo in Miami.

You Are The Only You You Have And You Are Every Woman-Take Time To Invest In And Care For You

Fri, 22 Oct 2010 10:12:00 GMT

Ladies, admit it, many of us suffer from the "I can be everything to everybody" complex. We pride ourselves in our versatility, our ability to master many roles. Our theme song is Chaka Khan's "I'm Every Woman"!

We are astute career women, attentive mothers, doting daughters, loving wives, supportive sisters and friends, PTA volunteers, soccer moms, bake sale captains, church members, community association leaders, committee members in professional associations, and the list goes on and on . . . and on.

There is no doubt that the tasks on our To-Do List continue to grow. At the end of the day, instead of feeling a sense of completion, we feel more frustrated and anxious about these growing number of tasks. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that in the midst of all of our daily plans to conquer the world, we tend to fail miserably at taking care of ourselves. How many times do we put ourselves on the back burner because there are more "important" things that need to be done? Or even still, how many times have we said or thought: "I do not have time to go to the doctor?" As a single mother of a five year-old with a busy litigation practice, I am definitely guilty.

Well ladies, after a trip to the emergency room and two (yes, TWO) bed rest orders later, I (and we) have got to do better at taking care of ourselves! So, on behalf of all working women, I am ordering a time out! That's right ladies - we need to take a lesson from our own play books. When our children spiral out of control and have a melt down, what do we do? We put them in time out - time away from stimulation to calm down and regroup. I assert that that is exactly what we need - time to regroup and revise the battle plan in a way that allows us to have a better quality of life.

Because I enjoy the work that I do, I am not one of those women who subscribe to the "If only I didn't work..." philosophy. However, during my bronchitis induced time-out, I gave serious thought about how to strike a better balance between taking care of everything/everyone and taking care of myself. Please allow me to share my thoughts and tips that I learned from others:

INVEST IN YOURSELF: According to the National Women's Health Resource Center, 94% of women recognize that "making time for myself is one of the best ways I can help to take care of me and my family." Despite this recognition, we still fail to take those necessary steps to take time for ourselves. Hear me clearly ladies: WE MUST INVEST IN OURSELVES. We must take the time to enhance our mental/emotional, physical, and spiritual well-being. This does not mean you have to take a weekend each month to ship yourself off to a secluded spa (although not a bad idea!). Instead, it means taking time each day (even if only for 15-30 minutes) to give back to yourself. Instead of spending the last few minutes of your night returning emails or washing clothes, spend that time on something that you like to do - chat with a friend, write in a journal, meditate, read a book, etc. Whatever it is, just give yourself some down time. Not only do you deserve it, but you need it.

Investing in yourself also means getting a good night's rest. While I understand that some late nights are just par for the course, not EVERY night has to be a late night. Not only do we become less focused and irritable when we deprive ourselves of sleep, but we also cheat ourselves from the benefit of sleep's stress reducing effect on our bodies. That reason alone is incentive to get to bed an hour earlier!

And, of course, we cannot give back to ourselves without taking care of our physical health. We are inundated daily with statistics about the benefits of exercise and eating properly. I will not beat this dead horse, but will simply add that we must also take time out of our busy schedules to make and keep doctor's appointments instead of fretting about getting to the office an hour later. And more importantly, go to the doctor when you are not feeling well. Often times a trip to the doctor at the beginning of an illness could save you more time than waiting until the illness causes you to be bed-rested. (Take my word for it!)

DO MORE BY DOING LESS: Most women lament that they know what to do to take care of themselves, but that they just do not have the time to do it. According to Amy Ahlers, leader of The Women Masters Coaching Program, a program coaching women on how to stop being so hard on themselves in the face of rising responsibility, and author of Big Fat Lies Women Tell Themselves (and Believe!), if a woman "would relinquish control, she could accomplish more, including taking care of herself, and get back in balance." Ahlers advises women who find themselves feeling overwhelmed to use the "Choose, Lose, or Delegate" System.
• CHOOSE: Ahlers proposes to choose the "activities that make you feel satisfied." In other words, stop being a "yes woman". You cannot accept every offer to work on projects, attend conferences, volunteer at your child's school, head every community outreach mission at church, and expect your feelings of being overwhelmed to just go away. Instead, have discerning taste and choose those activities that have some level of importance and priority in your life. As Ahlers notes, choose projects "that you are willing to claim as your own with a sense of enthusiasm and purpose." This could be that project at work that will give you the visibility that you have been seeking. Likewise, it could be volunteering at your child's school because it provides togetherness with your child while being an active participant in the school events.
• LOSE: According to Ahlers, the next step is to "lose those things that you're doing that simply don't need to be done - the ones you dislike and are willing to let go of entirely". This step necessarily includes learning how to say no. For instance, stop attending events simply because you were invited. If you have no reason to be there other than the fact that you received an invitation, graciously thank your host for the invitation, send a gift (if appropriate), and move on to using your time for those activities that are more meaningful to you.
• DELEGATE: Finally, Ahlers recommends to "delegate those activities that you dislike doing, but must get done." Ladies, this is not a new phenomenon - we skillfully delegate all the time in our professional lives. Now, we must learn to transition that skill into our personal lives. My personal philosophy is that some things are worth paying to have done because it is simply more valuable for me to have that time to spend with my five year-old. Some of the tasks which I have delegated include hiring a service to clean my home, taking clothes to the tailor for repairs, having the local nursery plant flowers and clean and maintain flower beds, etc. Whatever you choose as your delegable tasks, just make sure that they are tasks that you can really delegate and not ones which will still require you to be actively involved.
My fellow divas, we already know that we are many things to many people. But we must embrace the reality that we can be none of those things to anyone, if we are not healthy, whole, and happy women. So, in true diva style, let's all make a promise to love and take care of ourselves.

Plastic Cards for Girls or Real Advice For Women - You Decide

Mon, 18 Oct 2010 21:27:28 GMT

By Alana Bassin

A rumor went around recently that a Fortune 500 company handed out laminated cards to certain female employees with the following list, trying to give advice about what not to do at the office in order to succeed. The list was allegedly taken from the book "Nice Girls Don't Get the Corner Office: 101 Mistakes Women Make That Sabotage Their Careers," by Dr. Lois P. Frankel who later commented that the list was taken out of context. Nevertheless, the list warned that women tend to do the following:

1. Speak too softly and aren't heard.
2. Groom in public, which "deemphasizes capability."
3. Sit too demurely, rather than leaning forward at the table in meetings.
4. Speak last in meetings. Early speakers are seen as more assertive and authoritative.
5. Ask permission, while men inform.
6. Apologize too much for every little thing.
7. Smile too often, which can dilute a message.
8. Play too fair.
9. Operate behind the scenes, which enables competitors to take credit for one's work.
10. Offer a limp handshake.

If you are like me, you may be surprised that women are getting handed laminated cards with tips in the first place, let alone what some of these tips suggest. I appreciate the effort to try to level the playing field but these suggestions seem far too simplistic in the complicated legal/business world where work ethic, work product and business development seem to have a much heavier hand in determining one's fate. To steal a line from Saturday night live: I mean "really?" Groom in public? Do we really need to be told to use the bathroom. Smile too often? The person creating this list obviously didn't know the female lawyers I know. And limp handshake? No need to crush someone's hand, but if a person hasn't figured out how to look someone in the eye with a firm squeeze of the hand by the time they are a lawyer, I'm not sure they are in the right career. I'm not trying to suggest that personality and politics don't play a role in someone's success and that coaching/mentoring isn't important on these matters (in fact, that is a significant reason we discuss women and diversity issues), but it is far more complicated than the issues described above. Furthermore, the current economy demands that firms use more substantive and objective criteria in evaluating success. There is simply less tolerance for someone with more taste but less filling. So I thought I would offer my top 10, and perhaps my fellow divas or our readers will provide input for the same, in suggesting ways to succeed in law firm life.

Tip number 1: Deliver a good work product. You won't get anywhere if you don't do good work. This economy is too tight. This profession is too demanding. The margin for error is too small. You must find a way to hand your client deliverables that will meet or exceed expectations every time. This makes you look good, this makes them look good, and this makes them look for you when they need something the next time. So, groom or don't groom, but deliver good work product.

More to come next time.

What’s Your Superpower?

Tue, 12 Oct 2010 15:08:42 GMT

My five-year-old daughter is into superheroes these days. She likes to pretend that she is a superhero, and that her superpowers include flying, invisibility, and super strength. Many kittens have been rescued from trees and dogs from burning houses because of her innate powers. My daughter’s imaginings remind me of something marketing guru Seth Godin said in his book Linchpin (a must read, as are many other Godin books including Purple Cow and All Marketers are Liars). In Linchpin, Godin tells us that in order to provide value to our organizations, we must provide insight and creativity and innovation and unexpected gifts. Godin remarked that all linchpins have a superpower – they have one thing that sets them apart from others, that makes them unique and uniquely valuable. To be a linchpin lawyer – someone who provides so much value to her clients that she becomes indispensable – you need to identify your superpower and learn how to capitalize on it and communicate about it.

I have seen the superpower concept play out in various contexts, most recently in a series on “most admired attorneys” put out by a prominent legal publisher. The trial lawyers who made the list were admired for various reasons, none of which had to do with their ability to understand legal issues or to provide solid counsel. Those are core competencies, but they will not set you apart. The qualities possessed by these “most admired attorneys” included things like “savvy strategist,” “tenacious team-player, “never-ending enthusiasm and eternal optimism,” and “an uncanny ability to think like, connect with and entertain a jury in high-stakes trial settings.” Those are superpowers that create a raucous din of demand for one’s services.

So, if you are struggling to set yourself apart, or feel as if you are being undervalued, take some time and figure out what your superpower is. Then, find ways to demonstrate your superpower as much as possible, and find ways to make sure people notice it (self-promotion is a key to success, as we’ve noted previously in this blog). Soon enough, you too will be a superhero.

There Is a Reason They Call It A Hail Mary: Commitment to The Run: A Strategy That Successful Teams Employ and Lawyers Should Consider.

Tue, 21 Sep 2010 17:05:00 GMT

NZoneDiva has been under the porch for the last couple of weeks. Generally the beginning of the football season is a happy time, but the Cowboys have been disappointing and the football Diva has been despondent. Nevertheless, if you are a fan of the game long enough, you learn to ride the waves of victory and defeat and still go about your life. So, NZoneDiva returns in spite of her wounds with another lesson from football that translates well to the law that we will talk about today. There is a concept in football strategy known as a "commitment to the run". It is only by employing this disciplined approach to the game that the defense is manipulated and the stage is set for the long bomb, the sexy pass, and rarely but spectacularly, the touchdown. The analogy is obvious, don't start your approach to any aspect of your legal practice, whether being a trial lawyer, establishing your niche, landing a client, or taking your place in firm management with big plays. Fundamentals, discipline, commitment and rigor are what set the stage for eventual success and victory in our profession and our lives.

Pee-Wee, High-School, College and NFL coaches preach that a "commitment to the run" is essential to winning the game in the end. This is a strategy that is respected without exception in football. Other offensive strategic approaches have been tried ("run and shoot," "option," and "West Coast") with varying levels of success. But, when it is time to get back to basics, all good coaches, all good teams return to the fundamentals of good football and often go back to the run as a way to set up the pass and pound out a victory. It is not sexy, it is not flashy, but it moves the chains and it keeps you in control. And if you do it right, it sets you up for the long ball later.

In our world, the world of the legal practitioner, "commitment to the run" is doing the ground work, being the third chair, learning the fundamentals of your niche, building relationships that could become client relationships, and learning the fundamentals of management and leadership that are not taught in law school. You have to have a safe, sure, reasoned, proven approach to success. Sure, there are "rags to riches, sudden success" stories in all professions. But, overwhelmingly, success is as a result of building a strong foundation upon which to rise up in your area of practice. Remember the lesson known by all coaches, run. Run. Run. Every day commit your efforts to moving the chains, advancing your goals. Make contacts, maintain your network, build your credential, bring in small clients, establish yourself as a subject matter expert. Do this early in your career and maintain this strategy throughout your career.

In your career, as in football, you do not want to find yourself scrambling through a 2 minute drill to get the score that you desperately need. No team with a winning record and a winning strategy relies on the Hail Mary. You should not either. The teams with the most well-executed plans never end up in a position where a last minute, high risk, low success play is necessary. The best plans are founded on and carried out in incremental improvements. Having said that, if you read the defense and you look around and you see the receiver is wide open and your career has the chance to make a huge gain in one day, travel further in one day than you have in the last year, do not be afraid, throw the ball. It is not luck and it is not a trap. Your hard work, your planning and your diligence has opened up this opportunity for you and it is your responsibility to take it. Throw the ball and live with the consequences and then when you line up next time, commit to the run.

Death By A Thousand Cuts: Micro-Inequalities in the Workplace and Understanding That The Little Things Do Matter

Mon, 20 Sep 2010 08:55:00 GMT

I recently attended a diversity conference where there was an excellent presentation given by Arin Reeves from The Athens Group on Understanding Micro-Inequalities. Now, if you were like me, you are saying to yourself: "What on earth is a micro-inequality?!" Well, clearly, Reeves knew that there would be someone like me in the audience, and she adeptly integrated the metaphors of a shark bite and hundreds of mosquito bites to give life to the phenomena known as macro-inequalities (one big shark bite) and micro-inequalities (hundreds of mosquito bites).

Like most things that take on a life of their own, mind sets and behaviors adapt. As Reeves explained, rarely do we see the instances of someone outright refusing to work with another based upon race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, etc. Such instances would be characterized as macro-inequalities and are metaphorically termed by Reeves as the one big shark bite. Like a shark bite, this behavior is obvious, everyone can see it, and everyone agrees that it is painful and injurious.

And while education and social and legal unacceptance has resulted in a reduction of these more obvious inequalities, what has cropped up in its place are the many micro-inequalities. Micro-inequalities are a lot more subtle and more difficult to detect. They are, in Reeves' terms, the hundreds of little mosquito bites that when put together are far more injurious and painful than the one shark bite. Examples of micro-inequalities include assuming a woman will not come back to work after having a child; labeling, either directly or indirectly, a woman who has children as not being "a team player" or committed; calling one minority by another minority's name (Saying, "Hi Sam", when Sam is really Dave, but both are Asian-American), etc.

Admittedly, I have heard about many instances of micro-inequalities, but tended to shrug them off because they did not amount to the egregious forms of discrimination that we have come to know. It was not until Reeves put it in context for me that I was able to understand that this is an area that deserves attention and further education. Her presentation on this topic is one which I recommend to those looking to enhance their diversity programs. It is only through more education on this issue that we can come to understand the detrimental effects of micro-inequalities and hope to eliminate them from our workplaces.

For more information, Arin Reeves can be reached info@athensgroup.net.

Celebrate Firms Who Celebrate Diversity For Women as a Core Value.

Mon, 13 Sep 2010 10:18:00 GMT

Last month, Vault.com published their most recent Law Firm Diversity Rankings. One thing we know is that if you make a list, people will want to be on it (or off of it). Well, Vault has a list and everyone wants to be on it. The list shows the firms in the country who were recognized as the result of a survey done earlier this year when more than 15,000 law firm associates rated their employers on a variety of issues, including diversity, with respect to minority, women and GLBT attorneys. Our firm has only just this year started participating in Vault, but look for Bowman and Brooke to make a breakout appearance on this list next year.

The Top 20 law firms honored for their overall commitment to diversity are:

1. Carlton Fields
2. Hughes Hubbard & Reed
3. Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
4. Ropes & Gray
5. Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton
6. Morrison & Foerster
7. Shook, Hardy & Bacon
8. Jenner & Block
9. Debevoise & Plimpton
10. Littler Mendelson P.C.
11. Arnold & Porter
12. Hinshaw & Culbertson
13. Finnegan
14. Weil, Gotshal & Manges
15. Bingham McCutchen
16. Cravath, Swaine & Moore / Alston & Bird (tie)
17. Haynes and Boone
18. WilmerHale
19. Vinson & Elkins
20. Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel

According to Vault, their “editorial mission is to provide the research required by candidates to evaluate professions, industries, educational pathways, and top companies. Vault ratings and rankings inform candidates’ analysis of companies and allow direct comparison between potential employers in such high value industries as law...” Thanks to Vault, our young professionals have one more tool at their disposal with which to go about the business of setting up the course of their careers and lives and choosing the place that is most likely to set them up to succeed at whatever they choose.

You can have a meaningful and wonderful career being the only one like you wherever you are. But, it is all about choice and transparency in decision-making and that is why these lists are important. They are also important because the things measured by this ranking are important, to our clients, our profession, and our future and so we wanted to give an admittedly belated shout out to those firms recognized by this list.

The Truth About Flexible Hours

Tue, 07 Sep 2010 13:56:58 GMT

Shortly after I posted my last blog which raised the concept that the more senior I became in my job, the easier it was to survive with kids because with seniority came flexiblity, I read an article about a study on women that basically suggests that "flexible" jobs are not the answer because it means a woman's work is never done. Granted, this study pertained to women entrepeniurs and not lawyers, but I have heard the same argument applied in the legal context. My thoughts are short and simple on this. Nobody ever said flexible meant working less. It just means flexible. To me, flexibility allows women to continue their career and still participate in other areas of their life, such as parenting. It enables someone to make the 4 pm soccer game or stay home with a sick child. But it still means the work has to get done. If you want to be successful in your career - no matter what you do - you need to work hard. You cannot escape that.

It may make sense to say no to flexible hours to better enforce boundaries between work and home and allow predictability in your schedule. But don't complain when you can't volunteer for the school trip. On the other hand, one may want to embrace a flexible work schedule to limit the time they are required in the office. But if you embrace this, you need to be able to handle a certain amount of multi-tasking and also embrace the fact that although you made it to the soccer game, you may have to take a call or respond to an email. This job is not easy. It requires a work ethic and a stomach for working at inconvenient times even with a traditional work schedule. My point is merely that flexibility creates options.

The fact that we are able to discuss this issue and other secrets to success is reason to celebrate. After reading my last blog, a co-worker suggested to me that maybe it would be better if we lived in the "Leave it to Beaver" era where kids were not so over-scheduled. Valid Point. However, it only takes watching one episode of Mad Men (which features life at the office in addition to life at home with the Beav) to realize the total lack of options for women at that time. I will take over-scheduled any day.

To view the article mentioned above, see this Financial Post article.

Reject Me, Reject Me Now: On Risk Perception, Rejection, and Rainmaking

Tue, 24 Aug 2010 15:20:00 GMT

When I was in sixth grade I had a huge crush on a boy (yes, a boy) named Fred. He and I passed notes back and forth in class for a while, and then, being an impatient sort, I decided to try to take the relationship to the next level. I sent a note asking if he wanted to “go around” with me and, after an agonizingly long delay received a resounding “no” in return. Crushed? Sure, but it didn’t take me long to move on. I’ve now learned that suffering rejection at the hands of Fred (and others) may have actually given me the tools I now need to become a better rainmaker.

I recently read a blog post by Chizoba Nnaemeka titled “The Rejection Gene.” It is a fascinating discourse on the differences in risk perception between men and women, and how those differences lead to a greater resiliency when it comes to rejection. According to studies cited by Ms. Nnaemeka, when it comes to risk, women apparently tend to assess risk by evaluating the probability of injury an activity might cause, whereas men evaluate the severity of injury that might occur. That is, women don’t want to get hurt, but men don’t care about getting hurt – as long as they are not hurt badly.

Ms. Nnaemeka then posits that these differences are compounded by the teenage dating game, in which boys are expected to make the first move, and thus must face the possibility of – and, many times, the reality of – rejection. Most boys learn to survive this process by learning to not take rejection personally or disproportionately. They rationalize, consciously or not, that while they are good people, their “delivery” must have been lacking – either their delivery was corny, or they were not dressed appropriately, or some other “extrinsic” flaw led to the rejection. Lacking these experiences, when girls, and later women, face rejection, they will tend to internalize it and believe that there is something wrong with them – that they are not talented enough, pretty enough, nice enough, an utter failure, and so on.

So what does all this have to do with rainmaking? Rainmaking is, at its core, all about relationships and the willingness to put oneself out there again and again. And, because we are selling a personal service – our legal talents and abilities – rainmaking can be a lot like dating.

Applying Ms. Nnaemeka’s model, as women lawyers we might be less inclined to participate in rainmaking activities in the first place due to our assessment that the “probability of injury” (i.e., rejection) is high. This reticence might be compounded by the “rejection gene.” Rejection in rainmaking is inevitable. Men might be more likely to ascribe this rejection to some external cause – they were not properly prepared, or they had incorrect information. Women, on the other hand, may be more likely to internalize the rejection and believe that they are just not that talented, they are just not that good, that they do not deserve the business.

The rejection gene may affect women lawyers even at the early stages of their careers – they may, for example, be less likely than men to seek out plum assignments from superstar partners, thus putting themselves on a track that may offer fewer opportunities for growth or advancement.

As women rainmakers, we must become more resilient. We must learn to realize that rejection happens for any number of reasons, none of them personal. We must learn to separate the “product” – legal services – from the “person” and know that if someone doesn’t buy our product it has nothing to do with us as people, but that it was simply a business decision based on many factors unrelated to whether we are good, competent lawyers. We must pick ourselves up, dust ourselves off, and figure out how to retool our presentations, revise our value propositions, and return again to our rainmaking activities. Oh, and Fred . . . thanks for the rejection.

Diversification of Our Profession is a Must…Don’t Just Take My Word for It.

Thu, 19 Aug 2010 14:20:00 GMT

The National Law Review (www.natlawreview.com) posted last week a wonderful interview conducted by Vault.com of outgoing ABA president Carolyn Lamm about the challenges law firms face in achieving diversity. Please don’t just read this reflection, read the interview, it is really informative. She characterizes the profession’s diversity as “evolving.” She looks at the numbers of women in the profession. She discusses challenges and discusses initiatives that she has put in place during her tenure in office. What are of particular interest are the examples of success that she can point to. Those firms that are looking to succeed in this area can certainly use a roadmap. Diversity is a process and the fact that the ABA president dedicated so much of her time in office to this issue says a great deal about the profession’s dedication to this goal. There were two items in particular in this interview that caught my attention and that I would like to focus on with you all: the definition of diversity and the definition of success of the diversity initiatives.

Diversity is one of those words that is hard to define but easy to note the absence of. It is also much easier to say what it is not than to define what it is. I personally was very excited a few years ago when the common parlance of the diversity community began to “evolve” and the concept of diversity started to be less about who was not at the table and more about who was. Inclusion became the focus and this felt like the better, more organic concept that would lead to the results that were best for our firms, our clients and our profession. Ms. Lamm articulates this concept better than I can when she says, “We now must focus on building inclusive work environments that demonstrate that we value diverse perspectives and understand how they benefit the organization overall.” It is all about increasing the angles from which you can view the problem. If everyone stands on the same hill and looks at the issue, they will all see it from the same perspective. What we need are people who can come at it from the hill, from the valley, from space, from the ground and from Google Earth.

This leads to what I thought was the most interesting part of the article. I am known to say that when somebody totally agrees with me, they are totally correct (this, by the way is NOT a very diverse concept). But, I have said since I have cared about this, and I don’t remember a time when I did not, that the goal is not to change things so that the majority becomes the minority, but to achieve balance, to make this blog irrelevant, to make diversity something folks used to talk about before things just worked out. Ms. Lamm, and this will not surprise you, totally agrees. When asked what diversity success will look like, she responded, “A diverse profession that reflects our community. A diverse legal profession is more just, productive and intelligent, because diversity often leads to better questions, analyses, processes and solutions. We are committed to see a Supreme Court that reflects our population and a profession in which each lawyer, no matter what their gender, racial or ethnic background, sexual orientation or disability, has the opportunity to achieve all they are capable of.”

Well said Carolyn Lamm and thank you for your service!

Weaving Community Into Our Workplace

Wed, 18 Aug 2010 17:44:00 GMT

Today is Wednesday, and I’m working in jeans and my beloved cowboy boots. No, I’m not working from home, or from a ranch in Wyoming. I’m in our Richmond office where every Wednesday our attorneys and staff can pay two dollars for the opportunity to dress casual. Every quarter, we take the money we collect from our “Casual Day” sales and give it to a charity in the community; we usually also combine that with an event in which the entire office can participate. Past events have included volunteering to repair and update a home owned by an elderly couple, working at the community food bank wrapping meals, and creating Christmas crafts with autistic and special needs children.

This quarter involves a charity that is near and dear to my heart – the Komen Richmond Affiliate of the Susan G. Komen Breast Cancer Foundation. I am a breast cancer survivor, and have just completed my second, and, hopefully, final bout with that disease. I am lucky, because both times I caught the cancer very early, both times thanks to my obeisance to the monthly breast exam ritual. I didn’t have a family history or any reason to think I would get cancer – I just did the exam every month. It takes two minutes, and it can save your life.

The Komen Richmond Affiliate is committed to our community with 75% of the net revenue raised by the Richmond Affiliate distributed right back into the community of central Virginia through their Grant program. The remaining 25% directly supports Komen’s National Research Grant Program. Since 1998, the Komen Richmond Affiliate has raised over $3.3 million for both local programs and Komen’s National Research Grant Program. They are currently funding 14 innovative projects in Virginia, including projects geared toward providing low-income women with breast health care, bringing breast health care to communities in Virginia without convenient access to medical providers, and providing educational programs and materials to high school students and others throughout the region. To find out more, visit http://www.komenrichmond.org/.

NZoneDiva and NFL Lessons on Great Players Making Bad Teams: You Have to Match the Players to the System.

Thu, 12 Aug 2010 09:10:00 GMT

There are many players in the NFL who could be used to point out this point, but since I have been a fan of the Dallas Cowboys since I was in 5th grade, the one that I have selected is Terrell Owens. Terrell Eldorado Owens has had one of the most controversial and exciting careers in the NFL. He is, without exception, one of the most talented wide-receivers who has or will play the game. He has played for a number of teams in his career, San Francisco 49ers (1996-2003), Philadelphia Eagles (2004-2005); Dallas Cowboys (2006-2008); Buffalo Bills (2009) and has just signed with the Cincinnati Bengals for 2010. The depth and breadth of his talent has not really changed over the years. But the extent to which he was able to really help his team has varied widely based on whether he was in an organization where he “fit” or one where he did not. Great talent, on a football team or in a law firm is undeniable, but it is simply not enough if it is not the right great talent for your organization.

While some of you may say, that this is indeed an interesting point, what is the lesson for lawfirms? Well, how many times have you heard, when the non-legal performance of someone has been raised, the statement, “But, he is such a good lawyer?” To me this phrase signals a person who does not fit an organizational structure in any way but either displays economic ability or technical prowess that on the surface appears to add value to your firm. In other words, the lawyer has “great stats.”

But, it is very important in management, in leadership, to dig a little deeper than the current year statistics for your players and take a lesson from the NFL. A leader needs to evaluate the potential for long term destruction to the organizational foundation by permitting someone who does not share the firm’s core values to stay on just because they are a star. The impact that this has on the rest of the team, the organization, the reputation of the firm can often outlast the tenure of the star. You may find that once your Terrell Owens leaves for better pass plays, you are left with the realization that while he enjoyed individual success within your organization, you did not realized the overall goals you had targeted. You may also find that you had to give up so much to get him that it will take years to rebuild your team, your drive, your morale and your system just to get back to the place you were when he arrived.

It is hard to justify NOT making an attempt at picking up T.O. if you can get him. But making the right choice is often about making the hard choice. Any decision that does not involve a weighing of the cost to the organization in the short and long term vs. the short term gain expected is insufficient. NZoneDiva next time will help you understand why you need to let your poor performers go – it is better for them, better for you, better for the game.

Mommy Lawyer: Still Closer to an Oxymoron Than the Truth

Fri, 06 Aug 2010 10:30:00 GMT

The recent article A Labor Market Punishing to Mothers by DAVID LEONHARDT discusses the concept that although women have come a long way in the work force, men seem to be able to do it despite family life and women don't. Attrition is still very high for women in the work force, including law (in particularly, women with children). And there appears to be a pattern, or at least anecdotal evidence, that the women who are most successful don't have children. Take for example, Elena Kagan, Sonia Sotomayor, Janet Napolitano and Condoleezza Rice, among others. Although the article concedes many other successful women (including Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg) have children, it suggests that those women have beat the odds that were stacked against them. Bottom line, the article notes, "Women do almost as well as men today, as long as they don't have children."

As a partner in a firm with 4 children who grapples with the work-life issue every day, I consider myself an expert on this subject. And I generally agree with the article: women can be successful with kids, but it seems to be easier for men. I realize this is a sensitive topic because there are male lawyers who are incredibly involved parents and may be offended that I'm focusing on mothers. To them I note that there are, of course, exceptions and that these comments could equally apply to you. But the evidence suggests parenting seems to have a greater adverse impact on women so that is my focus. When I agreed to do this blog, I told myself that although I had many thoughts on working and parenting, I would try not to overly personalize my comments, and, indeed, I would try to avoid this subject. But I cannot resist commenting on the realities of this article.

One word describes trying to advance your career as a lawyer (in particular, if you are a young lawyer) while at the same time having young kids: hard. Junior lawyers who want to be successful are faced with a job that includes a lot of stress and long hours - hours that start early, end late and more often than not, include the weekend. To be a young mother and be expected to drop off your child when it is still dark and not get home until they are in bed is brutal. And it just isn't time spent with them but it is the time spent addressing their needs that can be equally all-consuming. I call it the "head game." The time a parent - in my experience predominantly the mother - takes to figure out schedules, calendars, day care, summer camps, doctor appointments, shoes for the season, clothes for the season, play dates, birthday parties, extra-curricular activities (t-ball, basketball, soccer, swimming, skiing, skating, karate, gymnastics . . . I had to research, sign-up and coordinate rides for every single one of these activities this year between all of my kids). And then there is homework, reading, practicing piano . . . In addition to wanting to spend time with our kids, we want them to be involved and not miss out on opportunities. But these activities take time and somebody has to do it. And let's not even talk about what it takes just to get out of the house in the morning . . .

Besides crediting my significant other, David, for helping extensively with life at home, I think I have survived the work-family time crunch to date because I chose to have kids later in my career. I had my first daughter the year before I made partner. I think that made it much easier. I had already proven my skills and work ethic. I had already earned the trust of those I worked with. The work intensity didn't change, but I could be incredibly flexible in where I did it because people always knew I was available and would get the job done. I further was and continue to be willing to make sacrifices that others are not. I always worked through my maternity leave - not necessarily full time but I treated every day like a work day. In short, I didn't want my clients going elsewhere and there were things that needed to be done. And I treat my job like it is 24-7. Doesn't matter where I am, I am available to answer emails and phone calls.

I often say that I never could have made it if I had kids earlier when there is a different expectation about face time and a person has to answer to partners in the office according to their schedules. I recently wondered how one of our new associates was managing three kids and being a first year associate. She just gave notice she was leaving. I don't want you to think we didn't bend over backwards trying to convince her to stay - flex hours, part-time, work from home. But I think she felt that the exceptional associates give 100% effort, 100% of the time, and with 3 kids at home, she couldn't do that. If she didn't have those kids at home, there is no doubt in my mind she would have been leading the pack. I cannot think of a male associate that left our office related to fatherhood.

There are 5 senior women partners in our firm (I do not even count myself as one of them). Two do not have children, one has one child but she waited until she was already a partner, and the remaining two had kids prior to making partner. Of the two that had kids at a younger age, one only has one child (not that this still isn't incredibly tough to manage), and the other has 4. If you asked the latter how she did it, I think she would tell you that she was able to "beat the odds" based on various factors including a very supportive and helpful husband. Comparatively, we have six males on our executive committee. All six have multiple children.

Now I don't want to say it can't be done. The flip side to my last paragraph is that three of the five most senior women in my firm have kids and I, also a partner, have four kids. In my view, at least in the legal profession, there is a hump you need to get over both with children and your career and then it gets a little easier. It is harder to be out of the house for extended periods with a baby compared to older kids. I don't know why but as a mother I think it just is (I wonder if men feel that way?). It is further harder to adjust your own schedule as a more junior lawyer. But when you get over the hump and to the point where you are answering to your own clients, you are in control of your own schedule (so you can set the conference call after you volunteer in the class room). You can also delegate as opposed to being the person who must do the work being delegated. I'm not saying you don't work hard or have stress as you go up in the chain of command, I just think it is easier to manage a family at the same time. So the issue is getting there and what we can do to help women get there.

Flexible hours, part-time etc., these things help, but they won't solve everything (including that it will likely take you longer to get where you are going). Perhaps recognizing the issue will help the battle. Those of us more senior can be sensitive to the demands of family and those with families can realize it does get better. But undeniably, no matter what you do, there are no easy answers. It isn't easy trying to manage children and a career. Some days it will be grueling.

Modesty Will Get You Absolutely Nothing: Women’s Failure of Self-Promotion Negatively Impacts Competitiveness in Legal Market.

Wed, 04 Aug 2010 12:50:00 GMT

Repeat after me, “I have a fantastic team and, while we cannot guarantee any particular result, I can tell you that this case will be well-handled,” “I have had success in the past with cases just like this and you should feel confident in your choice of legal counsel,” or “We may not win but when this is over they will know they have been in a fight.” I am not sure I have ever used any of these exact statements. I am not sure I have not. I am sure that I deliver generally excellent legal services, have gotten generally good results and more importantly, when asked, am not afraid to tell people. In the legal world, this makes me a businessperson. In the world of women, this often makes me undesirable. Success demands a balance.

Clients want lawyers that inspire confidence. They want to know that you have credentials. How will they know this if you do not tell them? Well, I guess you could send them some correspondence on it. You could have someone else tell them. You could hope that they see your credentials on your webpage or your wall (do people still do that?). But, all of these approaches would be bad business. You have to convey your credentials to your clients and prospective clients in your meetings, calls and other communications so that when they walk away or hang up they have, at front of mind, the fact that you are a phenomenally credentialed lawyer.

Clients want lawyers with experience. They want someone who will not be taking on their important issue as a matter of first impression. Again, you can hope they did research on your accomplishments, you can assume that they read your articles in the last DRI publication or you can remember that you have updated your bio appropriately. These are all bad business as well. You need to be able to tell your story. How else can you be trusted to tell theirs? You don’t have to change your voice, you don’t have to change your clothes, you don’t have to change your skin. But you do need to put on your successful suit, use your “I am all that and a bag of chips voice” and leave no question that you are comfortable in that skin, comfortable, confident and successful.

If you are not great, get to work. If you do not have anything fabulous to display, get to work. Since most of you are great and fabulous, turn up the promotion knob and let people know so they will feel great and fabulous about hiring you.

NZoneDiva Meets Legal Diva - The Dialogue Begins: Succession Planning - Easy for the NFL, Hard for Lawfirms.

Mon, 26 Jul 2010 08:40:00 GMT

Before I ever became a Legal Diva, I was The NZoneDiva. I have been playing fantasy football for more than 15 years and in the early years, I was often the only female owned team in my league. I have been a football fan for more than 30 years and when I saw my first commercial for the upcoming football season this weekend, I was so excited because I felt that was the permission I needed to begin this series I have been quite impatient to start. I am a very complicated woman with many sides and my football personality “NZoneDiva” is going to speak for me and take a few opportunities to “coach” you on some football lessons that lawfirms could benefit from. The first one is succession planning. How can something that dominates the draft, the daily injury report and at times feels like a full time job for so many ESPN commentators, be practically an afterthought for lawfirms?

Perhaps it is the fact that football players and those who make a living from their careers accept the very short longevity of a player’s career. Perhaps it is because they appreciate the need to have succession plans both laterally and vertically to plan for every eventually. Perhaps it is because they even encourage public competition for certain positions so that at any time the lateral succession plan can be invoked if that would be in the best interest of the organization, the team. In any event, while the quality of their succession plans is often highly scrutinized, the existence of them and the transparency of these plans are not.

Meet with any significant client for a relationship update and they will want to know your succession plan for handling their matters. Who will be the next quarterback (first chair trial counsel), running backs (junior partners), wide receivers (associates), defensive line (paralegals) for your major clients?? Who will be your next left tackle and watch the blind side (advanced motions/appellate guru)? Who is your second string quarterback (second chair trial lawyer) that is ready to step in today in the event of an injury? These are all very legitimate questions for clients who have invested substantially in your firm and want transparency with regard to the depth of your current bench and the future talent you will have available.

So, take a lesson from the NZoneDiva and start planning for the unforeseen, the unlikely and the inevitable. While I personally plan to be the Brett Favre of my profession, I am quite sure that the fact that I have put together a lateral and vertical succession plan is of more comfort to my clients than my delusions of longevity.

Next time we will discuss the “Terrell Owens Effect” and the need to make sure that personnel fit within your organization.

Success Can Be Defined, Follow these Six Simple Steps and You Will Get There.

Tue, 20 Jul 2010 17:51:45 GMT

There are certain characteristics of people who matter in business. I am sure you have noticed this. You walk into a room and they are the one that everyone is talking to. When they talk, there is a cadence, a timber, a volume, a confidence, a little something in their voice that lets everyone know that they are confident and that listening to them is a much smarter business idea than not. Apparently, business savvy, unlike pornography, is not just defined by the old standard of “I know it when I see it.” In her recent piece for Inc. Courtney Rubin has identified six qualities of successful small businesspersons. After reading this list, I have to say it resonates for lawyers.

In her piece located at http://www.inc.com/news/articles/2010/07/six-indicators-of-success.html , the list of six qualities translated for me to the people I have met who have succeeded in our profession. These are the qualities identified:

The ability to collaborate. A few months ago I went to leadership camp and it was fabulous and above all else, collaboration was the theme of that experience and so I was not surprised to see that this trait topped the list. The dictator model is not dead by any means in our profession; it is just not the most successful.
Being self-fulfilled. I cannot say enough about this and think that the ability to say, “I love my job” means more for success than you can ever imagine. The more we learn about microaggressions (and microimpacts), the more we know that daily overall job satisfaction is a profound indicator of an overall lack of barriers to success.
Focus on the future. So, this is the notion that life, law and the pursuit of success is a marathon and not a sprint. A former law partner of mine was famous for saying, when he would be in a position of providing someone with short-term disappointment, “the ability to take the long term view is essential to success in this organization.” This is particularly hard for some people, but delayed gratification and planning for the future are keys in this profession.
Curiosity. If you are satisfied with the status quo and never ask any questions about how to do things different, faster, better, then you are not likely to be able to differentiate yourself in this highly competitive market to the point of being highly successful. Ask, ask again, and follow up.
Tech savvy. So we all have our Achilles heel and this one is mine. I am not curious, future focused, fulfilled action oriented or even collaborative when it comes to technology. Intellectually I get it. Technology makes it better, stronger, faster, more polished. Technology can make my products more competitive in ways that intellect and skill cannot. I get it. I admit it, I fear technology. So, I do what I learned at leadership camp, (and for any of these essential skills that you cannot do on your own, you have permission, and in fact are encouraged to do the same) I compensate. I surround myself with technologically brilliant people and they make my organization tech savvy even if I am not.
Action oriented. At the end of the day, you have to be a “do-er.” Lawyers generally suffer from the paralysis of analysis and spend far too long on the conceptualizing part and do not leave enough time for the operationalizing part. This is a very important aspect of success, since you have to succeed at what you do and not what you thought of doing.
So, be fearless, be curious, be technical, be active, don’t just be in the moment, play well with others and love your job and you will be wickedly successful. As with everything, go at the pace that makes sense for you, but make one change today that will put you on the road to success.

The New Girls Network: Doing Business The New Way Is Like The Old Way With Better Shoes

Thu, 15 Jul 2010 09:00:00 GMT

The article, Celebrating the New Girls Network, Celebrating the New Girls Networkreports on the Transformative Leadership Awards dinner held in Chicago on May 24, and discusses what it calls the New Girls' Network, noting 85 out 500 GC in the top fortune 500 are women and more than 50 percent of in-house lawyers are women. Beyond the fact that these numbers seem like something to celebrate (although there is no doubt room for improvement), in simple terms, this means growing opportunities for women to mentor and women to market. Defining and discussing the New Girls Network is interesting and challenging.

The article goes on to discuss the most interesting issues for me:

1. It reminds us that the New Girls Network is no different than doing business like the Old Boys Network, and questions whether we want to foster a technique that arguably oppressed women. It ultimately leads to the conclusion that we need to embrace it. I agree. People like to work with people they like and trust – whether you build relationships with female or male in-house counsel – developing work through personal relationships is a reality of life and the work we do.

2. It warns us that the New Girls Network could be short lived with relationships being less important and with procurement taking over internally in lawyer selection to get the best rates. Although this may be very true, I don't find this overly troubling. First, the relationship at least gets you in the door. Second, this new way of doing things is gender neutral and applies to everyone. At the end of the day you have to deliver a good product. You need to be a good lawyer at competitive rates. This should not be a surprise. In fact, isn't it comforting to know that so does the other guy?!

National Maps: No longer red or blue states, now they are pink or blue.

Mon, 12 Jul 2010 12:00:00 GMT

Being a Southern lawyer, not by birth, but by marriage and inclination, I was eager to read the report by Mark Curriden in this month’s ABA Journal, “Tipping the Scales…In the South, Women Have Made Huge Strides in the State Judiciaries.” It is always interesting as a woman professional to see that women professionals are represented in the same numbers in certain areas as they are in the general population. So, I guess, I would say that generally the trend from baby blue to pink is a good thing. But…

But, I would not be happy if all the states were pink. I would not think it were a good thing if every state had a majority of women on their highest court or if every state had a female chief justice. I can imagine a world where there is as much pink as there is blue. I can imagine a world where the only state maps are blue and red in November. But, I cannot imagine a world of predominately pink maps. For all the reasons that I think that all blue is not ideal, all pink is not either.

For me, the reason that I work so hard to promote the issues for women in the legal profession is that I believe that all lawyers should have an equal opportunity for success, irrespective of gender. I do not believe women should rule the world. I do not believe that a woman is the best lawyer for every job. The day that this map and this blog post are irrelevant, then we can begin to focus on the training and development of lawyers and judges in ways that transcend gender and speak to issues of skill, judicial economy and justice. I hope I am around when it happens. For now, as you can see from this blog, pink is my favorite color and it was imperative that we recognize what is a positive trend. Go Pink!

Women lawyers – get more pay. Recipe for success: Read this article from MCCA (http://www.pardc.org/Publications/SameGlassCeiling.pdf) , send to firm management, then Self-promote, repeat Last Step as many times as necessary.

Fri, 09 Jul 2010 00:50:00 GMT

The MCCA, in conjunction with the Project for Attorney Retention, has published a new report titled "New Millennium, Same Glass Ceiling? The Impact of Law Firm Compensation Systems on Women." (http://www.pardc.org/Publications/SameGlassCeiling.pdf) The report recognizes a pay disparity between men and women law firm partners, noting that women equity partners average $66,000 less, and income partners average $25,000 less than their male counterparts. The report cites several reasons for this pay disparity, including the lack of diversity on compensation committees, the lack of transparency in compensation-setting, and origination credit disputes in which women and minority partners were intimidated, threatened or bullied into backing down. For some women, the information in this report will not be news, and for some men, the information may be shocking.

The report is definitely worth reading and, once read, the question becomes "what should we do with this information?" The easy answer is that we should lobby for change within our organizations. But how? Should we send the report to every member of the firm's management committee and demand change? Sure, but let's be realistic. Which of those members will volunteer to give up their seat on the compensation committee to make way for a woman or minority partner? How many of those on the committee will agree that they should really be giving up a share of their origination credit, and, in turn, salaries, to a woman or minority partner? To paraphrase Tom Peters (whose book, The Little Big Things: http://www.tompeters.com/books/little-big-things/, is a must read) you will rarely affect change by going directly to the top. (Peters goes on to note that the best way to affect change is to work horizontally rather than vertically, recruiting peers and others to your cause and then "the hundreds of small winds will form a blizzard" that will help usher in the needed change.)

I'm all for working on changing the big things like compensation structure and committee makeup, but those things will take time and patience. What I will be focusing on in the short term is the last reason the report cites for pay disparity - women do not promote themselves enough. As noted by one of the report authors, Joan Williams, in an interview by Law360 (http://productliability.law360.com/articles/179413) "[f]inancial raises at law firms often depend on self-promotion by candidates, a process that is seen to reflect confidence and ambition in men, but arrogance in women." Self-promotion is not something most women I know are comfortable with, but it is something, indeed, the one thing in the report, over which we have total control. Mastering self-promotion may not only help us directly in our salary negotiations, but it will also help us show our clients and others how we can add value, which in turn will result in more business and, yes, bigger salaries.

The report notes that women who promote themselves are seen as arrogant, but I have never seen arrogance get penalized. That is, the arrogant male partners with whom I have worked over the years still get paid as much, if not more, than the non-arrogant male partners. So if the price of admission is a little arrogance, go ahead and dish me up some of that. And, while you're at it, please note that I recently received an "atta girl!" from one of our Fortune 500 clients after I skillfully navigated a particularly thorny issue with opposing counsel.

DRI Young Lawyers Heat Up In Miami Beach…Women’s Networking Sets Stage for DRI’s Newest Committee…Women In The Law

Sun, 04 Jul 2010 18:40:00 GMT

The Young Lawyers Steering Committee organized a fantastic seminar in a hot, hot, hot location—Miami Beach, Florida. For three days in June, young defense lawyers from around the country gathered to attend stimulating lectures, network with other young lawyers, give back to the community, and enjoy the beach! While there was much opportunity for working with and meeting lawyers, there was a concerted effort to bring the women together that has resonated with me and for which I would like to acknowledge DRI.

A particularly enjoyable aspect of the seminar was the women’s networking lunch. More than 40 women boarded a bus and traveled to a South Beach restaurant where we were served a delicious meal (I was pleased to see steak on the two-entrée menu—what a hearty break from the usual salads typically reserved for women’s luncheons!) and listened to Pfizer Inc. Assistant General Counsel, Malini Moorthy discuss the lessons she has learned throughout her legal career. As a young female lawyer, I find it inspiring and encouraging hearing the stories and words of advice from women who have traveled this path before me.

Unlike the Divas who consistently contribute to this blog, I am new to the profession and have yet to navigate many of the experiences, obstacles, opportunities, and successes that are sure to lie ahead. I would be lying if I said that I don’t ever think about the challenges presented by being a woman in the line of work I have chosen. The fact is that litigation is a male dominated field—more often than not I am the only woman in the courtroom, mediation, or deposition—that requires long hours, travel, and a sometimes impossible schedule. While this can be challenging for any young lawyer, throwing on gender-bias, family expectations, and trying to figure out that ever pressing and often discussed topic of “work-life balance” can sometimes be overwhelming. But I find comfort in the fact that women like Sandy, Alana, Jill, and Andrea have not only figured out how to balance all of these competing interests, but have thrived as litigators, built successful careers, maintained healthy family lives, all the while serving as mentors and role models in their firm and communities.

I have repeatedly returned to Sandy’s post, If I Could Write a Letter to Me, in which she wrote, “[s]ometimes you do not really know what you are capable of until you see what others have accomplished and the obstacles they have overcome.” I think that many of the women at the Miami Beach luncheon can relate to those words—hearing the stories and advice of an accomplished female attorney and sharing our own experiences with those around us was a wonderful reminder that while women do face unique challenges in this profession, we have an increasing number of role models and supporters to help us navigate these early years of our careers.

Derivative Fame And Why It Really Only Counts If You Do The Thing.

Wed, 30 Jun 2010 14:15:00 GMT

I remember like it was yesterday when my daughter Marley, who is now 16 years old, was 4. She had Shirley Temple curls and we could not go anywhere without people saying how cute she was. One day she and I were at her older brother, Cale’s, soccer game, when one of the organizing women came up to her and said, “You are so cute Marley, how would you like to be a cheerleader next fall?” Marley looked at me, looked at the woman and said, “No, they add nothing to the game.” She explained to me later that they don’t change the score and she wanted to be one of the people that changed the score. Well, she had it figured out at 4 years old, and I was a partner in a major law firm and still an official second chair trial lawyer whose claim to fame was carrying the bags of the important person on the team. She understood the importance of primary power at 4 and yet at 33, I didn’t get it. But she taught me and I learned and I internalized it.

Fast forward 12 years to last night when I was showing Tyler, the youngest of my four, who is now 9 the diva blog and he said, “Can you blog about me, I will be famous.” I told him that, of course I would blog about him but that he would not be famous; I could not make him famous. It was a great conversation, because we got to talk about all the ways to be famous, important and relevant and none of them involved becoming what someone else planned. Tyler has many paths to happiness and some of them may include fame and some of them may not, but I can rest easy with the knowledge that at 9 he knows what Marley knew at 4 and I took much longer to learn…if you want to be one of the people that changes the score, you need to know the rules and fight for the right position. And, be sure you understand, I am not saying that everyone should be a game-changer, but that everyone should get to have the chance to put their experience, talent and credential on the table and say “no, I don’t want that job, I want the other one.”

So, what do we learn from this? Assumptions will be made about women in the workplace as to what they want to do and don’t want to do. These assumptions will sometimes be right. They will probably just as often be wrong, but when they are wrong, how many women will say “no?” There will be assumptions about how to succeed and that the way to do that is to “follow in the footsteps of someone successful.” Well, even if I wear the same size shoes as someone (and that is rare when I am comparing myself to men), after they have walked in them for a while, they just don’t fit me the way they should. Find your own job, find your own path and don’t let assumptions dictate any change in course. Decide if you want to change the score or not, don’t let the game decide for you.

Women In The Courtroom…Confidence…No Confidence… What’s The Difference?

Sun, 27 Jun 2010 11:02:00 GMT

I was fascinated to read the ABA Journal’s Weekly Newsletter coverage by Debra Cassens Weiss entitled, “Women Lawyers Need to Exude More Confidence, Federal Judge Says” As a woman who often spends more time in a courtroom in any given month than in her office, I am always interested in what others, especially judges, think women should or shouldn’t do to be more effective. The part about the article that I found so interesting was the notion that, even if you don’t have confidence, you should “fake it.” I believe this presents a fascinating conundrum. I profoundly believe you cannot be successful as a lawyer, a professional, a leader, a person, if you are not authentic. I also profoundly believe you cannot be successful in a courtroom unless you are confident and even passionate.

I am a very confident person and am confident in the courtroom. I am not confident every minute about everything that I am doing, but I am always confident in my case and my strategy and my ability to do my job and, candidly, just saying this makes me very different than most women. I was raised by a single father in a house that had only men. I enjoy sports and science and find my highest professional success in a solitary concentration, where I am the final decision-maker. If there is a choice between being a leader and being a follower, I am more likely to be aspire to lead than not. When there is a difference of opinion in a group setting, I actually believe my opinion matters and make sure that I have the opportunity to state it clearly. I speak in declarative sentences (and I have recently come to understand that this is very un-female). I am not who this article is about.

So, what is the next step? You must agree with me that we cannot simply accept that only one-off lawyers like me, who, through a unique set of life experiences and predisposition happen to fit the mold that everyone expects women trial lawyers to fit are the only women who should be in a courtroom? Well, I hope that was sufficiently leading and that the “yes” is clear from the question.

So, whether you are a woman trial lawyer or someone who is charged with the growth and development of women trial lawyers, you can take steps to move the dial on the confidence meter. We have to appreciate that women learn confidence (and are therefore authentically able to exude it) in a different way than men. One of the biggest builders of confidence is preparation, and so women, like men must be thoroughly prepared for their time in the courtroom. Another confidence booster is trial skills training that appreciates and incorporates the different type of socialization that women have (playing in groups that play quietly with heads bowed together and take seriously interruption and “bossiness” rather than on teams that compete vigorously and where the highest and best accomplishment is to be the “leader” and so many more that we will need to cover that in a later post). Finally, providing role models who are women who try cases as women, with confidence and passion and also without trying to look, talk or behave like men, and thereby making the courtroom look like a venue where behaving like a female is not an impediment to success. If you are looking for an excuse to fail at being a trial lawyer, then being a woman could very well be that excuse for you. If, on the other hand you are looking for a way to succeed, you will want to find a way to do be confident, to be passionate, and in that way, be successful.

Blogzilla on the Brilliance of Admitting You Cannot Do it All.

Fri, 25 Jun 2010 11:53:00 GMT

In order to get to the point where we were on Wednesday, National Pink Day, that we could actually launch this Blog, months of planning, plotting designing, redesigning, reverse engineering, benchmarking and collaboration were involved. You have the great pleasure, as do I, to get to meet and spend time with some of the most interesting and forward-thinking women at the front of the pack in Alana, Jill and Andrea. They are simply fabulous and you will enjoy them. You will also get to meet as many interesting and challenging “guest divas” as we can entice to join us in this dialog. Stay tuned for this and comment on who you would like to hear from and we will try to get them. But, the purpose of this post is to tell you about the two people who you will not hear from or about, but that you must know exist.

First, there is Amanda, she is a visionary. She watches the world and sees how to deliver a message and then she, like water torture with sugar on top, convinces you that your message is important enough to spend just a little bit more time on. She is brilliant, dedicated and persuasive. She works efficiently and at the end of the day takes more heat than credit, which is profoundly out of proportion, but the nature of a job dedicated to motivating lawyers. So, everyone who has a Director of Marketing (and I get that yours may not be an Amanda, but I am sure they work hard to make you look good), should pause and take a moment and call her/him, go by their office, send a note and say “thanks for working so hard to make my job easier.” Thanks Amanda.

Second, there is Liz. She is the taskmaster. As our Marketing Coordinator, she makes sure that the stuff that belongs on the top is not in the middle. She makes sure that the font is legible and that the links actually link to what they purport to link to. She is the one who is the recipient of the more than 1000 random emails about how we could make it better, different, the same way it was 5 days ago. She is the calm in a storm and indefatigable. She is also the one who embraced and perpetuated my new name. On email number 715 asking “can we” or “should we” or “why don’t we,” I signed the email “Blogzilla.” From that moment on, I became Liz’s first Blogzilla and so no matter how many times I say thank you and dedicate all of the success of the blog and basically the rest of my career to her, it will not be enough. If you are lucky enough to know someone like Liz, someone who does not seek glory, fame or public acknowledgement, someone who will be embarrassed by the fact that I am thanking her in such a public forum and someone whose level of “give a darn” is supreme, you are indeed lucky. I am lucky, I am thankful and I will never forget this adventure when I not only got to work on the development of one of the most fascinating projects of my life, but I got to spend so much time working beside a woman of profound dedication and supreme skills. Thanks Liz.

I firmly believe that divas cannot be divas without help. You cannot boldly proclaim your place in the world unless you can see, appreciate and publically acknowledge the fact that you do not do it all by yourself. I am often amazed by the lawyer who claims to be in charge of everything. I take a different approach. I am good, in fact some days I am great, at what I am good or great at. But I am also not great or even good at so many things and am excited to be on a team, in an office or at a firm where the whole is truly better, stronger, and faster than the sum of its parts. It is rewarding and frankly less work to share the load, share the responsibility and necessarily share the credit with even those who do not seek it or even want it. I look forward to sharing with you stories of the others who make it so much easier, exciting and efficient to be Ezell, but today, as Blogzilla, I want you to join me in thanking the true architects of our platform, Liz and Amanda, divas of a different nature, but divas none the less.

A Message From Bowman and Brooke's Firm Chairman...

Wed, 23 Jun 2010 11:32:01 GMT

As Chairperson of the Firm’s Executive Committee and as an active trial lawyer, I feel the impact women have in the workforce and in the legal world every day, whether they are my partners, clients, opponents, jurors or judges. As a father of a daughter entering the workforce, I'm reminded of the challenges that still exist today. I'm appreciative of this blog as a resource for all women and I'm proud of my “Diva” partners for their initiative.

And having read Jill’s piece on the genesis of the word “Diva”, I did my own “googling”. Being a long time auto products defense lawyer I of course found an “auto” connection:

Diva GT 10F - highly competitive sports and race car

Diva is a car that only few people know. However these cars were extremely successful in racing in the 60ies, they competed at the 1000 km Nurburgring race and at many other sportscar events.

The Diva GT came with Ford engines from 997 to 1650 ccm and looked quite sharp in its fiberglass Heron derived body design. The car was small and nimble and as said a good base for racing. However people didn't see it as a true alternative to a Lotus Elan or TVR Grantura at that time. That's quite different today, when a good and competitive Diva GT fetches a higher price than a contemporary Elan or Grantura, if one is ever offered on the market.

Meet The Divas: Sandra Giannone Ezell-Trial Lawyer, Firm Leader, Wife to her Best Friend, Mother to Fascinatingly Different Four, Author, Speaker, Frequent Flyer, Champion of Diversity and Women in the Legal Profession and Blogger?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 15:00:00 GMT

The legal profession, for better or worse, is a profession based on credentials. Mine are located on a link to this blog if you are interested. I will, however, summarize briefly the street creds that correspond with my day job. I am the managing partner of the Richmond, Virginia office of the national trial firm Bowman and Brooke LLP. My office is, by design, and not by accident, the most diverse large law firm office in the city of Richmond. We specialize in defending corporations in courtrooms all over the country. I have spent weeks and months at a time trying cases in jurisdictions inside and outside of Virginia. My office is a source of challenge, experimentation, learning and great pride as I have the honor of leading, cajoling, and prodding good and honorable people in a profession that I love and a business in which I have invested my money, my talent and my heart.

The leadership component of my job is both fascinating and frustrating. I don’t think this is gender related, but I know many women leaders share this frustration. It is a challenge to employ leadership strategy when I have been trained in law. Maybe it is just interesting to be a leader when it was officially more than twenty years into my legal practice before I received my first formal training in leadership. It is interesting to be engaged in the systematic encouragement of human excellence and efficiency when I studied torts, contracts and sports law. It is, nevertheless, my job, my responsibility and what I do every day, whether I am on location or thousands of miles away, measured laterally or vertically. One of the goals of this blog is to discuss the special and unique issues associated with being a woman in law leadership. It is a simple counting exercise to engage in to determine that, for better or worse, there are just not nearly as many women in the position that I hold within my organization in our profession. I would like to explore the path I have taken, the path that would have made more sense, the differences between men and women in these roles and the expectations that people have of the different genders in these roles. The thing I think you will find is that while everyone is different, I am even more different still. I look forward to a lively debate. My goal is not to cement people in their positions, but to create, encourage and inspire questions about assumptions that will guide progress for our organizations and our profession.

In addition to running an office, I am a member of the Management Committee of my firm. Much has been written and will be written about being the woman or one of a few women in the first or second tier of firm leadership. I guess I should say now that I rarely find anymore that there is a vote or position on any issue that divides down the line of the diverse lawyers on one side and the majority lawyers on the other in any organization. People are just not that simple. So, the interesting aspect to this discussion is what the real value is or isn’t to the present and future of any organization to diversity and what it is like to be the person that is “first.” These issues are fascinating organizationally and personally and I look forward to exploring and comparing experiences. The implications for this, I believe, transcend the traditional law firm structure and apply to organizations generally and so there are a number of other organizational structures where we can see different impacts, actions and reactions and I look forward to exploring these.

Shockingly, all of the things I have described are my "other" jobs. I actually spend my days practicing law. I am a trial lawyer. I will apologize now but I think that mine is the best job you can have in the law or anywhere. I think it is important to love what you do and to believe in the value that you add. In order to be a good trial lawyer, you have to have a certain presence, a sense of self and an ego capable of large consistent blows (this is gender-neutral) and I work on this every day. You also have to be human, humble, honest and honorable (like a 4-H club for lawyers). It is a delicate balance and when you are out of balance your craft suffers. But this just speaks to the presentation or performance aspect, which, when you practice the type of law I do, is a disproportionately small amount of the actual time you spend in your weeks, months, or year. Most of the time, my time is spent getting ready, or more particularly, getting my team(s) ready for the trials which are constantly coming up. I am a defense lawyer. I defend the people who work in different companies and the products that they make or the deals that they enter into. This is me learning their story and telling to the jury. It is that simple.

Over the course of my career, I have probably tried more product liability cases than any other kind. Many cases I have tried involved catastrophic exposure to the men and women who make up the companies that I represent. I have written and given presentations about the role of women in trial teams and I will visit that issue here and go further than I have had the opportunity to in the past.

When I was asked whether I was interested in doing a “blog,” I had a moment of generational anxiety. I am 45 years old and remember when I got a memo (that was a piece of paper we used to get delivered to our desk that conveyed office information of varying levels of import) telling me that it was firm policy and I had to use the new system they had set up for conveying information. They referred to this new system as “email” and apparently I had hundreds of them that I had not accessed. I fought it as long as I could. I have, apparently, in ways that are comfortable and somewhat scary, become my Gramma, I am just more comfortable with what I know.

Nevertheless, I did some research and reading and I watched a movie about a chef who blogged when she cooked a cook book and now I am in. I will not do this every day because I am a busy person, and you have only heard the job part of my life which is important, but by no means the most important part of my life. Community has always been a notion that has been important to me, I could just never find the right one, and professionally, on first glance, none of them ever “looked” like I belonged. Then, one day, I found the community of professional women and legal women and for the first time, there was a group with a common set of experiences, a similarity of challenges and a mutuality of desire to see our community succeed through mutual assistance. It is that sense of community that has driven a technology-averse busy woman like me out into the blogosphere.

So, what we will do is talk about our careers, how to do them, how to grow them, how to create a sense of community, where to go, where we will be, where to meet others, mistakes we have made, mistakes we have avoided and successes we have enjoyed. We will work to introduce you to people we think will help you as you navigate your careers as the one thing we know is that you cannot do this alone. In fact, I believe it is a foundational strength of women that they recognize that it is strength not a weakness to ask for help. We are comfortable both reading maps and asking for directions and being with people who won’t. If you have this ability to flex, I believe, it shows that you are confident in yourself and your place in the world enough to share yourself and your place with someone else in order to make it better for both of you.

Ezell

Meet The Divas: Alana Bassin

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 14:00:00 GMT

I'm a partner in a law firm and a mother of four - almost 7, 5, 3 and 8 weeks. When I originally considered doing this blog with colleagues, I thought "no" for two reasons. First, I didn't think I could squeeze any more time out of the day. And two, I haven't transitioned to the online world. Don't get me wrong, I know how to use Google and my blackberry is a permanent appendage, but I don't Facebook and I'm not on LinkedIn . . . again, I didn't think I had time. More importantly, I want to set the right example for my kids. Some people seem to disclose their most private thoughts on public internet sites. I want my kids to know there are boundaries and use discretion about what a person may want to "post" to the world. Call me old fashioned, but what's wrong with a private journal made of paper that someone writes in with a pen?

However, my colleagues convinced me that I needed to embrace the modern world. Further, given the purpose of this blog - to celebrate and discuss women and diversity in the legal profession - I decided to get on board. I'm not shy about talking about my strong commitment to women and diversity, so what's wrong with writing about it once in a while - using my cyber pen.

Meet The Divas: Jill Jacobson - On the essence of diversity, and the prerogative of divas.

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 12:00:00 GMT

When I was offered the opportunity to be a diva, I was not sure I could carry the title. I pictured divas as high fashion and high maintenance, and I am neither. I am definitely not a fashionista, or even fashionable. I don’t really care about fitting in. I like to stand out, to go where others don’t. I always have. This characteristic has served me well in my legal career – I follow the paths that others don’t and, in doing so, I often stumble onto solutions that others have overlooked or ignored.

But I wanted to add my voice to this blog . . . I wanted to be a diva. So I did what any good lawyer would do – I did some research to see if I could find a basis to support an argument that I am diva material.

I first checked out Wikipedia (the fount of all information, true or not). There I learned that the word “diva” first appeared in the late 19th century to describe female opera singers with outstanding talent. It is derived from the Italian noun diva, a female deity. Essentially, then, a traditional diva was akin to a goddess.

This information, of course, did nothing to assure me that I, too, could be a diva. Although I do manage to perform some pretty amazing feats from time to time (like the time I took the second round of the Grand National Rodeo in the women’s bareback bronc riding competition), I would hardly consider myself a goddess.

So I kept digging. I discovered, through a variety of websites, that the meaning of “diva” has certainly changed from its roots, but it has also changed over the course of the last few years. While it used to mean talented but “temperamental” (such a nice euphemism), a diva is now any woman who knows who she is and what she wants, and she goes out and gets it all with no excuses. She is a strong, independent, talented, successful woman. Divas are confident, assured, and, as I saw on one website, have “hella swagger.” Sandy Ezell is definitely a diva. So are Alana Bassin and Andrea Moody. But me? Really? I do have a swagger, but that might be more a result of my aging joints than anything else (they did tell me that playing rugby would cause me problems later in life – but it was so much fun at the time).

I did more research, this time googling “famous divas” to see what came up. Bingo. At the top of the list was an article about not one but two divas – Patricia Racette and Beth Clayton. These successful opera singers are, literally, classically-defined divas. But they are also divas by today’s standards. They are remarkable because they are out in a world where so many are not, and they are successful in spite of that. They refuse to stay in the closet, refuse to be what they are not. They are strong, and talented, and confident, and they are out.

I applied the test of “substantial similarity” to determine whether I, too, could be considered a diva like Racette and Clayton. Although my singing is much closer to awful than operatic, there are other similarities that do qualify me for diva status. I am substantially similar to Racette and Clayton, two true divas, and, thus, I must also be a diva. But, more than that, I think what this discussion shows is that we can all be divas. All of us can have strength and confidence. All of us have the power to refuse to be someone we are not. We all are able to define and reach our goals, no matter how mighty the necessary struggle, if we choose to do so. For those of you still working on letting your inner diva out, I hope that our blog will help you do so. For those of you who already consider yourself divas, welcome to the ride. I look forward to adding my voice to the wonderfully fabulous voices of the other legal divas participating in this blog. But don’t be surprised if I go off in directions none of the others are going. Isn’t that, after all, the essence of diversity, and the prerogative of divas?

Meet The Divas: Andrea Moody - To Be A Diva Or Not To Be A Diva: Is It Really A Question?

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:45:00 GMT

I had always thought of a diva as someone who was selfish, pampered, and difficult. With that in mind, I must admit that the idea of being branded a "diva", whether a legal diva or some other type, did not completely square with my own self-image. Please allow me to share some of my personal background. I am the second of seven children. I was fortunate to be given the opportunity to have a direct influence on my siblings by helping in their rearing while my parents worked. In that role, I was often faced with making decisions that necessarily impacted my five younger siblings, all of whom looked up to me. As a result, I learned at a young age to take selfless, logical, and practical approaches to problem solving to help secure the best results for all involved. But the most important part of this experience was the fact that I learned to roll up my sleeves and to take a hands-on approach with what came next in our daily adventures. As you might imagine, this background did not contribute to the makings of a selfish, pampered, and difficult person - a.k.a. my definition of a diva. Nevertheless, I remained open to the idea of being branded a diva and helping to author this blog. But, I decided before committing to this blog that I would take some time to do some self-reflection to determine, if in fact, I was indeed diva material. This self-reflection necessarily took me on a journey of where I have been, where I am at, and where I intend to go.

Being able to secure a job right out of law school at Bowman and Brooke, a nationally recognized litigation firm, was a dream come true for me. I received hands-on litigation experience representing Fortune 50 companies in complex litigation, including trial experience, that made me the envy of many of my law school classmates. In my mind, I was well on my way and life was good. However, three years ago, life as I knew it came to a screeching halt. On the eve of what should have been my nomination to the firm's partnership, at age 32, I was heart-broken to lose my husband to cancer and to be left with a two-year old son to raise alone. To say that I needed to regroup is an understatement. Nevertheless, I returned to work with the unwavering mind set that I would still accomplish my professional goals of continuing to grow as a litigator, to become a partner, and to remain active in the legal community. But more importantly, I vowed to accomplish these goals AND to be a loving mother to my son and an active participant in his life. In other words, I refused to allow life's circumstances to derail my hopes and dreams.

With that determination, I rolled up my sleeves and boldly faced the tasks before me, vowing to set out each day to be the best me in both my personal and professional life. Determined to continue to hone my litigation skills, within a month of returning to work after my husband's death, I tried a case that lasted three months. Two years ago, I secured the trust and confidence of my colleagues to become elevated to partner. I remain privileged to be able to represent clients in very complex and often highly publicized matters. I remain committed to equality in the legal profession and, to that end, serve on various diversity committees, volunteer at my law school, and author articles on diversity, while helping to shape policy and serve as a mentor within my own firm. But, without a doubt, the most rewarding role in my life is that of a loving and active participant in my five-year old son's life. (And, yes that means leaving at 3:30 p.m. every Wednesday to take him to karate class!!!)

I, like so many other working mothers, take in all that life has to offer and refuse to miss a beat. And not only do we rise to the occasion, but often-times, we rise above the occasion. So, it is with that reflection that I realized that: "Yes, I am a diva in my own right!". Therefore, it is indeed my pleasure to accept the invitation to be one of the Divas authoring this blog. I invite all of my fellow working mothers to take pride in who you are and the life that you have accomplished. So, not only do I celebrate my fellow Divas with whom I share this blog, but I also celebrate all of our audience. Let the question of whether you are a diva be forever abolished in your mind. Yes, you too are a diva!

Now, let us roll up our sleeves (like we always do) and celebrate all that we are and all that we deserve to become. Welcome!

If I Could Write A Letter To Me

Mon, 21 Jun 2010 11:41:00 GMT

We all think we know what we need to know about ourselves and then we live and grow and experience and realize that while we knew some things, there were far more things that we did not know. Brad Paisley, noted country music singer-songwriter, has a song about a man describing the letter he would write to his younger self, entitled, “If I Could Write a Letter to Me”. In her recent book, What I Know Now About Success: Letters from Extraordinary Women to Their Younger Selves, Ellyn Spragins documents the letters that many extraordinarily successful women would write to their younger selves. They are fascinating and inspirational as well as educational.

Sometimes you do not really know what you are capable of until you see what others have accomplished and the obstacles they have overcome. As the ones in the workplace who are often confused about the distinction between seeking guidance and showing weakness, this body of work is not only fascinating, it is instructive. You can show what you don’t know and still end up knowing it later. You can show that you are not completely in control and end up being the leader. You can show that you are not just concerned but afraid and end up being brave and fearless. Turns out careers are not a series of characteristics but a journey and since either you are on it or you are not, be on it. While you are on it, remember you are not the only traveler and celebrate the travels of others.

What would you put in your letter? I think about my first year as a lawyer, the pride of accomplishment (I am a lawyer now) and realize that finding the door is not the same thing as walking in and joining the party. I think about the focus on work above all other things and realize that relationships and connections were as important if not more important than my ability to write and reason out loud. I think about starting my family my first year as a lawyer and feeling like I had done something too soon and realizing now that I was a pioneer and that of all the things I have ever done, putting family before work was correct, profound, and ahead of the times. So, I would tell myself to look up from my desk and focus on the people and not the work. I would tell myself that the practice of law is a marathon, not a sprint, and while it is ok to reflect at the end of the first turn, we should only celebrate at the mile markers. I would tell myself to give myself some slack and not worry about what people thought about a first year lawyer who showed up pregnant, because frankly who cares. I would tell myself that I do not know the secret to success, but I do know that the secret to failure is trying to please everyone. I have another 25 years to go (unless something goes off plan) and so I wonder what the next letter will look like? What would yours say?

The Obligation of Affinity: This One’s For the Girls.

Wed, 16 Jun 2010 10:19:42 GMT

“We have to look out for our own. If we don’t take care of ourselves, then we are not giving back and we are not paying forward. It is, at the end of the day, the obligation of women to take care of women.” These are sentiments that many intelligent, well-stationed, powerful, future-looking women share and that I want to take a minute or two and push back on. Our affinity group is clearly women, but there are others, and this “obligation of affinity” is common to all such groups. My LGBT colleagues tell me they have it. My African American friends express such beliefs. Hispanics claim and fulfill this belief and agenda. Asian Americans gather in communities of mutual support. I could continue to add to this list and still miss people.

There is something communal and noble and connected about these feelings that I am not trying to dissuade, I am just wondering what would happen if we stopped doing all the work. I am simply wondering why we are doing all the heavy lifting. What would happen if we stopped taking the primary responsibility for our group’s success and put that back on our organizations, in our case, our firms?

There is clear client demand for our success. Failure to recruit, retain, promote and empower women lawyers will mark the failure/end of law firms in the future. So, what would really happen if, instead of doing what we do, when the firm looked to the most seasoned, most powerful, most successful women who have worked, struggled and defied the odds to become successful within the organization and says, “by the way, you have another administrative task that of course you will embrace because of your femaleness, you need to mentor, coach and nurture the next generation of women lawyers,” we say, “no, that is not a woman issue, that is a firm issue.” Will this mark the end of our progress or will this force the organizations to change?

Hannah Rosin, in her interestingly controversial piece, The End of Men in the Atlantic Monthly (7/2010) offers some food for thought on this issue. “As thinking and communicating have come to eclipse physical strength and stamina as the keys to economic success, those societies that take advantage of the talents of all their adults, not just half of them, have pulled away from the rest. And because geopolitics and global culture are, ultimately, Darwinian, other societies either follow suit or end up marginalized. In 2006, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development devised the Gender, Institutions and Development Database, which measures the economic and political power of women in 162 countries. With few exceptions, the greater the power of women, the greater the country’s economic success.”

Ms. Rosin’s perspective, brought down to the law firm economics would seem to indicate that organizational Darwinism favors the rise of the woman within law firms. Put another way, organizations that do not recruit, retain, promote and empower women are set up to fail in the new competitive arena that is our global economy. So today’s food for thought is maybe we should get out of our own way. Maybe we should stop letting our “feelings” about the need to help those that look like us succeed use up all our energy and let our firms off the hook. We are spending our valuable personal energy on that pursuit when really our organizations who, from an evolutionary perspective, need these women to succeed should own that responsibility. Imagine how much more successful we would be if we weren’t carrying our entire gender on our shoulders.

Ezell

Mentoring-Teach, Learn, Grow.

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 08:44:26 GMT

One of the things that we get to do once we get to be seasoned (and don't we love that word?), is we get to pay it forward. I doubt there is anyone reading this who does not have a mentor program (whether formal or informal) in their firm structure. Those are great, but they are limited and limiting. At the end of the day, you can only learn and teach so much in a relationship of relative power. That is the reason I think it is so exciting to have the opportunity to mentor outside your financial zone of influence. Many of the bar associations to which we belong have set up organizations that encourage these relationships and those are all worthwhile and I applaud all of you who are involved in those. One organization that I think is particularly exciting is the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) and they are finalizing a mentor pairing initiative and they are particularly in need of lawyers in certain parts of the country, including Chicago, Philadelphia, New York, New Jersey and Washington, D.C. If you have the time, do this. If you don't have the time, do this. The relationships that you form in these environments are rewarding in both directions.

I have four children. I remember before my first was born, almost 20 years ago, I thought about all the things I would teach him. I planned for the things I would show him. I knew that this kid would have the value of my perspective, but not just mine. He would have the value of my humor, but also my seriousness. He would be taught to love sports and music. What I did not count on and what I realized on the second day he was alive (I slept through most of the first) and have not stopped learning since is that I would not just be the teacher, I would also be the student. He taught me his perspective, but not just his. He taught me a different approach to both humor and seriousness. He taught me that the best sports were the ones your kids play and the best songs were the ones you sing in the car when you are stuck in traffic. Being a mentor is not exactly like being a mom, but it is not a one way relationship either. We seasoned professionals can get stuck in a seasoned way of thinking and the more relationships we have with the new and exciting and excited and unseasoned and unrestrained people in our profession, the more we will learn and remember about the world, the profession and the future of our organizations and the people we are responsible for. Be a Mentor-you will learn so much.

Ezell

Were You There? DRI Diversity Conference Rocks Chicago Again in 2010

Fri, 11 Jun 2010 16:04:02 GMT

Once again, the DRI Diversity Committee held its annual conference in Chicago in June. Were you there? It was a wonderful combination of professional networking, community, celebration of success and commitment to future development. The diversification of the legal profession generally and our law firms particularly is an issue with many dimensions. The gathering of diverse individuals from around the country, attorneys just starting out, seasoned lawyers, managing partners and in-house counsel was, as always, awe-inspiring. For just a minute, an hour, a day, two days, we took some time away from whatever it is that we do for a living and we focused our combined efforts and business intentions on the space that diversity occupies in our profession. Diversification of America’s law firms has, at its core, the need to recruit, retain and promote/empower diverse and women lawyers.

Such simple concepts, however, have existed and been identified for years and while there has been progress, there is progress to be made every day in all of our places of business. I had the good fortune to spend my afternoon with the managing partners and the in-house counsel and this meeting was a fantastic opportunity for a dialogue between the people with the power to actually effectuate change in the system. If the clients provide incentives and requirements, then the businesses who rely on those clients for their livelihood will respond to those expectations. The clients were able to explain and the law firms listened; diversity is part of the definition of quality that will be a determinant in the selection of legal talent. Diversity of thought that can only occur with decision-makers and problem-solvers with different sets of life experiences who view the same problem through different lenses. Diversity is not just something that is nice to have; it is a business imperative for our clients and is, according to them, becoming more so as they forecast their legal needs into the future.

This issue becomes even more interesting when we consider the globalization of our businesses. With so many of our corporate clients partnering with businesses in other nations, the ability to appreciate the principles of inclusion, diversity, difference and cultural competence have grown exponentially. Our profession, our country, our world has changed so much in recent years. We have seen things happen with pioneers of power that were unfathomable a decade ago. But, as we recognized over the course of these last two days, while it is ok to take a minute, an hour, a day, two days, to pause and celebrate our accomplishments, even while we are doing that, we need to be planning the work of the future. Our clients have made their statement. Diversity is what they expect-in our firms, on our teams, on our side of the courtroom, in our management structure and getting credit for their business. We can either listen and be successful or not listen and take our chances. Me, when given the choice of failure or success, I chose success.

Ezell

Success Requires Authenticity of Nature and Plan, Not so Easy In a World Created Before We Got Here.

Fri, 04 Jun 2010 05:35:00 GMT

When I started practicing law, all women wore these bow tie scarf things that scared me and suits with skirts only. This always struck me as bi-polar, ties to emulate men and skirts because it was proper. It was 1990 when I graduated from law school and after having a discussion in 1989 with my soon to be husband and then ex-husband about the fact that I wanted to be a lawyer and a mom and not necessarily in that order, I applied for and “won” the much coveted position of the only associate, in our class of double digit new associates joining the firm that year, who would get the position in the appellate department. I was an appellate lawyer. I bought my skirts, decided my neck was just too short for the scarf tie things and reported to the little room that looked like a closet but was referred to as an office where I was supposed to sit, and read, and write and then read again and write again and then when it was dark outside and had been that way for a while, go home. Next day, repeat as indicated. WHAT A DISASTER. I am a woman of words, yes, but spoken words, words spoken early and often, words spoken spontaneously and words spoken to humans not to dicta-phones (it was the 90s) with the hope if not the anticipation that the human will speak back. I was not meant for the closet. It was not a happy place because when I showed up every day I had to set aside the thing that I would come to be known for, the skill I would embrace and would put braces on my kids teeth, the ability that would give me not just a platform but a paycheck, I had to sit down and work, QUIETLY. Don’t get me wrong, I am a hard worker, and I did good work, for a first year. But I was not able to produce magic because my magic was gone and the sad part is that I gave it away, it was not taken.

Ezell Lesson one, learned early: You cannot change your essential nature and be wildly successful. Since this lesson, which took days to learn and months to correct, I have continued to study myself and keep track of who I am so as never to make this mistake again. I have taken tests to tell me the answer to these questions about what I need and what environment sets me up for success. I am an extrovert, with a strange little introvert twist. But, bottom line, I need to talk. I need to talk loud. I talk in declarative sentences. When I talk, I need people to listen. I also need to direct and persuade people. I need to strategize. I need to strategize out loud. I need to be in situations where by nature and necessity I am allowed or forced to think on my feet, to decide in the moment, to react and move forward. I need to be involved in human activity and I need to see the beginning, middle and end of everything.

For all of these reasons, I am, was and always will be a trial lawyer. I was born, evolved into, shaped as, molded to be and created in the image of a trial lawyer. Many people make jokes about the profession that I boldly, gladly, loudly and proudly claim, but, let’s face it, we are funny. We are also serious, ethical, honorable, relevant, revolutionary, cutting edge, and funny (in both the laugh at and laugh with kind of way). So if your joke about lawyers is funny, I will laugh. If it is not, I will not, but at the end of the joke, either way, I will still be a trial lawyer, which is the greatest profession in the world. This is a profound honor and responsibility and I both love and appreciate it each and every time I get to stand up and say, “Good Morning Ladies and Gentlemen of the Jury.” It is exceptionally demanding work, but the rewards are worth it.

So, at the end of your lawyer joke, I may laugh, but I will still be a trial lawyer and the biggest lawyer joke for me will be that for a short time in my young career I fooled myself into thinking that I could live in my head, that I could sit in a room and use only my legal mind and disregard the rest of me, the essential me, the on-the-spot strategist, the consummate preparer, the take-no-prisoners advocate, the talker, the declarer who performs my art, my trade, my craft in the most important venue there is. When I think of this I still laugh at the arrogance and certainty of my youth. I was so sure I had figured it out that it is shocking to think about the pieces of the puzzle that were not even in my puzzle box.

So, my women, my readers, my people, today’s message is, as you navigate this profession of ours, be who you are, not what people think you ought to be. Don’t compromise, don’t take short cuts, be your bold, your daring, your loud, your most audacious self and then (and arguably for most of us only then) you will realize the thing that I have…a love of, an appreciation for and a belief in my profession and my place in it. I love my job. I love what I do. I love the adrenalin that marks the beginning of every new trial.

Do you love your job? Are you proud of what you do? Do you project your accomplishments and pride onto your children and your team? If not, if you find that you fall short of being in love with your days, then look back. Did you make a misstep? Did you ebb when you should have flowed? Did you bend when you should have bowed? Worries not women, mistakes are just opportunities for learning. The bigger your mistake, the bigger a change you can make. Find that one thing in your day, in your practice, in your business, in your zone of influence that makes you proud and gives you height and be loud, be bold, be brazen – you have permission. In fact, I implore you. Plan your change right now. Use chocolate, it helps the planning process, and unless you really, really, I mean really love them, get rid of those bow tie scarf things, we are not girl versions of men.

Ezell

Don’t You Wish Your Lawyer Was Hot Like She? Beauty Bias in the Selection of Trial Counsel: Bad Trial Strategy.

Sat, 29 May 2010 18:34:20 GMT

I have written, been published and won awards for the paper I wrote on gender bias in the selection of trial counsel. This is an area that matters to me, that matters to our clients, that matters to our success and should be at front of mind, not behind closed doors, when trial counsel is selected. Looks matter, not a shocker. But, the question is, as with all information, what do we do with this news? How do we factor it into the analysis of how we pick our trial teams and how do we prevent unconscious beauty bias from preventing the selection of the most qualified, most persuasive, most deserving trial lawyers?

If you read the National Law Journal, and who doesn’t, you probably saw Tresa Baldas’ article, “A pretty face bolsters the defense, Cornell study finds” on May 17, 2010, where she reports that unattractive defendants are convicted at a rate that is disproportionately higher than attractive defendants in criminal matters, evincing a clear beauty bias as it relates to belief in criminality. This issue, however has many dimensions and cuts across many lines within our society generally and our profession particularly. For those of us not personally involved in a criminal trial as a defendant, the beauty bias phenomenon is also covered by Deborah L. Rhode in The Beauty Bias: The Injustice Of Appearance in Life and Law, who scientifically explores the relative difference in life experience, including in professional opportunity, for the attractive few and the not-so-attractive majority.

If you are surprised to hear that attractive people have it easier than those who have gifts and talents in other areas, then you may want to read up on this. Most of us, however, are not shocked, are we, to find out that when looked at as a whole, attractive people make more money and they get more opportunities? That the business of the practice of law is reflective of society generally, is not surprising to anyone either is it? But, as with everything, the fact that a fact is a fact is not as interesting as what we do with it. So, I would imagine that some of you who are reading this (but disproportionately few) are overwhelmingly attractive. Don’t stop reading. While there was a time when it was not true, in fact, it was profoundly not true; I do not harbor any ill will toward the “hot” among us. They have a gift of genetics, usually supplemented by social and financial advantage that I believe it is fair to say is given to few, wished for by many, and noticed by all. I would be a profound hypocrite indeed to make overwhelming generalizations about pretty people. People, I have learned, are people. They are all wonderful and all flawed. They all need to be viewed as individuals and judged on their relative merits by other individuals. Prejudice is a word with roots in the concept of “pre-judging” and I don’t think it is fair to pre-judge anyone, pretty or not. But, as the studies show, general advantage is afforded to those of beauty and how that affects firm decisions about associate training development and client decisions about staffing trial teams is a topic of new interest to me. I have not consulted a jury consultant on this issue. (But I think any jury consultant who studies this would be spending their time wisely-and any who has is invited to comment). I have not done much of a literature search. (But, I wasn’t finding much on this specific issue.) So, what I have to offer today are my observations about trials, juries and trial teams. This is something I have personal experience with and so I offer my musings as a thought starter and hope for input and challenge and debate and progress in this area.

First, I would offer the notion that it is true that people notice beauty. Sometimes an attractive person is the perfect platform upon which to place your message. (Yes, that was my Captain Obvious point, but I didn’t want to leave it out.)

Second, people notice beauty, but they also notice favoritism. They also notice unfair advantage. You have all been in the room, in the family, or in the conversation where it is mentioned that the person, generally a woman, did not get there on merit, but rather she got it, whatever it is, because of her looks. (But, I must say that I have had many experiences lately where I have seen this same analysis applied to men, so I do not think this is exclusively a gender issue.) This is true in every aspect of our life. This is true in the PTA. This is true at the cocktail party. This is true at the office. This is true in the partnership. This is true in the boardroom. This is true at the grocery store. This is true at the nightclub. This is true in high school. This is true in the nursing home. This is true when people are selected to pitch for new business. This is true when people are selected to try cases. This is true when lawyers are considered for elevation within organizations. People are suspicious of the beauty bias. Juries are made of people, so I would assume they would be suspicious as well. Where this suspicion takes them I am not certain. But, the idea that a jury could be thinking, “If they are giving us the set of facts that are the truth, why do they need such a good looking team to do it…easy facts/truthful facts tell themselves?”, must be considered and accounted for in sophisticated staffing.

Third, people who are not attractive have a different set of life experiences than people who are. They may have gone to all the same schools, worked at the same law firms and attended the same functions, but the quality of those experiences has been different. For this reason, a mixed trial team that includes all types of people will bring the most diverse perspective and most balanced approach to problem-solving and communication. This is a proven method for success.

Fourth, juries need a trial lawyer that they can relate to. The need someone who can tell them what the case is about. The extent to which that person is familiar, comfortable, and real may affect their ability to hear the same message in a different way. This ability to relate cannot be discounted. As a client, you need to strongly consider the value of having a “real person” tell your story. A real person is someone who is technically excellent and aesthetically flawed. They are brilliant and prepared and deliberate and convincing; they are overweight and bald and wrinkled and plain. Regular people are comfortable with regular people. They feel comfortable talking to them; they feel comfortable listening to them. They may not be attracted to them, but they understand that they are doing a job and respect that. They are reminded of their mothers, their fathers, their sisters, their daughters. They do not feel sold to, they feel related to.

After all, what is the true role of a trial lawyer? To convey the facts, the evidence, the story in a way that will be most likely to have the jury hear and accept the facts presented on behalf of their client. It is really that simple. Facts win cases; there is no question about that. Some times the facts are so overwhelmingly slanted in one direction that who is delivering them makes absolutely no difference. Oftentimes, however, the messenger matters.

So, where are we? I need to take a slight detour around the block between here and the end of my musings and say, you could put blinders on the jury or NOT and overwhelmingly the lawyer who will be most successful in a courtroom does not have a certain look, they have a certain recipe for success. The best messenger is the one that is prepared and rehearsed. There is no substitute for preparation, both in plan and strategic responses to things unplanned. Experience can help, but preparation wins the important fights, and in the real wars, the battles add up. Preparation has the Superman effect. No matter what kind of Clark Kent you are, in the court room you run, leap and see like you never thought possible.

Detour over. Some of the best lawyers I know are “hot.” They are excellent lawyers because they have excellent skills, not because of their genetic gifts. Some of the lawyers who have been given opportunities to be trial lawyer, but who should not have been are also “hot.” This is unfortunate for many reasons, but two come to mind. These lawyers are set up to fail and often do. Other lawyers who are better, have a better craft, have a better skill set, and lack certain aesthetic gifts have not had similar opportunities. I guess a third problem is that our system, our clients, our juries and our future generations, have suffered because the best lawyers have been unfairly prevented from getting the opportunities they deserve while others have taken their place

I think merit should win. When there are decisions to be made, merit should prevail. When selecting trial lawyers, don’t just look, but listen, think, remember this beauty bias and bring it from your subconscious to your conscious so you are not affected. Also, law firms, do better, offer our clients your best and your brightest and don’t limit this to your beautiful. It is profoundly disturbing that law firm decisions about client exposure, training, promotion and eventually compensation are based on genetic mutations. How embarrassing. But, to let this bias allow us to fail to provide what is clearly in our client’s best interest is unforgivable.

Fabulous idea, so now what? To stop it we have to talk about it. So, talk about it. When there is a decision and a “hot” beats out a “not so hot” ask about the relative merits of the candidates and the tracks and training they were provided. Ask why again. Bring in the criminal study above. Bring in the book. Ask about the beauty bias issue and whether or not it factors in to decisions made within your organization. One thing we have learned in the last 20 years -- to deal with a problem, you have to talk about it. One thing I have learned, it is far more effective to ask questions that to cast aspersions, so ask questions.

If I were in charge, trials would be tried by diverse trial teams that reflected the population at large in age, gender, race, sexual preference, body morphology, socioeconomic upbringing, geographic origin, veteran status, parental status, and anything else I can think of that brings a different set of experiences to the table that will make it easier to see the story we have to tell and put it together in a way that makes it easy to hear by a group of diverse individuals who need to hear it.

Shout Out! Top 10 Companies for Executive Women

Thu, 27 May 2010 14:17:35 GMT

There are many lists in the business world that you want to be on, and, let's be honest, many that you do not. I want to take a moment right now and give a shout out to the Top 10 Companies that were just recognized by DiversityInc., as being the Top 10 Companies for Executive Women. What a cool list to have. To think that this is such an important component of the business environment in which we live that companies will compete for and 10 will receive recognition because of the work that they do and the environments they create for women to become leaders and doers and shapers in their organizations. This is a list that did not exist at the beginning of my career and which may not be necessary when our daughters are professionals, but for now, I want to stop and celebrate the competition for this honor and the winners. For a more fulsome and robust understanding of the criteria and the similarities of the winning companies, check out DiversityInc's website. The justification for the selection of the winners of these awards cannot be contained within one sentence, but I am a woman of words, so I will do my best. Winning companies overwhelmingly encourage a culture where barriers to success are removed and tools for accomplishment are provided with a recognition that gender balance in leadership makes for a profoundly more effective, more vibrant, more productive and more sustainable company. The winning companies, in order of recognition, are:

Sodexo
PricewaterhouseCoopers
Johnson & Johnson
Kaiser Permanente
Health Care Service Corp.
Marriott International
Abbott
Comerica
Bank of America
Ernst & Young

Congratulations to those of you who received recognition this year for your accomplishment and best of luck to those companies who will re-double your efforts in 2010 to take the place among the winners when the new slate is announced next year.

Ezell

DRI Diversity for Success Seminar

Wed, 26 May 2010 11:40:00 GMT

DRI Diversity for Success Seminar - June 10, 2010 - Chicago

Where you spend the few hours that you have when you are not with your family and billing your hours really matters. You need to maximize your network and build your credential. One of the first and best seminars for me in this regard has been the DRI Diversity Seminar and Corporate Expo in Chicago. This seminar has something for everybody. As a diverse or woman lawyer, you have an opportunity to network and connect nationally with lawyers who, while they have a many differences from you, have a shared experience that should be and is celebrated and expanded upon at this seminar. You also have a group to work with on the issues that are of primary importance to you as a legal practitioner in today's profession. As a corporation, you have the opportunity to benchmark with other corporations as to their diversity initiatives and how they are weathering these economic struggles while still focusing on the core values that made diversity of background, thought and experience so important to the future growth and strength of their various organizations. Corporations also have an unparalleled opportunity to interview diverse defense lawyers from around the country who are available to meet their current or future staffing needs. As a firm manager, this seminar is the best of all possible worlds. You have a place to send your best and brightest and give them the tools they need to grow and become the future lawyers and leaders we need them to be. You have a chance to share your experiences and challenges with other firm leaders who are committed to diversity in the legal profession and are faced with balancing that commitment with all of the other commitments we firm leaders face on a daily basis. You also get the opportunity to network and build relationships with defense lawyers who are also diverse and women and create synergies that will provide you with future opportunities to service your clients and grow as a leader and a lawyer. Finally, you will have a rare opportunity to have a candid conversation with in-house lawyers about diversity and business and client service and build relationships around these issues for the future of your business, your firms and your profession. Hope to see you there! On site registration is available, so come if you can.

Ezell