I promised you more from the Georgetown Women’s Law Forum that was held on June 14th, and here it is. Be sure to read this in conjunction with the last blog to get the full impact. The panelists were all powerful women lawyers, and they were telling it like it is. No sugar coating from them. They want you to succeed, and they are giving you a road map to make that happen. All you have to do is read and remember.
Here are more words of wisdom:
- Women are hired because they are “warriors.” They need to act like it at all times;
- Find mentors and sponsors that will help you get where you want to go. Mentors are teachers, and sponsors look out for opportunities for you and speak up on your behalf. Both mentors and sponsors should be lawyers with the skill sets you want to achieve;
- Women leaders must identify young lawyers to sponsor;
- Doing good work is necessary but it is not enough. You must do more to get ahead. That involves getting out of your office and networking, developing clients and getting to know your colleagues and let them know you;
- Women typically possess qualities that are beneficial in business. Women are great relationship builders, natural multi-taskers, good listeners and excellent fact gatherers. However, they often do not understand the value of these attributes in business. Make sure you do not underestimate your value;
- Diverse legal teams are happy legal teams. Diverse teams are more effective because they include more perspectives. Demonstrating the value of diversity is up to you and depends on dedication to your job and the professional nature of your work;
- Women need to stop being self-deprecating when asked for their opinions. That is often the result of cultural limitations, but it has no place in the office setting;
- Although many women general counsels of corporations want to give work to outside female counsel, it is not always possible because of long-standing counsel relationships. You cannot assume it or count on it;
- Being “seconded” from a law firm to a corporation is an excellent way to get exposure to office of general counsel. There is currently a “critical mass” of women in corporations, and corporations are working to promote women, both in the company and in outside counsel;
- Cyber Security is a huge growth area in the law. Work in this area does not require an extensive technical background and can sometimes mean translating the technical rules into English and applying the law;
- Law firms are becoming targets of hackers because they are the repositories of client information. Enterprise security activity in law firms is on the rise and involves integrating privacy considerations with IT and other cyber security activities. There are great opportunities for lawyers who understand the need for and objectives of cyber security; and
- Reducing the cyber security vulnerabilities to financial risk calculations is often the most effective way to get attention to the subject.
I hope that you see the value of knowing information like this at the early stages of your careers. The women who gave their time as panelists last week certainly do, and it is a credit to Georgetown Law to sponsor this kind of candid and open forum on women’s issues. Watch for it next year and Be There! I know I will be.
