Event for Women Lawyers

Posted on October 27, 2021
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WILEF logoWILEF EAST ONLINE EVENT INVITATION 
Virtual Program:
WILEF East Young Lawyers Committee Presents:
Work Life Integration: Obstacles and Remedies for Working Women Attorneys 
EVENT DETAILSDate:Thursday, December 9, 2021Host Firm:Mayer Brown LLPProgram:12 p.m. to 1:30 p.m. ESTFormat:Virtual
REGISTRATIONTo Register click here

If the link does not work, please copy the following URL into your browser:
www.wilef-events.com/?event=124If you experience difficulty registering, please email Silvana Del Carpio-Crawford WILEF Global Director of Administration for assistance.IMPORTANT: The link for the online event will be shown on the page after registration and also in the confirmation email that you will receive.
WELCOMELaura C. TuranoPartner, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP and Chair, WILEF East Young Lawyers Committee.
MODERATORJoe MacraeFounder and Chairman, Macrae, Inc.
CONFIRMED SPEAKERSDonna Edbril, Esq.Donna Edbril CoachingElisheva M. HirshmanSenior Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Employment & Litigation, PVH Corp.Johanna MayerAssociate, Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP and Member, WILEF Young Lawyers CommitteeCamila PanamaAssociate, Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLPBronwyn F. PollockPartner, Mayer Brown LLP and Co-Chair, WILEF Southern California
PROGRAM DESCRIPTIONMany law firms are struggling to “accommodate” the needs of working mothers and single women.  Firms seem to pour on the work with no limits.  That’s probably why Big Law has been losing associates while having record revenues.  WILEF is attempting to drive home the fact that law firm leaders need to “curb their enthusiasm,” and get to know the limits of how much work one individual is capable of doing.  With some exceptions, it isn’t pretty. Our themes will focus on how to avoid being stretched to the max and being comfortable with saying “enough already”.Audience members will connect virtually to the program and can submit questions to the panelists through the Mayer Brown platform. We look forward to talking with you on December 9 at noon!
Please visit www.wilef.com to learn more about WILEF. In addition, please visit www.wileftribune.com, the only online magazine devoted to women in law from the largest law firms and corporate law departments. The Women in Law Empowerment Forum has sponsorship opportunities available. Becoming a WILEF sponsor can enhance your women’s initiative or serve as your women’s initiative! For further information, please contact [email protected].You received this e-mail message due to your interest in WILEF. To unsubscribe [email protected] from receiving future e-mail communications from WILEF for online events only  please click here.
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Thought For The Week: “There’s no such thing in anyone’s life as an unimportant day.” Alexander Woollcott

Posted on October 25, 2021
Thought For The Day | Comment

Diversity and Inclusion Matters

Posted on October 20, 2021

Here is an important story about law firms stepping up on the issue of diversity and inclusion:

https://abovethelaw.com/2021/10/top-50-biglaw-firm-offers-associates-50-billable-hours-for-diversity-inclusion-work/

I am aware that not everyone agrees about the importance of diversity and inclusion and that some of you may feel that you have suffered setbacks as a result of the emphasis those subjects are getting these days. I am not jumping into that discussion. But I want to give recognition where it is appropriate for those firms that are becoming serious about the subject. In this most recent effort at K&L Gates, all lawyers are able to reap a benefit in getting involved and seeking solutions.

I have served on a number of non-profit boards during my career, and the one I give the most time to now is a trust for land conservation. Our goal at the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (www.nvct.org) is to preserve as much open space as possible to benefit the well-being of our human, animal and plant populations and to combat the effects of climate change. We recognize that we cannot do that effectively if we are not equipped to engage diverse populations in our cause. So that is what we do. Soon I will participate in a training session to make our board and our staff more proficient in our messaging to diverse populations and to engage and include those populations in our important work.

Each of us has the potential to do what we can where we can.

Career Counselors, Law Firm Managers, Law School Educators, Law Students, Practice Advice, Pre-law, Young Lawyer | Comments Off on Diversity and Inclusion Matters

Thought For The Week: “With confidence, you have won before you have started.” Marcus Garvey

Posted on October 18, 2021
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Thought For The Week: “Progress is not possible without deviation.” Frank Zappa

Posted on October 11, 2021
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What’s in the News for Women Lawyers?

Posted on October 7, 2021

The big news this Fall at law firms and other law employers continues to center on when members and employees will be required to return to brick and mortar offices. It is a mixed bag.

Some law firms are being cautious and projecting the end of the year or the beginning of 2022 as the return time. Although COVID 19 and the delta variant are on the run throughout the country as the result of increased vaccination rates, concerns about workforce discontent and liability seem to be fueling the caution at law firms. However, vaccination mandates at some law firms likely will reduce those concerns and accelerate return dates.

And clients are weighing in as well. An executive at Morgan Stanley is out on a limb telling outside counsel to get their lawyers back in the office pronto, and Kelley Drye & Warren, which appears to be a bit of an outlier among firms on this subject, recently announced an ambitious return date.

The issues are huge for lawyer mothers. I wrote about the challenges for those lawyers working from home during the pandemic in my May 2021 column in the ABA Journal and touched on it again in my June 2021 column where I also alerted lawyer moms to the the need for balance between home and office to safeguard their careers and their upward mobility as they return to office settings. 

The latter column became controversial, with 7100 readers of the ABA Journal “liking” the column and hundreds of commentators on social media disagreeing and misinterpreting the message. However, controversy is a springboard for valuable discussion, and I am happy to be the one to have called the question. As a response to this controversy and the firestorm on Twitter, mainstream legal media (Bloomberg Law, The American Lawyer and The Federalist) supported my opinions and advice. The issues I raised also have been the subject of a cover story in the Sept/Oct issue of the ABA Journal print magazine and an ABA webinar. 

Raising the issues is what I have done for the last 15 years at Best Friends at the Bar. And there is plenty to talk about these days. 

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Thought For The Week: “We can always begin again.” Sharon Salzberg

Posted on October 4, 2021
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