Amazing Firms, Amazing Practices

General Mills' Roderick Palmore

According to Roderick Palmore, executive vice president, general counsel and chief compliance and risk management officer at General Mills Inc:

"The statistics speak for themselves.  They say our progress in the profession has been disappointing."

Attention Managing Partners:

More than 100 general counsel executives of Fortune 500 companies and managing partners of U.S. law firms are convening next month in an effort to come up with specific ways to improve diversity in the legal profession Managing Partners

The 100 GC’s (in addition to Palmore from general Mills), will include the likes of

General Mills Inc.
The Boeing Co.
Prudential Financial Inc.
Microsoft Corp.
Johnson & Johnson
Tyson Foods Inc.
The Coca-Cola Co.
Bank of America Corp.

See the full story at Law.com in Amanda Bronstad’s piece today called GCs and Law Firm Managing Partners to Convene Over Diversity (also the source of Palmore's photo in this post)

Take this Harvard test and get your own (possibly surprising) results in five minutes.

Thank you to The Complete Lawyer for "Test Yourself For Hidden Bias" in the Surveys and Research section.

Two notes of optimism today for the legal profession:

“Forget the old stereotypes of law firms as inhospitable to women,” said Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine.  “As Working Mother examined the practices of many of the nation’s law firms, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a number have been quietly changing their policies in recent years to reflect changes that are afoot in society as a whole.  The 2007 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are making women’s issues a priority, and the success of their policies will hopefully become reflected in the number of women, from associates all the way up to partners.”

See the full press release including the 50 Best Law firms for Women  (Note - this is a PDF)

More than three-quarters of the UK's top 50 law firms have introduced flexible working… Regional-based firm Mills & Reeves tops the table in terms of numbers of fee-earners taking up flexible working in the last year, according to a poll conducted by The Lawyer. Of the firm’s 407 fee-earners, 153 are no longer working traditional nine to five hours. This is the equivalent of 38 per cent of the workforce.

See the full story: Top UK firms embrace flexible working   (UK's: The Lawyer.com)

Punchline:  It's refreshing to read about some significant progress in this area - I grow weary of those who suffer from "hardening of the attitudes".

“Women at modern-day law firms are so petrified of appearing unproductive that they sometimes conceal cancer or heart attacks to avoid being marginalized” according to Linda Robertson, a veteran Vancouver lawyer as reported in one of Canada’s top National Newspapers, The Globe and Mail, describing a session at The Canadian Bar Association annual meeting held recently in Calgary

The presenters included The Right Honourable Beverley McLachlin, P.C.?Chief Justice of Canada who is quoted, among other things, as saying:

““The reality is that women entering the profession in droves have suddenly found themselves confronted with a very difficult, inflexible model of practice.”

“This is the question, I believe, for the future. How do we structure the way lawyers -- women and men – work; the way they live, the way they serve the public?”

My View:  As a Canadian Lawyer (now residing in Anguilla), I am proud of the remarks of the Canadian Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada and hope that all Managing Partners, regardless of where their firms practice, will commit to making the practice of law attractive to all lawyers, regardless of gender (or ethnicity for that matter).

Read the whole article.

Added Note:  At least some firms seem to have made progress on this front - you may want to glance at the 50 Best Law Firms for women.

PROTECT ME!!!  The Daily Mail (UK) is either the most fair-minded  publication on the planet or the most confused - in an article titled "Women talk three times as much as men, says study" the near-ending reads:

Deborah Cameron, an Oxford University linguistics professor with a special interest in language and gender, said the amount we talk is influenced by who we are with and what we are doing.

She added: "If you aggregate a large number of studies you will find there is little difference between the amount men and women talk."

PUNCHLINE:  Stereotypical typecasting psychobabble should be seen for what it is and avoided at all costs.

In July of 2006, The National Association of Women Lawyers challenged law firms to double the number of women equity partners and for corporations to double the number of women chief legal officers by 2015. 

The survey released today gives us a score – tells us where we are today, and it's not a pretty picture.  Why if 45% of associates are female are only 16% or women equity partners and why are they compensated less than men?  The answers may be uncomfortable but they must be addressed.

"The Survey also found that women play a less extensive role in the governance of law firms, with only 16% of governance committee members and 5% of managing partners being women."

Check out this EarthTimes.org posting for the full story.  It includes quotes by Cathy Fleming, President of NAWL and a partner at Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge LLP, like this one for instance:

"What gets measured gets done," she says. "By providing quantitative benchmarks on the retention and promotion of women attorneys, NAWL expects to help advance the cause of women in the legal profession."

I congratulate Cathy Fleming and her organization for what they are attempting to achieve.

Can the American Bar Association possibly be correct?  If so, then: 

"Eighty-one percent of minority women quit private law firms within five years because they get shunted into dead-end jobs and aren't welcomed the way other new employees are, according to an American Bar Association report."

This according to a news report today in the Miami Herald: "Minority women held back in private law firms"

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American law firms could learn a lot from the exemplary efforts of some South African law firms we have the privilege of serving.   Admittedly, they are spurred forward by their Black Empowerment legislation (which includes gender issues) but they are leap years ahead and the same study there would yield contrasting results.

My question:  at what stage does bigotry become abusive?

I am a staunch "free enterpriser" and if I thought these results reflected a contrast in merit or capability I might look at this differently but the results are too extreme for that speculation. 

So who gets the black eye - American private law firms or minority women.  The photograph has the black eye where it is but not where it belongs.

The human race has one really effective weapon, and that is laughter.  Mark Twain

Rajesh Setty of Life BEYOND CODE in his post "Ways to distinguish yourself #153 - Use humor right!" has some importanmt rules for the use of humor that we have long subscribed to in Edge.  Check it out!

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Suzanne Lowe of The Expertise Marketplace Blog belongs to a group of which Superhero Trainer Adam Marx is a member.  In her blog post today, "Become a real live Superhero!", Suzanne opines that "[Adam's] points have tremendous relevance for the leadership of professional services marketing".

But my mind went to another topic - the plethora of recent press about gender diversity in our profession (or, to be more accurate, the shameful lack thereof).

Track with me here.  My mind then went to that delightful Dolly Parton comedy (or was it a comedy) called Nine to Five. 

(Does your mind ever just take you somewhere whether you've decided you want to go there or not?) 

The next thing I was imagining was a young (mild mannered by day) female lawyer in the office of a middle-aged-white-male managing partner and she's asking about the firm's part time and family leave policies and he is describing the arcane and the anachronistic gems that were passed down to him from the son of the founder a generation ago.

OK - here's where I completely lose control - It's a daydream, you can't censor my daydream!

The young lawyer pops out into the client phone booth (you know, the one just off the reception area) and twirls around at blurring speed and then stops suddenly revealing her tights and her logo.

Now, remember what Dolly Parton, Lily Tomlin and Jane Fonda did to Dabney Coleman (Parton's boss) in the Nine to Five movie?   (Hint:  a lasso and some rope were involved.)  I imagine Supergirl could look after the situation without any assistance at all (barring the presence of kryptonite).

OK, that's where I was when my wife, Bethany, walked in on me and asked what the heck I was doing looking at a picture of Supergirl. Thanks to Suzanne Lowe, I had a bulletproof excuse.  (if you haven't already, check out Suzanne's post.)

Pop Quiz - What do these five law firms have in common?

Dierker & Associates, P.C. of Troy, MI

Epstein, Turner & Song of Los Angeles, CA

Gannon & Garcia, L.L.P. of San Antonio, TX

Powers & Frost, L.L.P. of Houston, TX

Rojas Law Firm LLP of Miami, FL

Hint #1: They are the newest members of an exclusive club

Hint #2: Members of the club must meet the following requirements (among others):

significant corporate law practice

Martindale-Hubbell AV Peer Review Rated

At least three references from national and regional corporations, preferrably within Fortune 500

Excellence in quality of law practiced, as evidenced by corporate references, presence on outside counsel approved lists and panels for national or regional corporations, and other awards and memberships.

Hint #3: Collectively their clients include (among many others):

Columbia University, Deutsche Bank, Morgan Stanley, Ford Motor Company, General Motors Corporation, Boeing, Ace Hardware, McDonald's Corporation, Commonwealth Edison, Sprint Communications, Travers Smith, McDermott Will & Emery, Cadwalader Wickersham & Taft, Eversheds, Simpson Thatcher , Holland & Knight, Hunton & Williams, Wachovia Bank, N.A., Union Pacific Railroad, Coca Cola Enterprises, Daimler-Chrysler Corporation, Fed Express, Lear Corporation, Pfizer Inc., Shell Oil, A T & T, Home Depot U.S.A., Inc., NBC Universal Studios, Tommy Hilfiger USA, Inc, Accenture LLP, Alliant Energy, Bear, Stearns & Co., Chubb Insurance Company, Eastman Kodak Company, Greyhound Lines, Inc., Harley-Davidson Motor Company, Midwest Airlines, PepsiAmericas, Inc., Staples, Inc., Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc., Target Corporation, Time Warner Cable, Wendy's International, Toyota Motor Credit Company, American Airlines, Blockbuster Inc., CBS Broadcasting Inc. Denny's, Inc., Hughes Electronic Corporation, Sara Lee, Tyco International Inc., The Procter & Gamble Company, Viacom, Inc., Wells Fargo Bank, N.A., America West Airlines, Continental Airlines, State Farm General Insurance Company, Volkswagen of America, Inc., Chevron Corporation, WebEx Communnications, Walgreens, Sears, Roebuck and Company, Cingular Wireless, Inc., GlaxoSmithKline LLC, PETCO Animal Supplies

I invite you to draw your own conclusions about what this all means to you and your firm. (Ignore this at your peril.)

Give Up? Click here.

(Download and have a glance at the law firm members brochure while you're there).

Freelance writer Sarah Doherty follows yesterday's article "Flexible work schedules save money, research shows" about which I posted: (You Can't Afford to Keep Losing Your Women Lawyers)with another offering: Room at the top - Big law firms are making an effort to promote women into more visible and prominent positions

Here's how the article begins:

"When Joan Clark applied to work at a venerable Montreal law firm, she was asked whether she was engaged to be married. Her hiring met resistance from lawyers who said clients would never accept a woman in the job. When she was eventually invited to her firm's formal partner's lunch at a tony private club, Clark, now 76, had to use a special entrance while her colleagues waltzed through the front door. "I eventually went through the front door, but I knew how black people felt when they had to sit at the back of the bus," Clark said. "We don't have that kind of discrimination now."

My Opinion: This article is a useful supplement to the previous one… it is in some ways optimistic by citing some genuine progress for women lawyers but at the same time the article ends with a quote from Stephanie Jolin regarding litigation practices in particular that seems a wee bit pessimistic:

"Because of what the job demands, there will be a certain amount of limitation on how flexible you can be, especially in litigation," she said. "The job description is tough."

Read the full text and then tell me what is your take on the issue of big firms retaining women lawyers?

Catalyst studies show an associate's departure costs a [Canadian] firm about $315,000 in recruiting, training, salaries, overhead, severance, outplacement and other costs - not including hiring a replacement.

The stress of juggling work and family usually falls more heavily on female lawyers...

So what can law firms do to be more flexible in the face of the notoriously heavy demands of a client-driven and increasingly business-like profession?

Kirby Chown hopes she can find solutions. The 59-year-old is managing partner for Ontario of McCarthy Tetrault, one of Canada's largest law firms.

Two years ago, Chown started a women's network in her firm's Toronto office to create a stronger community of women and brainstorm around issues such as mentoring and business networking, which help lawyers move up the ladder. Last year, she helped create a firm-wide women's committee.

"Very few women are taking advantage of flex-time arrangements," Chown admitted. "There are concerns about being stigmatized." No men have requested the option, according to Chown.

My Opinion: I grow weary of the stereotypical myth-riddled responses of the power people in many major law firms giving excuse after excuse as to why keeping women engaged is next to impossible. I do not believe it and neither should you. This challenge will be met by some firms who will gain enormous competitive advantage. They will lower their costs and see much higher productivity.

Tom Peters (most famous business writer of all time) three days ago refers to the Economist in his blog post called Women's World! The Economist article to which he refers has the following headline: "Forget China, India and the Internet: Economic Growth Is Driven by Women." Tie these two together and put this on the agenda of your next executive meeting. (Maybe you should consider inviting Kirby Chown for a visit.)

Note: According to the "Mission and History" entry on its web site, Catalyst is the leading research and advisory organization working with businesses and the professions to build inclusive environments and expand opportunities for women at work.

See this information and more in today's article in the Gazette (Montreal) called: Flexible work schedules save money, research shows

The addicts referred to are identified in the title of a Reuter's story today: Workaholics struggle to say 'No' to work

Does this sound familiar:

WA [Workaholics Anonymous] identifies workaholics as people who often are perfectionists and worriers, derive their self esteem from work, keep overly busy, neglect their health, postpone vacations and overschedule their lives.

Workaholism seems to be an occupational hazard for lawyers by the nature of what we do and how we do it. I tease in presentations that as lawyers we are perfectionists for whom 100% is a minimum and that is why no document is ever finished - there is simply a point at which we are compelled to let the client sign the darn thing. I believe that lawyers ought to maintain this mindset about their work just as I hope surgeons do also.

The challenge is that workaholism is so deeply engrained in our law firm cultures that we dare not even speak of balance without being considered "less". This is one of the (usually) unspoken reasons why part time work for new mothers is such a controversial subject. We carry this mindset over to our senior support professionals. The Chief Marketing Officer who goes home before 7 PM has their loyalty questioned. Worse, they are often invited to meetings that start at 6 PM without even being asked if that is OK (although too many are afraid to say "no" even when it's not OK).

The real issue is whether workaholism comes at a price. The Reuter's story has a heading which reads: DESTROYING LIVES

"People think it's funny… it's amusing until you hear the stories. There have been many people who have come, and work is destroying their lives."

MY OPINION: I know from first hand experience that many part time professionals contribute much more per hour at the office than their full time counterparts. Perhaps out of necessity, part-timers develop better time management skills and they are also forced to focus. I am not arguing against billable hours, per se, but many lawyers report that they spend far more time in the office than their billable hours suggest. Many lawyers are spending too much time at the office and getting far less of a return for themselves and their firms (and their clients) than they would if they spent something less but worked more efficiently and effectively. Many lawyers report that they do not capture their real work effort in their billable hours. Imagine if the capturing of billable time became more efficient. The income would be sustained while allowing lawyers to attend the odd family birthday party (when it begins instead of when it ends).

Many have written about the New York Times article, Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?, but of it all I think you may want to see the Letter to the Editor by Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith Esq. fame, refernced in his post: When The New York Times Speaks, It's Reality

MY OPINION: Diversity issues create a wonderful opportunity for great managing partners in great firms because they can gain competitive advantage by doing the right thing.

Law.com published Firms Show Modest Growth in New Partners today without a mention of diversity - not even gender. In light of the recent New York Times article Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms I would have liked to see some information beyond mere numbers of new partners - wouldn't you?

MY OPINION: Diversity will occur when people start caring about it enough to make it unthinkable to publish an article like Firms Show Modest Growth in New Partners without referencing it.

This five page article, Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?, by TIMOTHY L. O'BRIEN in today's New York Times is an excellent piece with some myth-busting comments like:

Although women certainly leave firms to become more actively involved in child-rearing, recent detailed studies indicate that female lawyers often feel pushed into that choice and would prefer to maintain their careers and a family if a structure existed that allowed them to do so. Some analysts and many women who practice law say that having children isn't the primary reason most women leave law firms anyhow; most, they say, depart for other careers or for different ways to practice law.

PUNCHLINE: This is essential reading for the Managing Partner and the Diversity Partner (if you have one) but perhaps this ought to be read by every partner.

FASTFORWARD: If you want your firm to be viable in years to come, don't stop at having the partners read this article — create forums within the firm to discuss these issues and take action to resolve them. This isn't easy which is why only the best-managed firms will get it right.

Are you incredulous? Do you think I am making this up? Richard Dearden, media manager of Irwin Mitchell (Top 10 UK firm) sent an internal email which included this:

We've trawled the intranet and pulled together our most photogenic people for potential models. We don't have the schedule agreed yet, but if you are around on Tuesday we may call upon you to be involved. If you aren't available or wouldn't like to be involved then that's no problem, however if you are happy to be involved (work commitments permitting), please could you dress nice and smart (as I'm sure you all already do) in case we call upon your services.

Res Ipsa Loquiter!! (For non-lawyers, that means "the thing speaks for itself"

FASTFORWARD: Working internationally and observing cultural differences, I have often commented that US political correctness does not extend to the UK. The same memorandum in an American-based firm would likely be viewed as shocking but not in the UK. It is not for me to judge, but it is fun to observe that, Mr. Friedman, the world is not completely "flat" yet.

See the original post at Roll on Friday

The introduction of Female Mentoring at Freshfields (London-based global firm) is to be congratulated and condemned at the same time - perhaps King Solomom would have a different take on this but here is mine.

I applaud:
- the motives (diversity - attracting and keeping more women in a firm that lacks the degree of gender balance that it desires)
- instituting a mentoring program

I am concerned with:
- the sexist notion that only women can mentor women
- the exclusion of men from the program - many men desperately need mentoring also and can offer it as well. In fact, in firms where I am asked to offer special sessions dealing with special challenges faced by women in dealing with clients, I insist on participation by at least some of the firm's men. This is not token. They offer invaluable insights.

FASTFORWARD: If you do not have a mentoring program, you should consider starting one. The benefits are too abundant to list here, not the least of which is better performance and lower turnover both leading to greater profitability.

See the original post at Roll on Friday.

"Diversity in a City partnership: men in dark grey suits and in light grey suits"

The "City" is London and thanks once again to the rollonfriday for yet another interesting post Clients force firms to take diversity seriously...

Barclays, the mega UK based bank, has requested diversity stats from prominent City firms including: "Allen & Overy, Clifford Chance, DLA, Freshfields, Linklaters, Lovells and Simmons & Simmons. And the bank confirmed that it would soon be requiring this information from every firm it instructs." Please note that this list includes the largest and second largest law firm in the world.

FastForward: Creating diversity quickly is no small challenge. Just ask our law firm clients in South Africa where "Black Empowerment" legislation requires almost immediate diversity. Solutions to rapidly acquiring diversity will in many cases require innovative approaches. I have posted before on creative solutions (see Ingenious Alliance to Create and Market Diversity) and rollonfriday makes reference today to London firm Berwin Leighton Paisner's non-linear approach in ...as BLP introduces alternative to partnership . Regardless of approach, any law firm that ignores diversity is doing so at its peril and will pay a price much sooner than many may have anticipated. The diversity movement is accelerating.

Well — not just anyone...

DuPont, Sara Lee, Shell Oil and Wal-Mart put there money where their proverbial mouths are.

The National Association of Minority & Women Owned Law Firms (NAMWOLF) applauds these corporations for their committment to place a total of at least $16 million dollars of legal work with minority-owned law firms during the upcoming year.

FASTFORWARD: Many firms remain completely asleep at the wheel. I am not suggesting that firms should strive to become minority owned in the short term — I am however suggesting that if you are not thinking about your diversity score, you are headed for some serious economic disadvantage.

Diversity consultant Jacob H. Herring, President and CEO of Creative Culture Changes, LLC, argues that the diversity "movement" has been growing, not only in numbers, but, in intensity. He indeed warns:

Who knows what the next Bill Gates will look like. Such a person may not look at all like the current Mr. Gates: e.g., that person maybe an immigrant woman of color.

Mr. Herring issues this challenge:

Do you trust that your partners are aware enough of their own feelings and prejudices to:
1. Keep you and the firm out of trouble (e.g., avoid a discrimination suit at worst, or not lose an important business opportunity, at best)
2. Maximize business opportunities (e.g., spot talent and business potential of people different from themselves who haven't, yet, actualized their full potential).

PunchLine: Mr. Herring is precisely correct and those firms who don't pay some attention to their diversity will be the truly disadvantaged ones.

Read the full article at PM Forum USA: Recruiting and Marketing Effectively with a Diverse Workforce

Bravo to Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice and Molden Holley Fergusson Thompson & Heard for their ingenious alliance to create and market diversity.

Molden Holley is a small and new African-American firm comprised of partners who came from major firms. In what appears to be a brilliant win-win alliance, this new firm will continue to be independent but will bolt on all of the resources of AmLaw powerhouse Womble Carlyle when and as required; meanwhile, Womble Carlyle gets to demonstrate to clients like Wal-Mart and Sara Lee that it is listening to their General Counsel who have been requiring all of their legal providers to make rapid diversity progress.

(For further particulars on those diversity requirements, see my post titled: Law Firms as "Exclusive Clubs for White Men")

PUNCHLINE: While other firms may not yet have diversity on their radar screens and while those who do are likely progressing slowly and in a linear fashion, these two firms are hitting warp speed.

The most fascinating part of this story is yet to unfold. It's the marketing initiative (contained in this quote from the complete story in Small Firm Business — referenced below):

"Regina S. Molden, the managing partner for Molden Holley, said members of the two firms will meet monthly to develop a marketing strategy targeted towards existing and potential Womble Carlyle clients seeking more diversity."

WOW! Imagine the potential here. This is not smoke and mirrors but rather a very real capacity to provide diversity to clients IF those diversity-demanding clients are prepared to accept that the alliance is genuine and truly fulfills the spirit of their diversity requirements.

Whichever firm initiated the idea, it is an illustration of strategic genius — especially if it works. If it does, it will be a pattern worth emulating.

For a more particulars, see the full story filed by Meredith Hobbs in the Fulton County Daily Report on July 29th as published in Small Firm Business: Big Firm Partners With Minority-Owned Boutique to Increase Diversity

Is Diversity on your management agenda? Has it ever been?

This is a serious wake up call to every single member of your law firm's management team.

Diversity is not some do-good-philanthropic-topic for a tea party of the rich and bored. Diversity is serious business: serious to business; serious for business… not to mention that it is the right thing to do.

In her Law.com article today, Wal-Mart Demands Diversity in Law Firms, Meredith Hobbs explores the demands that General Counsel in major corporations are placing at the doorstep of law firms.

The General Counsel referenced in the article are in the following companies:

Wal-Mart
Visa International
Del Monte
Pitney Bowes
Cox Communications

The article goes on to say:

So far, close to 100 general counsel have signed on, including those from some of the nation's biggest companies.

If you think you can get by this issue with tokenism, you need to understand what is being demanded of you. For example, the article includes these quotes:

The nation's biggest retailer wants to see diversity at the top.

The goal… is to "increase the number of women and minorities directly responsible for [our] relationship at our law firms."

"We are terminating a firm right now strictly because of their inability to grasp our diversity expectations,"

In her Separate but Equal article in Marketing the Law Firm, a Law Jounal Newsletters publication, Elizabeth Anne 'Betiayn' Tursi offers this advice:

The idea that law firm leaders need not be at the helm of these initiatives can only mean that it will be doomed to fail. The chair or managing partner of a firm must be a proponent of the causes and must be involved in every aspect of promoting the initiatives. In the case of creating this particular blueprint, management serves as the "project leader" or lead architect. Leadership can set the tone for the institution of these initiatives and is in the enviable position of selecting others in the firm who can also promote and develop the actual initiatives. And yes, there should be a chair for each initiative — diversity, pro bono, recruiting and marketing — who meet once a month, with the directors of these initiatives to ensure that they are working together to develop the blueprint, and also to make certain that these individuals are in a positions that enable them to have a voice in implementing the programs to achieve the intended result.

Notes:

1) The title of this blog is based upon this quote from the Law.com article:

It is no longer enough, the general counsel at the symposium said, to raise the numbers of women and minority lawyers in a firm's lower ranks if its upper echelons remain an exclusive club for white men.

2) Photo Caption (Thank you Purdue)
A Purdue sociology professor explores racial and ethnic relations in his book "Diversity and Unity." Martin Patchen says inequalities among ethnic groups often lead to prejudice, segregation and discrimination. (Purdue News Service photo illustration by Vince Walter)
Color photo, electronic transmission, and Web and ftp download available. Photo ID: Patchen.diversity
Download Photo Here