Action Step – Hold Your Partners Accountable for Supporting Flexible Lawyers

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility.  Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

HOLD YOUR PARTNERS ACCOUNTABLE FOR SUPPORTING FLEXIBLE LAWYERS

No matter how carefully crafted, a flexible work program will fail unless the firm’s partners make it work on a daily basis. Partners control lawyers’ assignments, opportunities, access to information, evaluations, compensation, and promotion – which means they can undo even the best flexible work program through bias, inattention, or worse, in how they treat lawyers who work flexible schedules. It is essential that partners be invested in making flexibility work… Read more

Spotlight on Flex – Danielle Frappier

The Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

This month, we are pleased to share insights from Danielle Frappier, Partner in the Washington, DC office of Davis Wright Tremaine LLP.

Danielle FrappierDiversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made work-life control a priority and a success with your schedule?

Danielle Frappier: The key to making it work for me has been to remain responsive to clients, have a great team behind me, and keep things very organized.  Although I try to keep certain core office hours, if there is an urgent matter, I make sure that I am available or someone on my team can cover it.  Most of my clients don’t know (or forgot) that I have a part-time schedule because I work very hard to make sure that their needs are taken care of.  That wouldn’t be possible without my fantastic team.

I actually think my part time schedule has helped me to achieve my business development goals, although I didn’t realize it when I first made the change.  I was struggling to create my own business development path, particularly after having children, because all of my waking hours were consumed with attending either to client work or children.  After I had my second child, my mentor suggested that I switch to an 80% part time schedule.  That’s when a light went off for me: I could use that 20% “cushion” in multiple ways.  Of course, it helped when I needed to take a sick child to the pediatrician or attend a school function.  But I could also use it for business and career development activities.

I soon began to develop my own business, and have been very successful at generating work for my team and the firm.  Last year I had the second highest book of business firm-wide and kept a lot of people busy.  It was not an easy feat, especially in this tough, competitive market.

Read more

Percentage of Women Among New Partners Falls After a Five-Year High

The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance Releases Its Annual New Partner Report
Alliance member firms outpace national average of women promoted to partnership

WASHINGTON, DC, December 4, 2014 — The share of women among new partner classes at major US law firms declined by two percentage points in the last year. Thirty-two percent of attorneys promoted to partnership in 2014 were women, as compared to 34 percent in 2013, according to data collected by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (the “Alliance”). Among Alliance member firms, the figure is slightly higher, with women constituting 32.7 percent of new partner classes. Read more

How to Write a Business Plan for Partners: Four Questions to Address

December 2014

Featuring — Sara Holtz, Founder & CEO, ClientFocus

Business development skills don’t stop once an attorney makes partner – if anything, these skills are even more essential at this level. Sara will lead participants through the essential questions partners need to ask as they map out their business development plan for the new year.

Action Step – Working Outside the Box: Tips for Establishing A Telecommuting Policy

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility.  Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

WORKING OUTSIDE THE BOX: TIPS FOR ESTABLISHING A TELECOMMUTING POLICY

Telecommuting is an important part of holistic flexibility and can be considered “low-hanging fruit” if your firm is looking for ways to build its flexibility program. While many firms may allow their attorneys to telecommute informally, establishing a formal telecommuting policy is important for the following reasons:

  1. Consistency
  2. Setting Expectations
  3. Credit
  4. Helps Set Firm Culture
  5. Technology…

Read more

Action Step – Tips for Starting an On-Ramping Program at Your Organization

The Alliance’s Action Steps are designed to assist organizations with implementing practical strategies and policies related to diversity and flexibility.  Members can access full versions of all of the Alliance’s Action Steps in the Member Resource Center.

TIPS FOR STARTING AN ON-RAMPING PROGRAM AT YOUR ORGANIZATION

On-Ramping is one of the best ways to retain talented lawyers. It’s also inexpensive, measurably effective, and gaining in usage among law firms of all sizes. An on-ramping program eases lawyers’ transition back to work after medical/family leave with the option of working reduced hours for a limited period of time without having to apply or request permission. More importantly, returning attorneys are given support to make sure they can successfully ramp back up to their full practice levels… Read more

New Survey Shows Major US Law Firms Implementing Formal Flex Policies

WASHINGTON, DC, November 12, 2014 — More than 90 percent of the law firms surveyed in the just released 2014 Flexibility Benchmarking Survey Report from the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (the “Alliance”) are implementing formal flexibility policies. The survey found that participating firms have a formal policy that covers one or more of the following types of flexibility: reduced hours schedules, telecommuting, flexible start/end times, annualized hours, and job sharing. More firms allow lawyers to work flexibly on an ad hoc basis.

The report also found that actual flexible work usage was much less common, with flex lawyers constituting approximately 13 percent of lawyers at all participant firms. Read more

Top 10 Rainmaker Best Practices for Associates

November 2014

Featuring — Tasneem Goodman, Partner, Akina Corporation

Market conditions have brought the legal profession to the realization that success in a law firm depends, at least in part, on all attorneys’ — including associates — ability to develop business. Business development skills cannot magically be switched on once an attorney reaches partnership.  Just as associates’ and their firms’ expectations have changed around business development, both parties have a role to play in advancing the skills they need to become successful rainmakers.

Tasneem will share the fundamentals of business development, as well as the individual strategies associates can use and organizational solutions firms can implement to sow the seeds for rainmaking.

Highlights from the Alliance’s 2014 Flex Success™ Leadership Institute

On October 23 & 24, 2014, the Alliance held its inaugural Flex Success™ Leadership Institute for senior attorneys, of counsel, and junior partners working a flex or reduced hours schedule.  It was an incredible event with open and honest conversations between the faculty presenters and attendees on issues including business development, mindset and grit, interrupting flex stigma, and personal success stories from previous Flex Success™ Honorees.  Here are some highlights of the knowledge that was passed on:

Meg Milroy, Assistant General Counsel, Verizon: Self-document your successes; you never know if your manager will be there next review time.

Lisa Horowitz, Founder & Principal Advisor, Attorney Talent Strategy Group: Don’t be afraid to set boundaries that work within your schedule — being gritty also means being strategic. Read more

Spotlight on Flex – Jennifer Stanley

The Spotlight on Flex showcases professionals from member organizations who exemplify personal and professional success while working a flexible schedule. Their stories illustrate the long-term benefits that flexible schedules offer to both individuals and organizations.

This month, we are pleased to share insights from Jennifer Stanley, Partner in the San Francisco office of Fenwick & West LLP.

Jennifer StanleyDiversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made work-life control a priority and a success with your schedule? How have clients contributed to this?

Jennifer Stanley: I’m lucky that I can work on a “flexible reduced schedule” at Fenwick, and this allows me to maintain some work life balance – which I otherwise wouldn’t be able to achieve, and for which I am very grateful.  I’ve had a 60% commitment to the firm for past decade, and I view my schedule as an overall annual commitment to the firm, rather than as a way to set specific working hours.  Given the nature of my practice (technology transactional attorney), I don’t try to take specific days off each week.  Instead, I’m available seven days a week if the client needs are there.  Some days I work long hours and other days I don’t; sometimes I work on the weekends, and sometimes I take a day off during the week – it depends on what’s on my desk at a particular point in time – but I keep track of things on an on-going basis so it all balances out.  There is no “perfect” balance or control, and I’m fine with that. Read more