Action Step – Using Diversity & Inclusion Tools in Work/Life Programs

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.

USING DIVERSITY & INCLUSION TOOLS IN WORK LIFE PROGRAMS

Tools commonly used to increase diversity and inclusion can also be used to strengthen work/life programs. Some examples are:

  1. Awareness Training: Legal employers often provide training about bias, including in-group favoritism and micro-aggressions, as part of their diversity and inclusion initiatives. Similar bias can also undermine work/life programs, and awareness training is a key step toward eliminating it…

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Holland & Hart’s New Chair Shatters the Flex Ceiling

WASHINGTON, DC, February 20, 2014 — Building on the momentum of the Flex Success™ Award, the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (the “Alliance”) is awarding its inaugural Flex Leader Award to recognize a General Counsel or Chair of a law firm who is moving his or her organization toward a more inclusive workplace through flexibility. Research shows that when we hear the word “leader,” we picture a man. Although this bias slows the advancement of women, more women are leading institutions, corporations, and law firms today than ever before. This year’s honoree, Liz Sharrer, Chair of Holland & Hart LLP, is a pioneer that embodies every aspect of what the Award seeks to recognize and is shattering biases by advocating for the opportunities to work a reduced hours or a flex schedule while being a highly integrated member of a major law firm. Read more

Flex Partners Who Inspire

The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance Announces the 2014 Flex Success™ Honorees

WASHINGTON, DC, February 18, 2014 — To make partner in a law firm is an amazing accomplishment; to make partner while working a reduced hours schedule is inspirational. The 2014 Flex Success™ Award Honorees prove that working a reduced hours schedule in the law does not preclude incredible professional success. Each year, the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance (the “Alliance”) recognizes a partner working a reduced hours schedule and the client that is integral to making workplace flexibility a reality. The Alliance is pleased to announce the two attorney/client honorees for 2014: Julia E. Markley of Perkins Coie LLP (Portland, OR) and her client, Laura E. Proctor, Associate General Counsel of Louisiana-Pacific Corporation; and Victoria Lee of DLA Piper (Silicon Valley, CA) and her client Karen M. McGee, General Counsel and Privacy Officer at ID Analytics, Inc. Read more

Leveraging Social Capital

February 2014

Featuring — Robert Nelson, Director, American Bar Foundation and Ellen Ostrow, Founding Principal, Lawyers Life Coach LLP

Social capital is not just your network; it’s the by-product of your efforts to contribute to the success of others.  In general, majority groups tend to have more social capital due to the ease of developing networks, while women and diverse attorneys are often excluded from these powerful circles.

Robert and Ellen will highlight ways women and diverse attorneys can strategically forge relationships with powerful allies via reciprocity and social capital and provide the latest research on how attorneys in the minority are (or are not) leveraging their social capital and the statistical effects of this on the legal profession.