Appreciation At Home and At the Office

As we celebrate Thanksgiving, we at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance want to thank our friends and members for their ongoing support and trust. We truly appreciate being surrounded by a community of intelligent, enthusiastic, thoughtful leaders who are invested in helping firms and organizations renew their commitment to diversity and flexibility.

In this day and age of constant contact and access to work, we are also thankful for the time to be with our families face to face and, at least for a few moments, disconnect from the office. We encourage you to do so too.

As flexibility is always top of mind, we also want to encourage you to take the time to appreciate your organization’s flexible work program. There’s a term that professional organization strategists use called “Appreciative Inquiry.” It refers to examining and highlighting the positive aspects of a business initiative to create a positive culture. We encourage you to examine and highlight the best features in your flex program and draw on these strengths as you expand and develop it. Read more

Action Step – Implementation Essentials For Flexibility 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.

IMPLEMENTATION ESSENTIALS FOR FLEXIBILITY PROGRAMS

Successful business initiatives, including flexibility programs, feature a clearly articulated and documented strategic plan as well as a mandate to execute on that strategy. When it comes to flexible work, many organizations have a plan in the form of a policy but struggle with execution. Whether your organization is launching a flexibility policy for the first time or enhancing an existing policy, a strong implementation process is the key to closing the gap between policy and action. Here are the essential features of successful implementation…

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The Third Step to Ensuring Your Flex Success™ – Activate Your Mindset and Grit to Overcome Flex Stigma

This is the third in a series of seven blog posts featuring advice on our Seven Strategies for Flex Success™. Check back as we walk you through the seven steps that will guarantee your success while working flexibly: Define Your Success; Own Your Value; Activate Your Mindset; Create A Strong Personal Brand; Build Your Networks; Expand Your Ideas on Business Development; and Enhance Your Work-Life Control.

seven-strategies-for-flex-successWe’re not going to lie to you. It’s not always going to be easy to transition from being in the office full-time to a flexible work schedule. While many industries have come a long way in understanding the value flexible work policies provide, biases still exist. No matter where you work, you may come across co-workers who think you’re less committed to the job because you work reduced hours. You may also be faced with supervisors who question your time at home and whether you are actually working when you’re not physically in the office.

It’s best to be prepared for these obstacles, and when they do arise, it’s important to maintain your confidence and harness your grit. You know you are meeting the needs and deadlines of your team and clients. You know you are following your company’s flexible work policy guidelines as well as your own personal flex plan. And, you know the quality of your work has not diminished at all (in fact it may have improved.)

Most of these hurdles and biases should be temporary bumps in the road. Activate your “big-picture,” growth mindset and remind yourself that working flexibly is actually better for you and your organization because it’s helping ensure a longer, more steadfast relationship. Read more

Goldberg Kohn Ltd Welcomed As Newest Member of the Alliance

We are pleased to welcome Goldberg Kohn Ltd as the newest member of the Alliance! The firm joins a community of over 55 leading organizations that are implementing innovative solutions to promote inclusive and flexible work cultures.

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More Women Are Being Promoted to Partner – But There’s Still Work to Be Done

As we release our fifth annual New Partner Report this week we are pleased to see that the percentage of women promoted to partnership in major U.S. law firms is continuing to steadily increase. This year, we found that 37.3 percent of new partners were women, up from 34 percent last year and 33 percent in 2014. We are even more pleased and proud that our member firms are outpacing the national average with 38.3 percent of new partners being women. As the National Association for Legal Placement (NALP) reported in 2015 the total percentage of women partners is 21.46 percent, so these incoming classes are clearly going to increase the overall numbers of women in firm leadership.

While we are optimistic that major law firms might one day have an even balance of men and women in their partnership and leadership ranks, the industry still has a long way to go. Research shows us that there is still some work to be done before firms retain as many women as they do men over the years. Remember, according to NALP, 48 percent of graduating law school students are women and 44.68 percent of law firm associates are women, so we need to understand why these percentages are dropping to 21.46 at the partner level and 37.3 in terms of partner promotions. Read more

Thirty-Seven Percent of New Law Firm Partners Are Women; Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s Report Finds Steady Increase

Metrics Crucial to Continued Progress

WASHINGTON, DC, November 3, 2016 — The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance announced today that the percentage of women promoted to partnership in 2016 in the U.S. offices of many of the nation’s largest law firms has reached a five-year high of 37.3 percent. This number has steadily increased from 33 percent in 2012, aside from a one-year dip to 32 percent in 2014, and is up nearly 3 percentage points from 34.4 percent last year. The Alliance’s 2016 New Partner Report noted that Diversity & Flexibility Alliance member firms continued to outpace the national average with 38.3 percent of attorneys promoted to partnership being women.

“While law firms still have a long way to go before women have an equal place in leadership, we are seeing some positive trends in the overall percentage of women being promoted to partnership in 2016,” said Manar Morales, President and CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. “It is imperative that firms support and develop female talent by providing them opportunities to advance their careers, and creating an inclusive culture where women can advance to leadership positions,” she added. “We believe that it is crucial that we monitor and report this data so that our members and others in the industry are aware of the progress made and continue to explore opportunities that advance women in the profession. We are extremely proud that our member firms understand these opportunities and continue to outpace the national average for promoting women to partner.” Read more

Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP Welcomed As Newest Member of the Alliance

We are pleased to welcome Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP as the newest member of the Alliance! The firm joins a community of over 55 leading organizations that are implementing innovative solutions to promote inclusive and flexible work cultures.

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Making It Work: Attorneys Putting Flex Success™ in Action!

November 2016

Featuring — Beth Dickstein, Partner, Sidley Austin LLP; Kelly Hughes, Shareholder & Co-Chair of the Flexibility/Awareness Subcommittee, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C. ; Erik Lemmon, Associate, Holland & Hart LLP; and Charise Naifeh, Associate, White & Case LLP

Join us for our November Signature Seminar Series teleconference and hear from previous Spotlight on Flex interviewees and Flex Success™ Award Honorees on how they are exemplifying Flex Success™ to achieve both personal and professional success. Our speakers will share their stories on how they have fully utilized their firm’s flex policies and showcase how men and women make Flex Success™ possible at all career stages!