Action Step -Providing the Right Support Before Parental Leave

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.

In order to retain top talent, companies and firms need to support parents before, during, and after parental leave. While more organizations are utilizing on-ramping programs and providing support to parents returning from leave, organizations also need to remember to focus on smoothly transitioning parents to parental leave to promote team productivity, enhance client satisfaction, and reduce turnover.

To help with this process, companies and firms need to communicate available resources and policies, create a systematic procedure for the transition of work, and provide support through existing and targeted programs. By focusing on these key tasks – Communicate, Systematize, and Support – organizations can accomplish a smooth and seamless transition for parents to parental leave. While this action step focuses on easing employees’ transitions to parental leave, organizations can apply these best practices for any family or medical leave.

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Spotlight on Flex – Michelle Humes

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.

For June 2018, we are pleased to share insights from Michelle Humes, Partner, Shutts & Bowen (Orlando, FL). 

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success through your schedule?

Michelle Humes: Since I can remember (I think I was about seven years old), I always wanted to be a lawyer – my grandfather and uncle are both lawyers. But while in college, I started to have some doubts and wasn’t sure if I wanted to continue school for another three years. I was also worried about being able to balance working as an attorney and eventually having a family. So after college, I took a year off, and through a series of events, ended up working as an assistant at a law firm. I had wanted to be a lawyer, and here I was working at a law firm. I felt like it was fate’s way of telling me to go to law school. Since I was already working in the legal field, I decided to keep working while going to school. I started at Shutts & Bowen as the assistant to the Practice Group Leader (PGL) of the Construction Litigation Group in July 2006. In August 2006, I started in the evening law student program at Barry University; I continued to work full time and went to school at night for three years. In 2009, the firm created a summer associate position for me in the Orlando office. That fall I switched to the full-time program, graduated, and took the bar in July 2010. I started working at the firm in August that same year

At the time the economy was terrible, and the Orlando office didn’t have any summer associates or new hires. But right away, because of my history with the firm, and with the support of the Construction Litigation Group’s PGL, Shutts demonstrated its commitment to me and my career by hiring me as a contract associate. After a full year, they were able to switch me to a traditional associate position. I worked in the Construction Litigation Group for three years and then transitioned to the Real Estate Group at the end of 2013.

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Getting to Know Our Conference Speakers -Sarah Alexander Goldfrank

We are so excited to have an amazing line-up of prominent leaders and trailblazers speaking at our 2018 Annual Conference Diversity + Flexibility = Embracing Change on Thursday, September 27.  We’ll be introducing these dynamic and engaging speakers throughout the summer and sharing their diversity and flexibility insights here on our blog. We’ve asked our speakers to answer a few questions about themselves, their approach to their career, and their lives. This week’s “Getting To Know Our Conference Speakers” post highlights Sarah Alexander Goldfrank, Senior Vice President & Deputy General Counsel in the Legal Department at Fannie Mae.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: What was the most meaningful piece of leadership advice you received?

Sarah Alexander Goldfrank: From Frances Frei (Harvard Business School), “Leadership, at its core, is about making other people better as a result of your presence—and making sure that the impact lasts in your absence.”

DFA: How do you pay it forward?

SAG: By being an active mentor, sponsor, and cheerleader.

DFA: What can we be doing to create more inclusive organizations?

SAG: It all begins at the individual level – the relationships we foster and develop, the connections we make, the bonds and trust we build, the barriers we breakdown. Those individual, human connections are the foundation of an inclusive organization.

Join us on September 27th to hear Sarah’s panel “Making Change Happen from the Outside-In: The Power of Client Persuasion.” Sarah will join other leading in-house counsel to discuss the importance of diverse teams and inclusive cultures, both internally and externally, and the role they are playing to make change happen from the outside-in with their law firms and other vendors.

Global: Staying Productive in Modern Work Environments

June 21, 2018 

Featuring — Paul H. Burton, Founder & Principal, QuietSpacing LLC

 

Others work while we sleep. That has never been more true than it is today. Technology speeds communications up while response time expectations shrink. Organizations constantly grow, physically and geographically, casting people and projects far and near. The only certainty is that this trend will continue for the foreseeable future.Keeping up with globalism is a daunting prospect. How can we stay abreast without losing sight of the purpose for participating – enjoying rewarding personal and professional lives? What choices do we have and what actions can we take to best serve our clients, our loved ones and ourselves?

This program explores those questions, offering up eighteen suggestions on how to make the most of the time we have in this rapidly expanding playing field. We’ll address the following topics:

– Leveraging Distributed Work Environments. Working with people distributed across differing geographic locations is challenging. Consider these six suggestions on how to leverage this environment.

– Running the Day Productively. Getting the work done is always Priority One. Here are six ways to facilitate that goal.

– Demonstrating Global Leadership. Leadership is a state of mind, regardless of title or position. Here are six ways we can regularly demonstrate leadership on a global basis.

Attending this program you will:
– Gain a clear understanding of how our actions impact the global workplace
– Learn eighteen ways to work better together, get our work done and lead others.
– Use traditional and cloud-based exercise tools to enhance engagement and your understanding of the materials.

The workplace grows more global every day. We can react to that fact or we can lean in and participate. Choose to participate by attending this program.

Getting to Know Our Conference Speakers -Lori Mihalich-Levin

We are so excited to have an amazing line-up of prominent leaders and trailblazers speaking at our 2018 Annual Conference Diversity + Flexibility = Embracing Change on Thursday, September 27.  We’ll be introducing these dynamic and engaging speakers throughout the summer and sharing their diversity and flexibility insights here on our blog. We’ve asked our speakers to answer a few questions about themselves, their approach to their career, and their lives. Our first “Getting To Know Our Conference Speakers” post highlights Lori Mihalich-Levin, Partner at Dentons.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: What’s the most important message you hope attendees will learn from your presentation?

Lori Mihalich-Levin: That there are law firms that are committed to creativity when it comes to flexible arrangements, and that these arrangements can play a huge role in retaining talent.  There are also clients that are extremely supportive of flexibility, and it’s quite possible to have stellar client relationships and a flexible schedule.

DFA: What was the most meaningful piece of leadership advice you received?

LM-L: Recognize your worth, value, and what you bring to the table.  For example, you know all those skills you’re gaining in parenthood?  They are, in fact, useful in the workplace, too!

DFA: How do you recharge? Where and when are you most content?

LM-L: I recharge every day in two key ways.  In the morning, before breakfast, I do 15 minutes of yoga and meditation on the dining room floor.  Yes, I’m sometimes interrupted (and climbed on!) by my kids, but I keep at it.  And after work, I recharge by turning off all electronics between 5 and 8pm to really be present with my husband and two boys.  I am most content when my day includes both meaningful connections with people I care deeply about and some alone time.

DFA: What do you know now that you wish you knew then?

LM-L: That my career would turn out just fine, without my knowing every detail in advance.  I want to tell the 5th grade me who checked a huge book out of the library on various careers, read it cover to cover, and insisted she decide on one, that she should go outside and play!

DFA: How do you pay it forward?

LM-L: I pay it forward by committing to helping new parents navigate the rocky terrain of those early years of working parenthood.  I do this not only through the Mindful Return program I founded, but by intentionally connecting with and mentoring new parent colleagues at my office.

DFA: What can we be doing to create more inclusive organizations?

LM-L: We can relax our grip on the belief that there is one, and only one, “way it’s done.”  Being open to creative approaches makes an organization more appealing to those who may not “fit the mold.”

Join us on September 27th as Lori accepts our 2018 Flex Success Award with her client, Dr. Cindy Kelley of Summa Health, and shares her insights and advice on achieving flex success while providing excellent client services and achieving partnership. 

Action Step -The Building Blocks for a Successful D&I Initiative

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.

A successful diversity and inclusion program requires clear focus, strong implementation of activities to meet delineated goals, and responsibility assigned to key players to effectively lead and engage in these activities. Whether your organization is looking to start a new D & I program or reenergize/resolve an existing one, the Alliance’s building blocks provide guidance for a successful initiative. By following each step in this path – ASSESS, ARTICULATE, ALIGN, and ACTIVATE – your organization can achieve a strong D & I program with specific objectives, focused activities, and measurable outcomes.

ASSESS State: The first critical step is to assess the current state of your organization’s D & I needs with respect to attracting, retaining, and advancing top talent. Organizations often look to see new programs and policies their peers are implementing, but you want to make sure those programs and policies meet the specific needs of your organization. To truly understand your organization’s unique D & I needs, start by analyzing various data points. For example, assess the demographic breakdown at each level of the organization to gain insights into any glass ceiling effects, review exit interviews to see if there is a disproportionate turnover rate with women and/or underrepresented demographic groups, analyze employee opinion surveys to see if there are any D & I issues raised, and review your organization’s check-in meetings with new hires to recognize challenges with recruiting top diverse talent. In addition, you should further investigate any red flags through focus groups and one-on-one interviews in order to gain essential first-person perspectives…

 

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Spotlight on Flex – Lisa Hansen

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.

For May 2018, we are pleased to share insights from Lisa Hansen, Partner, Lathrop & Gage (Kansas City, MO).  

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: How have you made flexibility a priority and a success through your schedule?

Lisa Hansen: I was previously at another firm and then came to Lathrop & Gage as a lateral associate in 1998. I was working a full time schedule at the time, but once I came back from my first maternity leave, I switched to a 75% reduced hours schedule in 2002. I wanted to continue practicing, but I knew a full time schedule was not going to work for my needs with a newborn at home. I also knew I didn’t want to limit myself to certain days in or out of the office. I wanted the flexibility to leave the office when I needed to – without any questions asked. The firm was very supportive of my “ask” even though there weren’t many other flex attorneys at the firm at the time.

My schedule has shifted slightly over the years as my kids have gotten older. But I’ve always come into the office every day, and I’ve left when I needed to in order to be present for other obligations. I made partner while working reduced hours in 2015, and I’ve remained on this flex schedule ever since.

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