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.
The Honorees:
Julia E. Markley is a partner in the Litigation Group of Perkins Coie’s Portland, OR office. Ms. Markley has been with the firm since 2001 and has been working a reduced hours schedule for the past nine years all the while developing a sophisticated business litigation practice. Ms. Markley has distinguished herself as a leader within the firm by chairing the office’s Pro Bono Committee; as a Filipina-American female partner, she is also a role model who devotes her time to mentoring young associates. Ms. Markley’s arrangement not only gives her the opportunity to spend quality time with her family, but also to be an active leader in the firm and the community. She co-founded the Oregon Asian Pacific American Bar Association, has served on several judicial selection committees, and is the recipient of several awards including the prestigious Oregon Women Lawyers’ Judge Mercedes Deiz Award and the Judge Learned Hand Emerging Leader Award.
Louisiana-Pacific Corporation and Laura E. Proctor, the Associate General Counsel, have been critical to Ms. Markley’s success by providing her with significant professional opportunities such as co-first chairing a jury trial, giving reasonable and appropriate deadlines with advance notice whenever possible, scheduling telephone meetings during regular business hours, and respecting personal time. Ms. Proctor says, “I hire…lawyers based on their expertise in certain product lines and subject matters. This eliminates the unnecessary cost of retraining new lawyers with each new case.”
As her nominator, Jeanne M. Cullen, a partner in the firm’s Chicago office and Co-Chair of the firm’s Women’s Forum, says, “Julia’s leadership at Perkins Coie and in the community has been inspirational, and her ability to navigate the needs of her clients, her family, and her community commitments is incredible.”
Victoria Lee is a partner in the Silicon Valley office of DLA Piper; she has been at the firm close to 20 years and has been working a reduced hours schedule since 2006. A significant part of her practice focuses on cutting edge intellectual property matters in complex mergers and acquisitions, strategic investments, and venture financings. In 2013, Ms. Lee was listed by The Recorder as one of the 50 Women Leaders in Tech Law. She is a respected advocate for work-life integration and a mentor for other lawyers at the firm who are looking for models of successful flexible work arrangements. As an Asian-American woman, Ms. Lee is an especially strong champion for women of color seeking viable flexible alternatives. She is an active leader in several of the firm’s committees such as the Leadership Alliance for Women (LAW), the Alternative Work Solutions program, and is the co-chair for her office’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee.
Lee Miller, Global Co-Chairman and the Executive Sponsor of DLA Piper’s Alternative Work Solutions Program says, “We celebrate Vicky’s recognition by the Alliance. Not only is Vicky a champion of our flexible work strategy, but her management of her schedule is the embodiment of a successful reduced hours plan in action.”
Karen M. McGee, General Counsel and Privacy Officer at ID Analytics, Inc. (a subsidiary of LifeLock, Inc.) has had a long-standing relationship with Ms. Lee. As a subsidiary of a newly public company, ID Analytics, Inc. has been heavily involved in commercial and intellectual property transactions, and Ms. Lee has played a vital role in all of them. Karen McGee states she “appreciates Ms. Lee’s responsiveness, seamless service, and commitment to the company.” Karen also notes she respects Victoria’s ability to manage her work and life demands through a reduced hours schedule.
The Alliance’s President & CEO, Manar Morales says, “This year’s nominees are outstanding, and all of them are a testament to how effective partnerships between a client and a partner support successful work-life control. What made this year’s honorees so impressive is that they have gone above and beyond to inspire; their positive professional and personal impact can be seen and felt by their clients, communities, and organizations.” The Awards will be presented at the Alliance’s 2014 Annual Conference, Diversity + Flexibility = Sustainability on March 18, 2014 at the Washington, DC office of Jones Day which features the most up-to-date action steps for diversity and flexibility and success strategies for improving retention of top legal talent. The Conference features general counsel, law firm chairs, legal talent professionals, and balanced hours attorneys who will share how they have implemented successful strategies in their organizations for retaining and promoting women and supporting work-life control for all lawyers.
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The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance is a think tank dedicated to creating work environments centered on inclusion and innovative thought leadership. The Alliance provides practical solutions that increase organizational effectiveness and create high performance cultures leveraging diversity and flexibility.
More information about the Alliance can be found at dfalliance.com.
Contact —
Manar Morales
President & CEO
manar@dfalliance.com
