Members – please join us for an upcoming Innovation Circle:
Talent & Diversity Managers
April 21, 2023 | 1:00pm – 2:30pm EST
We invite individuals at member organizations who hold the following roles (or the equivalent thereof in your organization) to register:
Members – register for these events in the Member Resource Center or by emailing Irena McGrath.
During the event, we will share trends and best practices in workplace flexibility, hybrid and leave policies implemented at law firms and the types of support available for those who work flexibly. The Summit will include valuable discussions between Manar Morales, Alliance President & CEO, and leaders from firms with innovative policies and practices in the areas of workplace flexibility and caregiver leave:
Members – learn more in the Member Resource Center.
March 2, 2023 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
It’s time to examine how business development culture has impacted those from historically underrepresented backgrounds. These patterns directly impact compensation, wealth distribution, and equity. Participants will discuss specific roadblocks existing at the nexus of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) and business development (BD) that impede the progress of women, people of color, and other historically underrepresented groups and understand avenues to consider moving towards a more equitable culture.
Learn more about the Signature Seminar Series.
Members – register for this Seminar in the Member Resource Center.
2022 New Partner Report is an exclusive member benefit. We invite non-member organizations to learn more about the report here. (Alliance Members can view the entire report in the Member Resource Center.)
Featuring Dr. Tina Opie & Dr. Beth LivingstonFebruary 1, 2023 | 1:00pm – 2:00pm EST
Making progress toward a more equitable workplace is an important goal for many workplaces. In this Signature Seminar, Manar Morales will interview Drs. Tina Opie and Beth Livingston about their book, Shared Sisterhood: How to Take Collective Action for Racial and Gender Equity at Work, which presents a new approach to achieving gender and racial equity at work. Shared Sisterhood focuses on how to promote authentic connections between people who are different, using social science research and stories from the past and the present to inspire organizations to action.
Members – learn more in the Member Resource Center.
This week we were grateful to have Ritu Bhasin of bhasin consulting inc. lead our first of three 2017 Leadership Symposium. Ritu is a globally-recognized expert on leadership and inclusion and is passionate about sharing her knowledge of “Authentic Leadership.”
Ritu’s explanations for why we behave in certain ways and how we can improve our relationships just by being more authentic to our true selves are eye-opening. She shares that authenticity is the foundation on which we build inclusion and therefore is essential to our success as individuals and as leaders. Here are some highlights from Ritu’s presentation for those of you who missed it.
Ritu’s “Authenticity Principle” focuses on the importance of Knowing Yourself, Embracing Yourself and Being Yourself. All three of these are key to success in your personal life, as well as your professional life, and help you to:
– Feel better about yourself;
– Find clarity, meaning and purpose in how you live, work and lead;
– Bring a spirit of authenticity to your interactions;
– Invite others to practice authenticity;
– Build more meaningful relationships;
– Help to create more empowered, engaged, innovative and inclusive organizations.
Ritu described “The Three Selves” or the three different ways we present ourselves:
The Authentic Self – how you would show up if there were no negative consequences for your actions.
The Adapted Self – how you show up when you willingly choose to alter your behavior from how your Authentic Self would act, to meet your needs and others’ needs.
The Performing Self – how you show up when you feel you don’t have a choice but to conform and mask who you are.
If you’re an attorney (or even a law student), you know that it’s not enough to just be good at your job. In 2017, you’re expected to go the extra mile and bring in new business, take on leadership roles in your firm, network with your peers, and join professional organizations. How can you manage all of these demands and embrace them as opportunities to advance your career and achieve fulfillment? Have you become overwhelmed and is your enthusiasm for your career fading?
Join us for our Signature Seminar Series and you’ll hear from Lauren Stiller Rikleen, author of Ladder Down: Success Strategies for Lawyers From Women Who Will be Hiring, Reviewing, and Promoting You. Lauren’s webinar will take place from 1:00 – 2:15 pm ET on Thursday, June 8 and is free to all Alliance Members.
Here are five reasons you should join us and learn how to approach your law career with enthusiasm:
On March 16, 2017 we welcomed more than 150 professionals to our Annual Conference. Our guests included 44 Partners, five Chairs, 12 General Counsel, 19 Associates, 34 Directors, five Of Counsel, 12 Presidents or Principals, eight Vice Presidents, 16 Managers, and one Global Chairman.
Our attendees came from financial services firms, professional services firms, law schools and graduate schools, law firms, and corporations. They represented human resources, diversity and inclusion, recruitment, advancement, operations, client services and management, and all were committed to learning how to advance diversity and flexibility in their organization.
For eight hours we learned from three insightful panels including chairs and leaders from myriad firms and corporations. We were honored to hear one very impactful keynote from a global leader. We presented seven awards to those leading the way in flexibility and we were treated to an eye-opening collaborative session on deconstructing minimization. (More importantly, we served 150 delicious Georgetown Cupcakes!) From our perspective, it was a successful day.
As an organization, we at the Alliance love metrics. Numbers and data like this help us to track progress and evaluate our impact. We consistently advise our members to keep such data to help track progress towards goals. However, since our conference was entitled Diversity + Flexibility = An Evolving Culture, the true test of our success and the success of our members will be the impact on the evolution of organizational culture. Will our attendees be able to take what they learned back to their organizations and encourage a shift in attitude and a greater acceptance of diversity and flexibility?
As we count down the days to our annual conference on Thursday, we’re excited to hear from so many impressive leaders about their roles in diversity and flexibility in their organizations. The conference is intentionally designed to provide attendees with a forum to learn from others, share best practices, and ask questions of and interact with presenters. While our morning panel will provide a corporate perspective, our 2:00pm panel is devoted to the law firm point of view. We’ll hear from four highly-effective and knowledgeable law firm Chairs who will share their insights on how they are leading their firms in diversity and flexibility.
Yvette McGee Brown, Partner-in-Charge of Diversity, Inclusion and Advancement at Jones Day (our hosts for the day) will be moderating the panel and will ask a multitude of questions ranging from, “How are you holding partners accountable for their commitment to diversity?” to “How are you engaging clients and how are clients driving the change at your firm?” The Chairs might also be asked, “What systems are in place to maintain your diversity and flexibility initiatives?” Or “How has flexibility impacted your ability to recruit and retain top talent?”
The panel includes Matt Keen, Managing Shareholder, Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C.; Kim Koopersmith, Chairperson, Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP; Jami Wintz McKeon, Chair, Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP; and Terry Pritchard, Chair, Bryan Cave LLP. This impressive group is ready to answer your questions and help you create a more inclusive culture. We encourage you to bring your questions!
Note: This post was first published on March 7, 2017 on 1 Million For Work Flexibility’s blog. 1MFWF is the first national initiative bringing people together to create a collective voice in support of work flexibility, and the Alliance is a supporting organization. Thank you to 1MFWF for allowing us to share our news about our 2017 Flex Awards!
We at the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance are optimistic about the gradual cultural change towards embracing flexibility taking place in many U.S. corporations and firms. Each year at our annual conference we celebrate individual and organizational successes that truly demonstrate how flexibility can positively influence the way we work and live without impacting career development and financial success.
This year’s conference is entitled Diversity + Flexibility = An Evolving Culture, and we hope our attendees will leave inspired about the future of flex. We have structured the conference to arm attendees with concrete tips on how to better weave flexibility into their organization’s culture and, in so doing, foster a more diverse and inclusive team. Please join us on March 16 in Washington, DC.
This year we’re presenting three awards to individuals and organizations leading the way in this flex revolution…