While the pandemic has certainly generated undue hardship, it has also offered us more than a few silver linings. These include more flexibility in regard to where we work and when we work. As a result, many are choosing to pursue new opportunities and nontraditional paths. However, this requires confidence, creativity, and the necessary personal awareness to get in touch with what is important to you. It also requires a strong network and the ability to ASK for what you want.
This panel will explore:
- Getting clear with what you really want
- How to build a strong network in a virtual world….it’s a skill that needs to be developed!
- The ASK: Asking for what you want and knowing why you deserve it
- Paying it forward: How best to advocate others
Working remotely has created a new set of challenges, especially for those in a caregiver role—often women. Whether you are caring for children, elderly parents or just having a balanced work-life integration, COVID-19 has placed an even greater strain on those already trying to keep up with the demands of a successful career.
This panel will explore:
- Best practices for working remotely
- Why companies should support – not penalize – parents and caregivers now and in the future
- Realistic tips for achieving balance
- The silver lining: How the pandemic will change the way we work and create more opportunities for flexibility
Over the past 25 years, American public acceptance of LGBTQ individuals has grown, at least in some quarters. But LGBTQ people still face plenty of barriers in the legal industry that include whether it is safe to be “out.” Even law firms with a culture of inclusivity can have hiring partners on staff who are homophobic or transphobic.
This panel will explore:
- Getting clarity on sexual orientation v. gender identity
- Visibility v. passing
- Understanding the challenges and barriers that the LGBTQ community faces in their quest for full acceptance in their chosen fields of expertise
- Affinity groups and other resources
- Success stories- Insights, perspectives and advice from industry leaders
To create a rewarding legal career, one must seek out challenging and visible professional opportunities: getting on the right case, satisfying the important client, winning the big settlement. For women and minorities, however, finding these opportunities often isn’t enough; effective sponsors and influencers are needed to help seize them.
Behind closed doors, who is vouching for you and pushing your name forward for the opportunities you want? What can you do to strategically foster sponsors and influencers?
This panel will explore:
- The importance of women and minorities in law
- Differentiating sponsors from influencers
- Identifying current and potential sponsors
- Redefining the “old boys network” in the legal profession
Leaders of color are resolute in their determination to get ahead. Why then do so few make it to the top in Big Law or major corporations? The numbers are abysmal with 2.81 percent in equity partnership positions and 3.9 percent in the C-suite. Due to ongoing events since the spring of 2020, public outcry for change is at an all-time high. And while diversity and inclusion initiatives are becoming more commonplace in both law firms and corporate America, progress is slow.
This panel will explore:
- Challenges that minority leaders face in the legal profession
- Why law firms and other employers should care about retaining and advancing people of color
- Performative vs. Substantive change
- Affinity groups and other resources
- Success stories - Advice for young attorneys of color
Rarely do we see inclusion strategies that stress the need to include, listen to, and work with the dominant group — the one that is seeing its preeminence questioned. However, that is where leadership is most needed: in helping today’s dominant group embrace tomorrow’s reality. While it goes without question that women and minorities in positions of power must help others to move the needle, a better approach may be to engage everyone in bringing about change. When it comes to women’s advancement, men matter.
This panel will explore:
- Identifying Male Allies
- Developing an engagement strategy
- How you can self-advocate in order to get buy-in from others
- What law firms and corporations can do to help
- Tips and success stories from the panelists
