AGENDA: Thursday, April 26, 2018

Time's 2017 person of the year was The Silence Breakers. How can the legal community use this momentum to create more opportunities and diversity? Key metrics such as pay equity and the ratio of women in leadership positions, show that there is inequality both in-house and at law firms. Implicit and explicit sexism is real – what can be done to create change on an individual basis, in organizations and across the country?

This panel will examine:

• Silence Breakers and utilizing the country’s awareness
• The current pay equity landscape for female lawyers both in-house and at law firms
• How can the current momentum be used for change?
• What does top down change look like?

Juggling ambition, professional fulfillment and the right career choices is a challenge for many women in the legal profession. What career choices do you have? What realistic sacrifices will you make to pursue a fulfilling, rewarding and balanced career?

This panel will examine:

• What are the best ways to manage your career?
• What are the career paths available to you?
• How to discuss schedule and productivity with your employer/manager?
• Will working from home negatively impact your career?
• How to approach this with family/partners?

Initiatives such as mentorship and sponsorship create a profoundly positive impact towards facilitating professional growth for women. For example, 70% of female corporate workers believe they are high-potential employees, however only 28% aspire to the C-suite. With mentorship, C-suite aspirations jump to over 40%, and with sponsorship the number increases to 50%. How to utilize these resources to bring more diversity to high level positions?

This panel will examine:

• What does a good mentorship program look like?
• The difference between mentorship and sponsorship
• Making the most of your mentorship
• Being a good mentor
• What can you do now?

Many of today’s successful female attorneys have stated that working with your own style, approach and finding your strengths is a good foundation to build a fulfilling career. Why is this such an important topic? How will you recognize and develop your work style and approach? Conversely, how to catch the pervasive pressures and traps that may cause you to work in someone else’s style?

This panel will examine:

• Why is developing your own work style important?
• Traps and pressure to watch out for
• Training your manager
• Open forum questions

When networking and self-promotional opportunities come up that are in culturally male-dominant areas, what choices do women have? How can you bond and network with internal & external clients in a manner that enhances your personal brand? What are the other ways you can network and promote yourself?

This panel will examine:

• How can you take part in male-dominated networking opportunities?
• What other ways can you promote and build your personal brand?
• How to utilize social media in the right way?
• How can you change the culture in your organization?

Roundtable 2: Work-Life Balance
Alana Griffin, Partner, King & Spalding

Roundtable 3: Mentorship & Sponsorship
Kristine Sims, Partner, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete
Mary Dohner Smith, Partner, Constangy, Brooks, Smith & Prophete

Roundtable 4: Networking & Promoting Yourself
Moderated by Bass Berry & Sims

Roundtable 5: Finding Your Voice
Victoria Luna, Partner, Wilson Elser

Click here for more info.

Key elements from the conference will be reviewed interactively with the audience. What questions/comments do you have about today’s panels, roundtables and presentations? Our panelists will summarize their key takeaways from the panel discussions and facilitate a conversation on how to create positive change for women in law.

This panel will examine

• Key points of summary and thoughts on today’s topics
• How can the country’s attention be utilized for change?
• Audience questions and discussions
• Call to action