Women Lawyers Must Also 'Lean In'

After spending nearly two decades working in law firms, I have witnessed and experienced enough discrimination and recrimination to know from the front row the many challenges women lawyers face in law firms today.

Still a Way to Go

According to a 2012 National Association for Law Placement (NALP) survey on the demographics of equity, we should not be surprised to learn that 64% of male partners are equity partners while 47% of both women and minority partners are equity partners, a differential of 17 to 18 percentage points. More dramatically perhaps, among equity partners, about 85% are men, 15% are women, and fewer than 5% are racial/ethnic minorities. (The minority figures include both men and women, so the three figures add to more than 100%.)

Among non-equity partners, the respective figures are 73% men, 27% women, and 8% racial/ethnic minorities. Finally, among all partners, the equity/non-equity split is about 61%/39%. Just over half of partners are male equity partners; just over 9% are women equity partners; and almost 3% are minority equity partners.

What these stats may convey to us is: 1) Caucasian males remain in the power seats; and 2) Women lawyers must step it up if we are committed to making a measurable advancement in their careers and quality of work environments.

Despite these figures, the ranks of women lawyers also must claim their role as well; they are not “leaning in” (Sheryl Sandberg reference intended) to clear the path for power and advancement in their legal careers.

In Sandberg’s book, “Lean In: Women, Work and the Will to Lead,” she says that women are hindered by barriers erected by themselves, as well as society (read law firms). “We hold ourselves back in ways big and small, by lacking self-confidence, by not raising our hands, and by pulling back when we should be leaning in,” she says, pointing out that women tend to internalize lifelong negative messages that say it is wrong to be outspoken, aggressive, more powerful than men. “We lower our expectations of what we can achieve,” she says. “We compromise our career goals ‘ Compared to our male colleagues, fewer of us aspire to senior positions.”

Compound these troubling realities with the well-known fact that law school curriculum does not appropriately prepare law students in the business of law or how to build and grow a client base, and women lawyers have their work cut out for them, as we sometimes say.

Difficult, no doubt, but possible nonetheless.

Reality Check

Recognizing that women must prove themselves to a far greater extent than men do (a 2011 Kinsey Report noted that men are promoted on potential while women are promoted based upon past accomplishments), I suggest women learn from this and advance in spite of it. Striving to be a “glass-half-full” individual, I know for sure that attitude is everything.

Assess your mindset toward building a prosperous practice to check your “atty tude” before taking the first action.

Do you believe in what you are doing? Are you resentful that you are placed in “selling situations”? Do you begrudgingly attend networking events? And, when there, do you not use the time productively? You are not alone. What we see very often is that women lawyers frequently behave from a position of fear, not confidence. If I had a nickel for every time I’ve heard, “I’m not good at xxxx,” I could buy an island in the Pacific somewhere. The question is not whether you are “good” or “bad” at any particular behavior or action, but rather whether you are willing to work at it.’

This reminds me of a great quote by Henry Ford: “If you think you can do a thing or think you can’t do a thing, you’re right.” It’s all in the attitude.

Leverage Your Strengths

As a gender, women are hardwired to cultivate and nurture relationships. We are born for relationships. Leverage this strength to turn everyday contacts into powerful business and client connections.

In our everyday lives, we constantly encounter people who may be in a position or have a connection to help us. The only way we will know is to engage ‘ ask open-ended questions, offer to help, to connect, to listen. It’s really that simple. This is what we do each and every day for our partners, for our children, for our parents, and now is not too soon to take hold of this natural ability of connecting to propel your legal career.

From a traditional business development perspective, consider the state of your network ‘ how and how often do you get and stay in touch. Is our contact database organized, categorized and current? Do you have systems to implement and support our continual connecting efforts? Anything short of an “absolutely” and we suggest seeking out resources to check this off the “must-do” list of critical business development initiatives.

In contrast to the old clich’ that lawyers must “eat what they kill,” I challenge you to adapt a “give to get” mentality. As you attack the crucial elements of building a prosperous practice with fervor, do so by discovering an attitude of abundance by sharing your skills and expertise. Be willing to “lift as you climb,” to reference a favorite phrase. Women so often regard each other as rivals instead of colleagues on similar journeys. Those women lawyers who take the time to help out a junior associate as she is finding her sea legs will find much more pleasure in a sometimes otherwise mundane work day or contract review or deposition preparation.

Make Your Network Work for You

As much as you cannot develop a prosperous practice without cultivating solid relationships, it is imperative that you define your network and craft an actionable plan to: