Up to PAR

The Project for Attorney Retention will host a conference next month designed to help law firms attract, retain, and advance women lawyers:

Positioning Law Firms for Long-Term Success:
New Strategies for Advancing Women Lawyers

May 15, 2008
Marvin Center, Third Floor Ballroom
George Washington University
800 21st Street, NW, Washington, D.C.

Despite best intentions and a variety of women’s initiatives, legal employers are still having a difficult time retaining and promoting women lawyers. This conference will provide legal employers with innovative, proven strategies for advancing women lawyers and, ultimately, strengthening their organizations for the future.

Agenda:

9:00 Registration and coffee

9:30 Welcome

9:35 Keynote: Why Women’s Initiatives Fail and What To Do About It (Joan Williams)

10:00 Successful Women, Successful Firms: Eleven Practical Strategies for Recruiting, Retaining, and Advancing Women Lawyers (Cynthia Calvert, Linda Chanow, and Consuela Pinto)

11:00 Break

11:15 A View from the Road Ahead: Innovations from Accounting Firms for Law Firms to Adopt Now (Patti Yoder, Mid-Atlantic People Team Leader, Ernst & Young LLP; Lisa A. Madden, Partner, Corporate Group (former Managing Partner, Washington National Tax Office), KPMG)

12:15 Lunch: sandwich buffet

1:15 Building a Culture of Inclusiveness: A View from Inside a Firm (Ellen Ostrow, Founder and Principal, Lawyers Life Coach LLC; Karen Hansen, Esq., Chair, Diversity Committee, Beveridge and Diamond, P.C.)

1:45 Measuring for a Purpose: What Law Firms Can't Afford to Ignore (M.J. Tocci, President, Fulcrum Advisors)

2:15 Leaders for Today and Tomorrow: Advancing Women through Succession Planning (Ida Abbott, President, Ida Abbott Consulting LLC)

2:45 Break

3:00: Refining Law Firm Culture to Support Flexibility (Jeannine Rupp, Principal, Armonia LLC)

3:30 The Client’s Perspective on Women Lawyers in Law Firms (Hinton J. Lucas, Jr., Associate General Counsel and Chief Administrative Counsel, Dupont; Miguel R. Rivera, Sr., Associate General Counsel, Wal-Mart)

4:15 This is How We Do It: Law firm representatives discuss their successful strategies (Roundtable discussions)

4:50 Closing Remarks (Joan Williams)

Reception 5:00 – 6:00

Fee: $149

Online registration available on the PAR website.

Questions? Contact us at conference at pardc dot org.