One hundred years ago women in the UK and US were fighting for suffrage. Today, women have made significant progress toward equality, but equality has not yet been achieved. Within the legal profession, while we see more women achieving success as lawyers and attaining greater positions of authority, there remains much more to be accomplished, particularly for women of color, those who are LBT, those who live with disabilities, and those who come from disadvantaged backgrounds. Indeed, the demographics and statistics that are available confirm that while women are better represented within the ranks of lawyers, there remains much to be done before women achieve equality in the legal profession.
Certainly, gender diversity efforts aren’t a new idea. In both the US and UK, the legal profession has been addressing it in one form or another almost as long (if not longer) as some women have had the right to vote. But what is new is the way today’s generation of lawyers who are women are seeking to advance gender diversity for women generally, and women lawyers specifically.
Today’s legal profession includes the #MeToo generation and Millennials, as well as a generation of Baby Boomers who spearheaded change ranging from the appropriateness of wearing trousers in court to the implementation of maternity leave that has now evolved into to parental leave, flexible working, and male allies who are not only concerned about the career opportunities for their own sisters, wives, and daughters but who also want the same career flexibility and who were raised to genuinely respect and appreciate the value of working with women. And when we overlay the advances and opportunities offered by technology and globalization, well, it’s not our grandmothers’ legal profession anymore.
Join us for a day-long program examining – comparing, contrasting, and learning about/from – European/US gender diversity in today’s legal profession. What is the most current research telling us? What do we know now that we didn’t know then? What programs and strategies show the most promise. Which might be ready (or overdue) for retirement? What have we learned since the 1970s when women first began entering the law in significant numbers? How are attitudes and values about gender diversity changing? What impact is globalization having for women lawyers? What are we doing to address intersectionality? Are the particular issues confronting lawyers who are women of color or openly LBT+ being adequately addressed as part of gender diversity? Are law firms and corporate clients that have a significant presence in both Europe and the US better positioned to lead on gender diversity on both sides of the Atlantic? How might European and American women lawyers collaborate to advance women lawyers in both countries and beyond? What are the new challenges facing women lawyers and how are we preparing future generations of women lawyers to lead?
PROGRAMME AGENDA
8:30 AM – 9:00 AM Registration/Coffee
9:00 AM – 9:15 AM Welcome, Introductions , Overview of the Day
9:15 AM – 9:30 AM Towards a More Inclusive Legal Profession: Gender Diversity Strategies Creating Change presented by Sharon E. Jones, CEO, Jones Diversity, Inc.
9:30 AM – 10:30 AM The True State of Gender Diversity in the Legal Profession
• Christina Blacklaws, President, The Law Society of England and Wales
• Jill Lynch Cruz, PhD, JLC Consulting
• Sarretta McDonough, President, National Association of Women Lawyers
• Bendita Cynthia Malakia, Senior Inclusion Manager, HoganLovells US LLP (Moderator)
10:30 AM – 10:45 AM Break
10:45 AM – 11:15 AM Women Lawyers Leading Law Firms
• Madeleine McDonough, Chair, Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP
Interviewed by
• Mona Barnes, Vice President, Overseas General, Chubb Insurance and
• Susan Mann, Vice President, Assistant General Counsel, Legal Department – EMEA, Bank of America Merrill Lynch International Ltd.
11:15 AM – 12:15 PM Intersectionality and Gender Diversity
• Jill Lynch Cruz, PhD, JLC Consulting (Moderator)
• Shalini Sharma, Director and Managing Legal Counsel, NatWest
• Yasmin Sheikh, Founder, Diverse Matters
• Angela Winfield, Associate Vice President for Inclusion and Workforce Diversity, Cornell University
12:15 PM – 12:30 PM Break
12:30 PM – 1:30 PM Working Lunch
Learning from Each Other/Getting to Know Ourselves
Women lawyers from the UK and US rarely have an opportunity to share their thoughts, experiences, and perspectives with each other or even just to talk and get to know each other. During lunch, we’ll break into small groups aimed at laying the foundation for British and American women lawyers to get to know each other and to begin to build relationships for the future.
1:30 PM – 1:45 PM Break
1:45 PM – 2:15 PM How Do We Get Men in the Legal Profession to Be More Effective Mentors/Sponsors/Champions of Women Lawyers? An Interview with Lexis Nexis General Counsel Blair Macdonald
• Blair Macdonald, Head of Legal, LexisNexis UK
Interviewed by
• Joanna Weller, Global Compliance Counsel, LexisNexis
2:15 PM – 3:15 PM Growth Mindset
• Linda Bray Chanow, Chanow Consulting
3:15 PM – 3:30 PM Break
3:30 PM – 4:30 PM Women Lawyers Working Across Generations
• Julia A. Gore-Randall, Barclay’s
• Sarah Gregory, Partner, Baker & McKenzie
• Thelma Marshall, Partner, Brecher LLP
• Sun-Hee Park, Senior Counsel, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development
• Molly L. Wiltshire, Partner, Schiff Hardin LLP
• Susan Bright, Regional Managing Partner – UK and Africa, HoganLovells
4:30 PM – 5:00 PM Closing Discussion/Next Steps
5:00 PM – 6:00 PM Networking Reception
