What does it take as a woman to advance in the legal industry—and why do so many opt out? Baker & McKenzie brought together five highly accomplished panelists this week to discuss those issues and more during its 2014 Women's Legal Counsel Forum: TRACE president Alexandra Wrage, Hilton Worldwide SVP and assistant GC Louise Nelson, US Council for International Business VP and international tax counsel Carol Doran Klein, IBM counsel for governmental programs Tammy Horn, and US DOT chief counsel Vanessa Allen Sutherland.
It's not always a dichotomy between working 'round the clock or opting out; before doing the latter, try communicating about flexibility, like going part-time or taking a sabbatical, they say. We snapped Baker & McKenzie's moderators: Terrie Gleason, Jennifer Ancona Semko, and Sylwia Lis. Other topics ranged from the importance of having a sponsor who actively champions you in the office in addition to a mentor who gives advice, to becoming an expert and leader on an area if at a firm versus remaining a "Jane of all trades" when in-house.
Of course, issues like career advancement and work-life balance (or work-life integration, as we hear it's being called these days) aren't limited to mothers practicing law or women. DC office managing partner Richard Dean was one of the men in attendance; we snapped him with Hilton SVP Louise Nelson.
