Page 44 - Miami Vol 7 No 2

Women Lawyers: Take Control
of Your Career by Using Your Voice
TO TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR LEGAL CAREER, YOU MUST BECOME THE CEO OF YOUR OWN ONE-(WO)MAN FIRM. BY KIMBERLY RICE
While this may be the year of women, given the #MeToo movement, law rms are still struggling mightily with
a culture of harassment. In my tenure of in-house law rm positions for nearly 20 years, I saw it and experienced it, in pro- found ways.
In a recent ALA survey taking the pulse of the prevalence of law rm work- place harassment, 75% of respondents re- ported they had experienced some type of harassment in their careers while 67% reported it had occurred more than once. ose are breathtaking statistics and dis- turbing, at the same time.
One of the most daunting of circum- stances is when the perpetrators are among the most powerful in the rm, usually in the top rank of rainmakers. So egregious is the scenario, I recount that one practice group leader considered suits led (for which the rm picked up the tab) against him as “just those silly girls” making a mountain out of a mole- hill. Really?
Nevertheless, these white men are powerful and can wield a mighty sword. e picture I’m painting is that in light of the at, horizontal government structure and typically rotating leadership in a law rm environment, there is little continu- ity and, quite frankly, even less political will to make many wide-sweeping chang- es.
DISPARATE POWER STRUCTURES.
When I was a law rm CMO, the in- equality was palatable. e powerful white men knew they were untouchable, given their impressive and pro table “origina- tions”. It is still the white men whom pri- marily control the purse strings, make the attorney compensation decisions and can dismiss others whom may prove not to be to their liking, for whatever reason.
So, what does this scenario have to do with private practicing women lawyers taking control of their careers? Every- thing.
TAKING THE REINS.
First, given the out-of-whack power structure of mostly-male governed law rms (the majority), women lawyers have their work cut out for them in connection with creating the career of their dreams, given the limited autonomy and oppor- tunity they may have. Women lawyers can sometimes pursue and exercise more control over their career in larger rms wherein they can fade more easily into the masses. In the smaller rms, not as much.
Despite the precarious scenario, how- ever, women lawyers should commit to positioning themselves on the right side of progress to make the private practice of law di erent, better, more ful lling for them and their fellow women lawyer col- leagues.
Sure, the life of a female lawyer is noth- ing if not an exercise in multi-tasking, constant balancing of multiple priori- ties, and going the extra mile to be ac- knowledged and rewarded, compared to their male counterparts, but the well-in- formed lawyer understands that her legal career is only as satisfying as she molds it tobe.Sometimestomove“up,”onemust move “out.” Do not become too comfort- able and complacent as your career tran- scends your current position, every day of the week.
Even as law rms are still struggling to morph into a prosperous business model that may mirror some of their client com- panies, there has never been a more press- ing time for women lawyers to take con- trol of their careers and build solid books of business for themselves.
With the workplace discrimination, un- conscious bias and gender-wage studies re ecting dismal progress and the dispa- rate number of women law rm leaders, it is no wonder that female lawyers decide to throw in the towel and leave the profes- sion altogether, at alarming rates.
To those who choose to stay and ght the good ght, I say, “Understand, deeply, that whether you are a solo practitioner or a member of an AmLaw 100 law rm, if you are in private practice, you are a busi- ness owner whether or not you actu-
ATTORNEY AT LAW MAGAZINE · MIAMI · VOL. 7 NO. 2 44