Women in Law Leadership Academy Charts Course for Young Women Lawyers

CHICAGO, Jan. 12, 2004 – Many women relatively new to the legal profession are stymied in their efforts to advance and succeed, according to numerous studies. Lack of mentors, differences in communicative approaches, and exclusion from informal networks and professional development connections have been cited as serious barriers to their opportunity, growth, pay, promotions and overall career satisfaction.

To help women lawyers break through those barriers, the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession is launching the Women in Law Leadership Academy, April 16-17, at the Wyndham Hotel, 633 N. St. Clair Street, Chicago.

This first-ever program aims to give young or recently licensed women lawyers the information and tools necessary to enhance their skills, keep them motivated to stay in the profession, and instill in them the capacity to direct their careers more effectively.

“We will focus on developing leadership skills and assessing how young women lawyers can improve their client presentations, ask for a raise, find the right mentors, and take advantage of their contacts to transform their job opportunities and work life,” said ABA Commission on Women Chair Diane C. Yu, chief of staff and deputy to the President of New York University.

“We invite women lawyers from all sizes and types of law firms, the corporate in-house bar, government, academia, the judiciary, and the nonprofit world to join us,” said Yu. “Our target audience is women who have been in practice less than 10 years, who may be most in need of navigation lessons to keep their careers on course.”

The academy brings experienced and distinguished practitioners and judges in close contact with attendees through intensive workshops, lectures and interactive programs. Among the topics:

• Leading by Example: The Road to Leadership - Explores workplace cultural and environmental issues: learning the rules of the game, knowing your playing field, building professional networks, and enhancing leadership opportunities.
• A Plan for Success: Client Development Training - Focuses on effective strategies, skill-sets and tools to develop strong client relationships, retention, and develop and expand existing clients to increase the lawyer’s economic opportunities and viability.
• Evaluating Your Career: Expectations and Reality - Emphasizes that the attorney evaluation process cannot be separated from the daily interactions that are a part of every lawyer’s experience.
• Transforming Your Career: Practicing Law as a Segue to Leadership - Focuses on transferring skills between practice areas and practice settings to leadership positions.
• Empowerment and Leadership: Taking Control of Your Career - Addresses negotiating compensation, a raise or a benefits package, and other conditions of career success.

Program registration fees on or before March 15, 2004: ABA members, $250; non-members, $300; academic/judicial/ government/nonprofit, $200. After March 15, registration fees are: ABA members, $300; non-members, $350; academic/judicial/government/nonprofit, $250.

The mission of the ABA Commission on Women is to secure the full and equal participation of women in the ABA, the legal profession and the justice system.

The American Bar Association is the largest voluntary professional membership association in the world. With more than 400,000 members, the ABA provides law school accreditation, continuing legal education, information about the law, programs to assist lawyers and judges in their work, and initiatives to improve the legal system for the public.