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Rainmaking Study
Pat Gillette played a key role in the research for this groundbreaking study by Lawyer Metrics, which identifies the characteristics that make rainmakers successful, and confirms that these characteristics are quantifiable and not bound by gender. Please click here for more detailed information on Rainmaking Study Lawyer Metrics has completed its two year study…
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Let’s Kill Those Law Firms Rankings!
Making a list and checking it twice. That’s what Santa does. And then he brings gifts. For a long time now, law firms have been helping the legal industry’s equivalent of Santa (read “law firm publications”) make lists to bring the ultimate gift: the appearance of success on any number of metrics in the eyes…
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Leveling the Playing Field: Bringing in the Men
Women had to fight for the right to take maternity leave. We had to fight for the right to work part time. We had to fight for the right to work remotely. These issues drove women’s initiatives, conferences, and publications for years and finally, the legal industry, as a whole, has responded. In fact, it…
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Feminism 2.0: Stand With Your Men
The concept of feminism has been around for decades. It has been written about, sung about, bantied about. It has been the subject of conversations in Congress and decisions of the United States Supreme Court. It has been exhibited by the bra burning extravaganzas in the 60s, the “dress like a man” fashions in the…
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My 10 Cents
10 cents. That’s how much it cost to change the behavior of hundreds of thousands of people in the Bay Area. When cities and counties imposed a 10 cent cost for a paper bag at the grocery store, overnight people began bringing their own bags. The change was across the board and it was immediate.…
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Not So Sweet 16
Sweet 16 and never been kissed. That was the mantra for teenage girls in the 1950s and early 1960s. Sixteen was the beginning of everything — and if you had never been kissed, you soon would be, or so we all thought. It was the age you waited for because after that, everything was possible.…
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Change is in the Air
Change is in the air: change in the way work gets done, in the way performance is measured, and in the way law firms interact with their clients. But how does this square with the psyche of lawyers who live their lives relying on precedent and tradition? Why change what has worked for all these…
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Power Play
“The thing women have yet to learn is nobody gives you power. You just take it.” I have to confess that never in a million years did I think I would be quoting Roseanne Barr for anything. But, it has become clear to me that this statement should be the mantra for every Women’s Initiative…
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Nothing Personal
It’s not personal. This is the current mantra of law firms with regards to their staff members, associates, and partners. “Sorry, first-year associate, you won’t be starting work when we said you would. Come back in a year.” “After careful consideration, tenth-year associate, we just can’t make you partner yet. Maybe next year.” “We’re sorry…
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It’s All About the Shoes
Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz. She wouldn’t be the first person to come to mind if I asked for the name of a female leader. Yet, when you think about it, she was a true leader – identifying the task that needed to be done, formulating a plan, and overcoming obstacles to reach the…
