2014 July/Aug - Diversity & The Bar Magazine

® July/August 2014

the PAY GAP Between Men and Women in the Legal Profession Continues to Widen

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WOMEN GCs IN HARD HAT INDUSTRIES PAGE 24

IF I ONLY KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW...

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SEDGWICK RULE #84

COOKIE-CUTTER

LAWYERS MAKE FOR A

HALF-BAKED LAW FIRM. At Sedgwick, our commitment to diversity has created a law firm where differing opinions aren’t just encouraged, but anticipated. Where passion is as respected as experience. And change is more than welcome, it’s embraced. Because you can’t make good law with the same old ingredients. To see what makes us different please visit www.sedgwicklaw.com

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

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The pay gap between men and women widens.

Profiles and advice from women who work in traditionally maledominated fields.

FEATURES 18 THE PAY GAP After more than a decade of collecting data on wages, the pay gap between women and men in the legal profession is still wide. Mid-career women at major law firms earn 80 percent of what their male counterparts make—a salary gap that’s as much as $100,000 annually. The salary disparity begins early in a woman’s career and widens as her career progresses.

if I only knew then...

BY JONATHAN GRONER

24 AT THE TOP: WOMEN GCs IN HARD HAT INDUSTRIES What drives women to pursue jobs at companies that are traditionally male-dominated? What has been key to their success and advancement? Find out what advice they have for attorneys contemplating entering into a business environment in which they are the minority. BY LYDIA LUM

33 IF I ONLY KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW… The challenges facing new attorneys are greater than ever. To help new attorneys, seasoned leaders, including firm partners, offer their reflections and advice gleaned over years of hard work. BY DIANNE HAYES

MCCA® Board Of Directors Vernon G. Baker II Former Senior Vice President & General Counsel, Meritor, Inc.

Samuel M. Reeves Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Walmart U.S. Legal

Michelle Banks Executive Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer, Gap, Inc.

Carlos Rincon Partner, Rincon Law Group, P.C.

Clarissa Cerda Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, LifeLock, Inc. A. B. Cruz III Former Chief Legal Officer & Corporate Secretary, Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Anthony K. Greene Director, Jamison Insurance Group

COLUMNS 8 Notes from the President & CEO 10 Perseverance in Profile

Highlighting the contributions and talents of attorneys with disabilities.

Michelle Duprey

DEPARTMENTS

Robin H. Sangston Vice President, Chief Compliance Officer, Cox Communications, Inc. Kenneth S. Siegel Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel, Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.

Jean Lee Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, JPMorgan Chase

Mary E. Snapp Corporate Vice President & Deputy General Counsel Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation

Don H. Liu Senior Vice President, General Counsel, & Secretary, Xerox Corporation

Lawrence P. Tu Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary, Dell, Inc.

Hinton J. Lucas Vice President & Assistant General Counsel, DuPont Company

Neil Wilcox General Counsel Chase Card Services, JP Morgan Chase

Robbie E. B. Narcisse Vice President-Global Ethics & Business Practices, Pitney Bowes Inc.

Simone Wu Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary & Chief Compliance Officer, Choice Hotels International, Inc.

42 Association Focus National Conference of Vietnamese-American Attorneys

BY LEKAN OGUNTOYINBO

44 Diversity News

BY TOM CALARCO

Using Respectful Language When Talking about Disability

14 Lawyer’s Lantern

BY JASON GOITIA

BY LAURIE ADAMSON

46 Movers & Shakers

Offering illuminating professional guidance for your career.

Thomas L. Sager Senior Vice President & General Counsel, DuPont Company

16 Spotlighting Liani J. Reeves

BY PATRICK FOLLIARD

2014 STRATEGIC DIVERSITY SPONSORS

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Permissions and Reprints Reproduction of Diversity & the Bar in whole or in part without permission is prohibited. The Copyright Act of 1976 prohibits the reproduction by photocopy machine or any other means of any portion of this issue, except with the permission of MCCA. To obtain permission, contact: Kim Howard, CAE, Editor-in-Chief, kimhoward@ mcca.com.

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3M Company AARP AT&T Accenture LLP AECOM AGCO Corporation Allstate Insurance Altria Group, Inc. American Airlines, Inc. American Express Company American Lawyer Media Aon Corporation Areas USA, Inc. Bank of America Bechtel Becton, Dickinson and Company Behr America Inc. Boehringer Ingelheim Corporation Booz Allen Hamilton BP America Inc. Bristol-Myers Squibb Company BNY Mellon CALIBR, global leadership network Capital Legal Solutions, LLC Capital One Financial Corporation Cargill Inc. Carter’s, Inc. Catalent Pharma Solutions CBIC Construction & Development, LLC Chevron Corporation Choice Hotels International, Inc. CIGNA Corporation CITGO Corporation Colgate-Palmolive Company Compass Group, The Americas Compassion Care Hospice Computer Science Corporation ConAgra Foods, Inc. ConocoPhillips Constellation Energy

Cox Communications Crawford & Company Darden Restaurants, Inc. D.C. Water and Sewer Authority Deere & Company Dell Inc. DHL America Diageo North America Inc. Dignity Health DiversityInc Media, L.L.C. Dow Corning Corporation Duke Energy DuPont Eaton Corporation Eli Lilly and Company Entergy Corporation Estée Lauder Companies Inc. Exelon Business Services Company Fannie Mae Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco Fickel Enterprises Inc. Flagstar Bank Freddie Mac Fujitec America, Inc. Gap Inc. General Electric Company General Mills Inc. GlaxoSmithKline Graduate Management Admission Council Genentech, Inc. Goldman Sachs & Co. Google Inc. Hewlett-Packard Company HJ Heinz Company H.J. Russell & Company Halliburton Honda of America MFG., Inc. Honeywell International Huntington Ingalls Industries

IBM Corporation Ingersoll-Rand PLC Intel Corporation International Paper Company Jamison Insurance Group JC Penney Company, Inc. JetBlue Airways Corporation Johnson & Johnson JPMorgan Chase Bank NA JM Family Enterprises, Inc. Kaiser Foundation Health Plan, Inc. KeyCorp Kraft Foods Law School Admission Council (LSAC) Leading Educators Leidos Leo Burnett Company LexisNexis Liberty Mutual Insurance Company Lifelock, Inc. LifeVantage Corporation Liquidity Services, Inc. Macy’s, Inc. ManpowerGroup Marriott International, Inc. MassMutual Financial Group Medifast, Inc. MetLife Inc. Merck & Co., Inc. McDonald’s Corporation Microsoft Corporation MillerCoors Monsanto Company Morgan Stanley Nabholz Construction Services National Grid Nationwide Mutual Insurance Company Navistar, Inc. Neighborhood

Defender Service Newegg Inc. New York Life Insurance Company NORCAL Mutual Insurance Company Northrop Grumman Corporation Nuclear Electric Insurance Limited Office Depot Pacific Gas and Electric Company Pepco Holdings, Inc. PepsiCo, Inc. Pfizer Inc. Pitney Bowes, Inc. PPG Industries, Inc. Porzio Life Sciences, LLC PRAXAIR, INC. PreCash Premier Media, Inc. Prudential Financial Quest Diagnostics Incorporated RBS Americas Reckitt Benckiser, Inc. Reed Elsevier, Inc. Rockwell Collins Rolls Royce North America Inc. Rosetta Stone Inc. Sara Lee Corporation Scripps Networks Interactive, Inc. Sears Holding Company Sempra Energy ServiceMesh, Inc. Shell Oil Company Sodexo Sony Electronics, Inc. Southeastern Freight Lines, Inc. Southern California

Edison Company Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) Staples, Inc. Starbucks Coffee Company Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc. Spanish Broadcasting System Inc. Synopsys, Inc. Tanenbaum Harber of Florida, Inc. Target Corporation Tessera North America, Inc. The Brookings Institution The Church Pension Fund The Clorox Company The Coca-Cola Company The Conference Board, Inc. The Dow Chemical Company The Juilliard School The Vanguard Group, Inc. The Walt Disney Company The Williams Companies, Inc. Tyson Foods Inc. UBS UnitedHealth Group United Parcel Service United Technologies Corporation U.S. Food Service, Inc. Verizon Communications Walmart Stores, Inc. WellPoint, Inc. Waste Management Wells Fargo & Company Wireless Generation Inc. Xerox Corporation XO Holdings, Inc. Xylem Inc. Yazaki North America Inc. Zenith Insurance Company

All Firm Affiliates Receive These Exceptional Benefits: • Use of MCCA Law Firm Affiliate Network’s logo for the firm’s business cards, ads, website, etc. (under license agreement).

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• Ability to post bios and practice information on the firm’s diverse attorneys in the Diverse Outside Counsel Database (DOCD) that is marketed to MCCA member companies for outside counsel selection.

• Access to MCCA’s Career Center. Firms will be able to post jobs at low cost and review resumes at no cost.

• Special firm affiliate enewsletter containing trends, statistics, article links, and information on in-house counsel promotions.

• Two MCCA Diversity Planning Toolkits (compendium of diversity research and best practice information compiled by MCCA).

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MCCA® Law Firm Affiliates MCCA® acknowledges the decision of the following law firms who have joined with MCCA to advance the goal of furthering diversity in the legal profession.

Alchemy-Partners, PC Alexander & Associates Anderson Kill P.C. Archer & Greiner, P.C. Arent Fox LLP Arrastia & Capote LLP** Axiom Baldassare & Marra LLC** Benesch Friedlander Coplan & Aronoff LLP Berger Singerman LLP Beveridge & Diamond, P.C. Bond, Schoeneck & King, PLLC Bressler, Amery & Ross PC Bricker & Eckler LLP Brinks Hofer Gilson & Lione Brown Law Group** Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney PC Butler, Snow, O’Mara, Stevens & Cannada, PLLC Calfee, Halter & Griswold LLP Cavich, Familo & Durkin Co., LPA Christian & Small LLP Clifford Chance US LLP Cooley LLP Cottrell Solensky & Semple, P.A. Courington Kiefer & Sommers LLC Cozen O’Connor Crumbie Law Group, LLC** Davis & Gilbert LLP DeMahy Labrador & Drake, PA** Dickstein Shapiro LLP Drinker Biddle & Reath LLP Duane Morris LLP Elliott Greenleaf Epstein, Becker & Green, PC Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner, LLP Fish & Richardson P.C. Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto Goldberg Segalla, LLP Gonzalez Saggio & Harlan LLP** Griffith Sadler & Sharp, P.A.**

Hamilton Miller & Birthisel LLP** Helms & Greene LLC Hinkley Allen & Snyder LLP Hughes Roch LLP** Ice Miller LLP Innis Law Group LLC** Igbanugo Partners International Law Firm Jeffrey Samel & Partners** Kasowitz, Benson, Torres & Friedman LLP Kaufman Dolowich & Voluck, LLP Kenyon & Kenyon LLP Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton LLP King Branson LLC Kirkland & Ellis LLP Kumagai Law Group PC Kumar, Prabhu, Patel & Banerjee** Lathrop & Gage LLP Law Office of LaVonne Lawson** Leader & Berkon LLP Littler Mendelson P.C. Lim Ruger & Kim LLP** Loeb & Loeb LLP Lowe & Associates LLC Martin & Martin, LLP** Maynard Cooper & Gale PC McGuireWoods LLP Meckler Bulger Tilson & Pearson LLP Messner & Reeves, LLC Miles & Stockbridge P.C. Miller Law Group** Montgomery, Barnett, Brown, Read, Hammond & Mintz LLP Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP Nemeth Burwell, P.C.** Nicholson Law Group LLC** Ogletree Deakins Nash Smoak & Stewart P.C. Patton Boggs LLP Pepper Hamilton, LLP Peter Law Group** Phelps Dunbar LLP Pinckney, Harris & Weidinger LLC** Polsinelli PC

Porzio, Bromberg & Newman, PC Quarles & Brady LLP Quintarios Prieto Wood & Boyer, P.A.** Rivero Mestre, LLP** Roig, Tutan, Rosenberg, Martin & Stoller, P.A.** Rooney Rippie & Ratnaswamy, LLP Sanchez & Amador, LLP** Sanchez-Medina, Gonzalez, Quesada, Lage, Crespo, Gomez & Machado LLP** Saul Ewing LLP Schiff Hardin, LLP Schwartz Hannum PC** Shella, Harris and Aus, P.C.** Sher Garner Cahill Richter Klein & Hilbert LLC Shook, Hardy & Bacon L.L.P. Smith, Anderson, Blount, Dorsett, Mitchell & Jernigan, LLP Snell & Wilmer LLP Steptoe & Johnson LLP Stevens & Lee Stradling Yocca Carlson & Rauth, P.C. Sughrue Mion PLLC Sutherland Asbill & Brennan LLP The Goldstein Environmental Law Firm P.A. Thompson Hine LLP Troutman Sanders LLP U.K. Vyas Law** Vinson & Elkins LLP Waas Campbell Rivera Johnson & Velasquez LLP Weil, Gotshal & Manges LLP Willis Law Group** Winston & Strawn LLP Wheeler Trigg O’Donnell LLP Wong Fleming P.C.** Vinson & Elkins LLP Xupkus & Angell, P.C.** Young Conaway Stargatt & Taylor, LLP Zuber Lawler & Del Duca LLP

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* This item will require an additional payment at MCCA’s cost for printing and centralized shipping of a specified number of copies of the magazine to an office of the firm for the firm’s further internal distribution.

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DIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

7

Notes

From the President & CEO

OVERCOMING GENDER BIAS STARTS WITH EACH OF US MY ALMOST TEENAGE DAUGHTER RECENTLY TOLD ME THAT SHE IS CONSIDERING A CAREER IN THE LAW.

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She said that she was influenced after watching my closing argument in a jury trial I conducted seven years ago. I was flattered, but I also have mixed feelings about her career choice.

In this month’s cover story, “The Pay Gap between Men and Women in the Legal Profession Continues to Widen,” we follow a group of lawyers in the study, After the J.D. We are reporting on the third wave of this study that followed 9,000 lawyers who graduated in 2000. The disparity between gender salaries began almost immediately after law school with women making five percent less than their male counterparts in 2002. By the second round of interviews in 2007, the income gap was 13 percent and it grew to 20 percent in 2012.

I challenge any of us to look at our income and slash it by 20 percent. And, it’s not just the economic impact on women lawyers — it’s the reasons behind it: maternal wall discrimination, our perceptions of good work based on gender and how we reward and promote staff.

MCCA offers excellent resources to help start the conversation and implement a culture change.

The Academies for Leadership and Inclusion is a ground breaking, interactive 90-minute program that helps your corporate legal department and law firm learn about diversity and inclusion principles that can be implemented in your organization. This is an exclu-

sive, complimentary member benefit for our in-house members and our Firm Affiliated Network (FAN).

The 2013 Do Good, Do Well List showcases law firms that are successful in achieving high levels of excellence in both diversity and business. As more Gen Y lawyers enter the work force, we also must understand their perspectives. Workplace 2020: What Gen Y Attorney Experience & Expect is a study that explores the workplace perceptions of our newest colleagues. All of MCCA’s research is free to our members and our FANs, so please take advantage of it.

It can help positively impact your organization.

The legal profession belongs to us. If we want it to change, we have to be the change. Let MCCA help you become the change agent.

JOSEPH K. WEST

President & CEO MCCA_law

www.facebook.com/mcca.law

Publications Staff President & CEO Joseph K. West Founder and Publisher Emeritus Lloyd M. Johnson Jr. Editor-in-Chief Kimberly A. Howard, CAE

DIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

Advertising Don Cooksey Design/Art Direction Quad/Graphics Creative Solutions

JULY/AUGUST 2014

MCCA® Staff Mahzarine Chinoy David Chu Donna Crook Charles Hollins Jessica Martinez Aracely Muñoz Petrich Andrea Pimm

Contributing Writers Laurie Adamson Tom Calarco Patrick Folliard Jason Goitia Jonathan Groner Dianne Hayes Lydia Lum Lekan Oguntoyinbo

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Thank You for Your Support Your participation in the Annual General Counsel Invitational Diversity Leadership Summit made this event a success!

“Attending the GCI is one of the best investments I have made in my professional career.

I enhanced my substantive knowledge in areas necessary for me to effectively perform my job. I participated in critical and honest discussions regarding enhancing the profession of law with an emphasis on the tremendous and often untapped benefits that diverse attorneys offer our profession.

Most impressive, for me was that MCCA provided me and the other participants an environment in which we were able to develop and nurture authentic relationships as in-house and outside counsel based on respect and business necessity. “ Angelique Strong Marks MAHLE Industries, Incorporated General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

“ I attend GCI for the networking opportunity, to meet talented and diverse outside counsel, and to demonstrate Staples’s commitment to MCCA’s mission.”

Michael T. Williams, SVP, General Counsel & Secretary Staples, Inc.

Perseverance in Profile

MICHELLE DUPREY: ADVOCATE FOR THE DISABLED A Profile of Courage

BY TOM CALARCO

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You would be hard pressed to find a better advocate for those with disabilities than Michelle Duprey, director of the Department of Services for Persons with Disabilities for the city of New Haven, Conn. The attorney, born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, a bone disorder that causes fractures and inhibits growth, has been serving the city since 1998, and her work has been recognized with numerous awards.

She’s a classic example of the cliché “good things come in small packages,” for she stands only three feet tall. Nevertheless, she does not require a personal assistant, gets around with a wheelchair and scooter (though she can walk short distances), and has had her driver’s license since 1989.

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t was a little bumpy for me during my early years in school,” Duprey says. “It was the early 1970s and we (those with disabilities) were often segregated and treated differently.”

Fortunately, her family moved to Avon, Conn., when she was in fifth grade where she was fully mainstreamed.

“I was given every opportunity to participate in activities that I had been discouraged from,” she says.

In high school, she joined the school newspaper, was a member of student government, and managed the track, soccer and swim teams. “For the most part, my peers were good to me,” she says.

Her family, however, did not coddle her.

“My family had high expectations for me,” she says. “As a kid I tried to milk my disability but they would have none of that, and they challenged me to pick myself up. It clearly was the best strategy because it forced me to stretch myself.”

Duprey had little idea what she wanted to do with her life at that time.

“I had thought about being a paralegal,” she says. “But this was the early 1980s and the profession was not very welcoming to those with disabilities. I also had thought about architecture.”

She eventually enrolled at Bryant College in Providence, R.I., in part because her mother wanted her to be close to home, and chose to study economics and marketing. Her MCCA.COM

father had hoped that she would move on to graduate school, but he passed away suddenly during her junior year. It was then that she felt a sense of independence, and the idea of law school began to take shape. “I thought: ‘I’ll study corporate law.’”

She was accepted at the University of Connecticut School of Law. Taking notice of the increasing globalization of markets, she initially pursued study in international corporate law.

“I didn’t like it,” she says.

Another door opened for Duprey, however, when she began taking a course with Professor Jon Bauer on employment discrimination.

“It was the intersection of business, employment and discrimination, and it seemed like a perfect fit,” she says.

“I had tasted discrimination a little bit through my personal life and it seemed like a good use of my background and experience with discrimination. I felt like I could be useful to a variety of

clients in that realm and soon after got an internship at a law firm that specialized in employment law.”

After law school, Duprey took a position at the firm with which she had interned. However, she says it wasn’t a good fit, so she struck out on her own. It was slow going in the beginning, but her network of friends and clients from her former job helped to build her practice. What was tougher was confronting the struggles of those with disabilities and others facing discrimination.

“I watched individuals go through terrible times because of the lengthy process of adjudicating discrimination claims,” she says. “I saw people who had lost their job and were not in a position to get another job. It takes three to five years to adjudicate these claims, and people have to pay their bills. There is only so much a lawyer can do. It was very emotionally draining.”

When she learned about the opening in New Haven’s disability services department, Duprey saw an opportunity.

“I thought my talents would be put to better use preventing lawsuits than filing them.”

In her current position she ensures that people in the city of New Haven are treated in accordance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Her duties require her to train employees in dealing with citizens who have disabilities and need accommodations; help employees with disabilities get the accommodations; train police on their legal obligations as related to people with disabilities; work with emergency planning to ensure that people with disabilities are handled appropriately; and review new city projects to ensure they consider accommodations for people with disabilities.

“There’s never a dull moment.”

Hot JOBS

Hot Jobs Email Blast -- MCCA is pleased to send out an email blast of Hot Job announcements to our network on the last Friday of every month. As an exclusive membership benefit, MCCA member companies, and MCCA FAN law firms, wishing to advertise their open positions to our diverse network may participate in MCCA’s Hot Jobs email blast. This service is provided in addition to the MCCA Job Bank, which allows users to post job announcements online to the MCCA website.

Members, who would like to submit a job announcement to be included in the MCCA Hot Jobs email blast, should email Connie Swindell-Harding, Regional Coordinator, Southeast Region, at connieharding@mcca.com to receive the requisite form. All forms must be submitted by 5:00 pm EST on the 20th of the month before the listings are to be sent.

Interested in becoming a Member of MCCA or a Firm Affiliate Network law firm?

Contact David Chu, Director of Membership, at davidchu@mcca.com or (202) 739-5906.

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“Duprey knows how frustrating lack of access to services can be.”

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Duprey knows how frustrating lack of access to services can be.

During a Bruce Springsteen concert at the XL Center, she was sitting in a section reserved for the “disabled.”

However, the section was only slightly above the seats in front of them, and people stood, blocking her view during the entire concert. Even more problematic was that the restrooms were not handicapped accessible.

Determined to have the problems rectified, she returned to the XL Center for a UConn basketball game and videotaped her view from the disabled seating section, which was often obstructed. She then posted it on YouTube. She followed up with a letter to the U.S. Justice Department that included a link to the video.

“I got a call from the U.S. Attorney’s Office a couple of weeks later saying, ‘OK, we’re doing an investigation,’” she says.

She also reached out to Bridgeport, Conn. attorney Gary E. Phelan, a principal at the firm Mitchell and Sheahan to represent her to represent her department. The Justice Department sent representatives to look at the building, and a settlement was reached in which the XL Center agreed to add handicapped-accessible restrooms and create an unobstructed viewing area for disabled people. The process took a number of years, howDIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

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ever. “They could’ve gone farther and made more accessible seating, more lines of sight for viewing,” she says.

“But I think it was the best resolution under the circumstance—there were pretty substantial changes, both seating and the bathrooms.”

She also successfully sued the state of Connecticut for charging $5 for handicap parking permits, which was a violation of the ADA that prohibits fees for granting accommodations. She had $50,000 of the proceeds received from the judgment donated to the University of Connecticut School of Law Foundation to establish a Disability Rights Law Endowment Fund to support discrimination mediation work in the law school’s Mediation Clinic. Of that sum, $5,000 was used to sponsor a conference that discussed the problems municipalities face in providing services to disabled citizens.

Duprey’s advocacy of disability rights has garnered a number of awards. In 2005, the city of New Haven was selected as the National Multiple Sclerosis Society’s Employer of the Year in 2005, which owed much to Duprey, who trained the city’s employees with MS and coordinated the efforts to provide their accommodations. Most recently, in 2010, she received the Americans

with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut “ADA Leader” award, and in the year 2000, a lifetime achievement award from the New Haven County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness.

Duprey has been active on numerous boards and civic organizations not only dealing with the rights of the disabled, but also women’s rights and employment discrimination. She was the past president of the Americans with Disabilities Act Coalition of Connecticut and one of the founders of the Connecticut Women and Disability Network, a network of disabled and non-disabled women dedicated to recognizing the unique issues facing women with disabilities.

“The women’s network started 20 years ago,” she says. “We saw the need to form a group to protect those with disabilities. A lot of work was accomplished but it has since become dormant.”

Duprey also has lent her expertise to the Welner’s Guide to the Care of Women with Disabilities, a standard text on the topic, for which she wrote the chapter explaining the provisions of the ADA. Because of city budget constraints, she says that there is less money to provide outreach and promote the hiring of the disabled in New Haven than in the past, and that she currently spends most of her time on compliance.

“I’ll continue to plug away on issues on a day-to-day basis,” she says.

“Maybe, I’ll eventually pursue other options on the state level or on the bench, and be able to increase accessibility and understanding for people with disabilities. But I am quite happy here.” D&B

Tom Calarco is a freelance writer and the author of seven books on the Underground Railroad. He is based in Loveland, Ohio and can be contacted at tomcalwriter@yahoo.com.

MCCA.COM

Gala

The MCCA DIVERSITY GALA July 25, 2014 The MCCA Diversity Gala is the premier national awards program honoring the foremost corporate law departments from across the nation for diversity, industry leadership, and achievements in their legal department diversity programs.

This amazing event includes an exclusive welcome reception, followed by the awards program featuring Professor Cruz Reynoso a special musical performance, and concludes with an elegant networking dinner reception.

Associate Justice California Supreme Court (Ret.) Lifetime Achievement Award Honoree

Employer of Choice Honorees

Kristen Welker

NBC News White House Correspondent Master of Ceremony

South Region BP America Inc. Midwest Region Cummins Inc. West Region Xcel Energy Inc. Laurence Fishburne Actor Special Keynote Speaker & Presenter

Mid-Atlantic Region GlaxoSmithKline Northeast Region Prudential Financial

James Ingram R&B singer, songwriter Musical Performance

For more information visit www.mcca.com/gala

Lawyer’s Lantern

JUDGE CHARLES N. CLEVERT JR.

BY LAURIE ADAMSON Charles N. Clevert Jr. is an Article III federal judge serving in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin. He joined the court in 1996 after President Bill Clinton nominated him. Clevert served as the court’s Chief Judge from September 1, 2009 until he assumed senior status on October 31, 2012.

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Having grown up in the segregated South, you know firsthand the impact of underrepresentation and unequal treatment under the law. How did your early childhood experiences inform your decision to practice law?

I grew up in Richmond, Virginia, and attended racially segregated schools from the day I entered to the day I graduated high school in 1965. During that time, Virginia was segregated and black people were treated unfairly and as second-class citizens. I observed directly what was happening regarding the schools. After the United States Supreme Court decided Brown v. Board of Education, Virginia commenced “Massive Resistance” to school integration and began to close schools around the state rather than to integrate them. Nearby Prince Edward County’s school closure was glaring; it was talked about in the newspapers, on television and in the neighborhood. The state gave vouchers to white students to pay for private schooling and made no provisions for black students. Around that time, I met Doug Wilder, a young graduate of Howard University Law School who would later become the governor of Virginia. I was privileged to see Wilder in court. He inspired me to go to law school and to pursue a career that would enable me to make a difference in the lives of others.

You went to Wisconsin with plans to break into the legal world and later return to your hometown, but you never left. What made you stay in Wisconsin?

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Following graduation from the Georgetown Law Center, I arrived in Milwaukee as an assistant district attorney and had the opportunity to get into court quickly to handle a wide variety of criminal cases. After being in the District Attorney’s Office for just over a year, I was able to argue in front of juries, expand my experiences and second chair a murder trial. Also, while in the DA’s Office, I met my wife who later influenced me to apply for a bankruptcy judgeship. I was appointed to the bankruptcy court at age 30 and my career continued to blossom. I have had the opportunity to resolve significant legal disputes impacting people from all walks of life. I have raised a family and hope that I can continue to make a difference in Wisconsin and beyond.

You served as an assistant U.S. attorney of the Eastern District of Wisconsin from 1975 until 1977. How did your time as a federal attorney impact your time on the bench later?

As an assistant United States attorney, I was able to handle civil and criminal cases. Those cases were in front of excellent district court judges—John Reynolds, Myron Gordon and Robert Warren. These judges provided me with exceptional examples of scholarship, good temperament and courtroom skill. I learned a lot from them, and I have adopted many of their practices and procedures, including showing respect for the lawyers, litigants and jurors.

Judge Reynolds demonstrated that a little levity can diffuse tense moments in the court, help people to relax, and allow everyone to get back to the serious business at hand.

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The most challenging part of my job is sentencing people in criminal cases.

It’s an incredible responsibility because you can see clearly how it affects not just the individual who is before you as a defendant, but also the community and the victims of crime.

You were appointed to the federal bench and became the first African-American federal judge in the state. How does it feel to be a trailblazer?

At the time of my appointment to the bankruptcy court in 1977, it hit me that I was the seventh AfricanAmerican in U.S. history to serve as a bankruptcy judge. It was disappointing that I was, and still am, the only African-American who has served as a judge in the U.S. Bankruptcy Courts in Wisconsin and I remain the only African-American who has served as an Article III U.S. district judge in Wisconsin. [Those known as Article III judges exercise what Article III of the Constitution calls “the judicial power of the United States.”] At the same time, I feel that my ongoing work as a federal judge will inspire others, particularly minorities and women, to seek judgeships and promote confidence in the courts.

In a 7th Circuit Bar Association E-Mentoring video, you give aspiring lawyers advice about MCCA.COM

the importance of building networks, particularly beyond the workplace. Any tips on how to accomplish this? What have you done throughout your own career?

I have encouraged young lawyers to get involved in legal organizations and community groups. For example, I joined the National Conference of Bankruptcy Judges, and later sought membership on its board of directors. Eventually, I became the first African-American president of the conference. In addition, I have served on the board of Justice at Stake, a national organization that works to ensure judicial independence and fair, impartial courts. I have also become active in the American Bar Association (ABA). When I joined the ABA, there had been no bankruptcy or magistrate judges who were part of its National Conference of Federal Trial Judges, and I helped open that door. These efforts facilitated meetings with bar leaders, members of the business community, U.S. senators, congressmen and policymakers who

were influential in my appointment as a district judge. By meeting and networking with such people, young lawyers can pave the way for themselves and others.

What is the most challenging aspect of your job? The most rewarding?

The most challenging part of my job is sentencing people in criminal cases.

It’s an incredible responsibility because you can see clearly how it affects not just the individual who is before you as a defendant, but also the community and the victims of crime. On the other hand, one of the most rewarding things is realizing that I have had an impact on my community and continue to have an impact that goes well beyond the closure of a particular case. One thing that I hope I have accomplished is to instill greater confidence in the independence of the judiciary and access to the courts as a means of resolving disputes and righting legal wrongs.

The Honorable Charles Clevert has served as a federal district judge in the Eastern District of Wisconsin since 1996. Before that, he served for 18 years as a bankruptcy judge, and before that as an assistant district attorney and assistant U.S. attorney. Judge Clevert is a member of the board of directors of Justice at Stake and represents the Milwaukee Bar Association’s (ABA) House of Delegates. He has also chaired the ABA’s National Conference of Federal Trial Judges and served on the board of the American Judicature Society.

He has also been active with the Judicial Conference of the United States and the Federal Judicial Center.

Judge Clevert was appointed to the federal bench by President Bill Clinton. D&B Laurie Adamson is a freelance writer based in Maryland. She can be contacted at laurie.ed.adamson@gmail.com.

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Spotlighting

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GENERAL COUNSEL TO THE GOVERNOR OF OREGON LIANI J. REEVES

BY PATRICK FOLLIARD For attorney Liani Reeves, high school began with nonstop bullying, a misery that she attributes to being one of very few minorities in a predominately white school. “Daily name-calling and fistfights weren’t unusual, but I’m scrappy,” says Reeves, who is Asian. And while she says bullying did not make her a better litigator necessarily, it did spark her interest in a legal career. “I was searching for a way to reclaim power in not just a physical way. I perceived being a lawyer as a position of power. It was a way I could protect myself and others.”

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oday she is general counsel to Oregon’s Gov. John Kitzhaber. As the governor’s chief legal adviser, Reeves reviews all bills submitted to the governor for his signature and vets candidates for judicial appointments. When she was appointed general counsel in January 2011, Reeves was unsure what to expect. “It’s not a job for which you can easily prepare,” she says. “There’s only one person in each state who does this job, so it’s very unique.” It helped that Reeves came to the position with a deep understanding of state government and related legal issues such as constitutional matters, sovereign immunity issues and public employment. Reeves’ ease with multitasking and a strong work ethic have served her well, too.

Prior to joining Gov. Kitzhaber’s Salem office, Reeves had no political or professional affiliation with the governor. She was recommended for the job by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, who knew Reeves from the Oregon Department of Justice where she had worked for 10 years, most recently as deputy chief trial counsel.

“At the Department of Justice, I had a broad policy impact on matters that directly affect the public like education and healthcare benefits, and environmental issues. And it’s not like the federal government where things move slowly and get lost. I was happy in the department, and I loved being in the courtroom.”

As the first Asian woman to be named general counsel to the governor of Oregon, Reeves describes herself as an example. “I want law students to know that whatever they want to do they can, even if that goal doesn’t fit with other people’s idea of what a certain kind of lawyer should look like.”

Asians make up four percent of Oregon’s population.

And Asian representation in the state bar, says Reeves, is even smaller and very few of them are litigators.

“I’ve certainly walked into plenty of courtrooms over the years and been mistaken as the court interpreter or court reporter,” says Reeves. In fact, before her career started, she was told that she was not aggressive enough for the courtroom. “When I was in law school, I interviewed at a private firm and was explicit about my interest in doing trial work and litigation. After talking to me for 30 seconds, they told me flat out I was too passive to be a litigator without knowing anything about me.

“I’m very conscious that people’s notions of what it means to be a lawyer are often based on appearance and MCCA.COM

gender. Culturally, my being an Asian woman in litigation is contrary to that perception. It’s important to me that other Asians and women can see me as someone who has done that. In law school we’re bombarded with what litigators look like and [they] never look like me.”

Early in her legal career, Reeves became a board member of Oregon Minority Lawyers Association. “The Oregon bar isn’t very diverse. When I first got involved with the association, I wasn’t looking to hone my leadership or service skills. My goal was to connect with a community of diverse lawyers with whom I could share ideas. And I’ve been able to do that.”

Born in Korea, Reeves was four months old when she was adopted by a white family from Oregon. “In my day, the model around interracial adoption was geared toward assimilation. Parents were advised not to cultivate differences, and to simply love their adopted children as their own. Today that model has changed.

Parents receive training and coaching that help them to teach racial and cultural identity and that they should cultivate these things in their adopted children.”

As an undergrad at Willamette University in Oregon, Reeves connected with an Asian community for the first time. “I went a little overboard, cramming my dorm room with Asian knickknacks whose meanings were lost on me,” she says. “Over time I came to realize that culturally I’m just not Korean, but I’ve created a community that includes many Asian people including interracial adoptees—we share a lot of the same experiences.”

At the Willamette University College of Law, Reeves joined the Multicultural Law Students Association, and she planned a university-wide celebration in honor of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. with more than 1,500 attendees. The university recognized her achievement with an award named for the Rev. MCCA.COM

King. Reeves received her J.D. degree in 2001.

Throughout her career in government, says Reeves, she never plotted a specific trajectory. “I’ve always approached my job as an obligation to make whatever institution I work for a better place. I never just did my job description. I look around at what can be improved and where there are gaps and what can I do to fix them.

My objective is to do a good job and get things done. The opportunities follow.”

Steven Powers, Gov. Kitzhaber’s deputy general counsel who attended law school with Reeves, says, “We work hard and juggle an astounding number of issues each day, and Liani manages it all with grace and grit.” Powers considers Reeves a true trailblazer: “Trailblazers are not just the first person to hold a position or the only person to hold a position; rather, trailblazers are those who make a path knowing full well that others will follow and who are willing to help people around them reach their full potential. Liani has consistently helped others around her (me included), and is a great mentor and friend to the next generation of lawyers and staff around her.”

Recently Reeves and a group of peers inaugurated IMAGE (Inspiring

Minority Attorneys Toward Growth and Excellence), a program designed to support racial and ethnic minority attorneys in their first three years of practice. “We have a huge problem retaining minority attorneys in Oregon,” says Reeves. “Minorities come to law school here and then feel out of place in the workforce. The first three years in the profession are tough enough without the added discomfort that can sometimes come with being a minority.”

Reeves is unsure where she will go after tenure as general counsel to the governor closes. Wherever she ends up—returning to the attorney general’s office, running for public office, or working with local or federal government—Reeves is certain to practice law through a public lens: “It’s important to me that the law filters through what’s in the best interest of the public and not exclusively a favorable financial or political outcome.” D&B Patrick Folliard is a Washington, D.C.based writer. Besides Diversity & the Bar, his work has appeared in New York Magazine, The Washington Blade, The Washington Post and many others.

Contact Patrick at epf2810@gmail.com

“I want law students to know that whatever they want to do they can, even if that goal doesn’t fit with other people’s idea of what a certain kind of lawyer should look like.”

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PAY GAP Between Men and Women in the Legal Profession Continues to Widen

BY JONATHAN GRONER

Mid-career women lawyers earn 80 percent of what their male counterparts make—and the gap is even greater in large law firms, amounting to a pay disparity of $100,000 annually.

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That’s according to a major longitudinal study, After the J.D., (AJD) which found that the salary disparity begins early in a woman’s career and widens as her career progresses.

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HESE ARE PRETTY DRAMATIC FINDINGS,”

says Joyce Sterling, a law professor at the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and one of the study’s chief researchers.

Funded by the National Science Foundation, the American Bar Foundation, the National Association for Law Placement, the NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education, and other sources, AJD is the first national study to track a cohort of lawyers throughout their careers.

The salary findings released earlier this year mark the “third wave” of the AJD study. Data collection began in 2002, when a survey was given to a cohort of 9,000 lawyers in major metropolitan legal markets who had graduated from law school in 2000. Researchers followed up with those lawyers in 2007 and again in 2012. Fifty-six percent of those lawyers continued to respond to the survey ten years later.

The wage disparity began almost immediately. Two years out of law school, women were making five percent less than men. By the second round of interviews, the income gap was 13 percent, and it grew to 20 percent by the third round, Sterling says. For lawyers in large firms, the pay disparity in 2012 was fully $100,000 per year—the difference between the $290,000 average salary of men and the $191,000 average for women.

“Certain practice settings have larger gaps than others,” Sterling says. “In law firms of 250 lawyers or more,

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which are the largest, that’s where you see the difference of $100,000 per year. That means that women make only 66 percent of what men make. In other settings, it is quite different. For example, in public interest jobs, women’s earnings exceed men’s by a margin of $90,000 to $70,000, and in solo practice, women make $65,000 on average, and men make $60,000. We don’t yet know why.”

In medium-sized law firms of 100 to 250 attorneys, women still lag behind but not as badly: Women earn $170,000 on average, and men earn $193,000. Even in in-house law departments, a sector that has attracted many women in the past several years, the survey indicates that women make only 86 percent of what men make.

As Sterling summarized the situation in a 2013 law review article that she co-wrote with Nancy Reichman, a professor of sociology and criminology at the University of Denver, “Although women have made some gains in the practice of law, they lag behind men in the numbers going to law school, entering the profession, career earnings, and advancement. Thus, perhaps not surprisingly, they are more likely to leave law practice than men.”

Sterling and Reichman write in their article that part of the problem can be explained by invoking the concept that major law firms are “gendered organizations.”

“A gendered organization,” they write, “is not necessarily populated by men. Rather, it is an organization defined, conceptualized, and structured in ways that puts a premium on masculine characteristics, including a willingness to work ‘on demand,’ free from domestic responsibilities.

Gendered organizations are infused with stereotypes about the appropriate roles for men and women that create roadblocks to slow or prevent upward mobility of women to positions of power within them.”

For example, Sterling says in an interview, “In a major firm, if you have two people being evaluated and one is a woman, even if she is not pregnant, management will think she is going to get pregnant. Then the assumption is that she will stay home with her child/children, and that perception will color the evaluation of her. Similarly, women are less likely to be asked to travel or to get plum assignments that are essential to success, because the perception of them is that they have responsibilities at home that may conflict.

“It’s not enough to be in a large firm and to do well,” Sterling says. “In addition, you need to have other people who recognize you are doing well, if you want to make partner. So if fewer women are making equity partner, that can account for much of the salary gap.”

Sterling recalls the experiences of a “star” woman attorney who was interviewed for the study.

“She won a lot of cases that brought in significant money to the firm and great results for its clients. But after her tenth or eleventh year, the firm gave her a $150,000 check and told her to find a new job,” Sterling says. “She was preg-

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“A GENDERED ORGANIZATION IS NOT NECESSARILY POPULATED BY MEN.

Rather, it is an organization defined, conceptualized, and structured in ways that puts a premium on masculine characteristics, including a willingness to work ‘on demand,’ free from domestic responsibilities. Gendered organizations are infused with stereotypes about the appropriate roles for men and women that create roadblocks to slow or prevent upward mobility of women to positions of power within them.”

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nant at the time, and she took a couple of years to recover her sense of self. Now, she’s going to work as a prosecutor.”

Sterling says this experience is far from unusual and helps explain why so many women leave large firms.

“Many women have been devastated in partnership votes,” she says. “One woman failed by one vote. This was her second time being voted on for partnership. After that traumatic event she left the firm, and she’s now a vice president of a bank.”

Another obstacle to women’s advancement in law firms and other settings is the lack of access to mentors who can help them develop their careers.

“It is known that the most powerful mentors in law firms are white men,” she says. “While a woman may find another woman more comfortable as a mentor, this mentorship may not push her up the ladder. And even though men will

insist that they are not motivated by gender bias, the fact is that they tend to naturally mentor people who look just like themselves.”

The salary disparity uncovered in the survey does not surprise Cynthia Thomas Calvert, principal of the consulting firm CT Calvert & Associates and a nationally recognized expert in the advancement of women lawyers.

Calvert, who consults with law firms on implementing nonstigmatized flexible work schedules, was not involved in the AJD study.

“Many women have been devastated in partnership votes,” she says. “One woman failed by one vote. This was her second time being voted on for partnership.

After that traumatic event she left the firm, and she’s now a vice president of a bank.”

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80

%

Percentage of salary women attorneys make compared to men attorneys

“IN A MAJOR FIRM, IF YOU HAVE TWO PEOPLE BEING EVALUATED AND ONE

is a woman, even if she is not pregnant, management will think she is going to get pregnant.

Then the assumption is that she will stay home with her child/children, and that perception will color the evaluation of her. Similarly, women are less likely to be asked to travel or to get plum assignments that are essential to success, because the perception of them is that they have responsibilities at home that may conflict.”

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“One issue that is holding women back is unconscious bias that is allowed to creep into decision making,” Calvert says. “The decision-maker is not even aware of the factors that are driving his or her decision. For example, when we see a female partner who is hard-charging, we perceive her differently from a male partner. The woman may be viewed as too aggressive because of the way we expect women to behave, while a man will be seen as intense and hardworking. If a man makes a mistake we tend to forgive him, while if a woman makes a mistake we tend to fit that into stereotypes of women’s behavior.”

Another factor that holds back women’s advancement and thus depresses their salaries, Calvert says, is the way in which people are rewarded in law firms.

“If a woman does great work, it is often attributed to good fortune,” she says, “while a man gets credit for his skills. It has been documented by social scientists that men get promoted based on their potential, including their potential to bring in business. Women only get promoted for their actual achievements.”

Calvert also notes that women face what is known as “maternal wall discrimination.

“In the first place, pregnant women are seen as less competent than others,” she says. “In the second place, there is a concern that a woman who is pregnant won’t be com-

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mitted to her job anymore. And senior partners have little time in their days to mentor anyone. So whom should they mentor? That pregnant woman who may or may not come back from maternity leave, or someone else? So before

If a woman does great work, it is often attributed to good fortune,” she says, “while a man gets credit for his skills. It has been documented by social scientists that men get promoted based on their potential, including their potential to bring in business.

Women only get promoted for their actual achievements.”

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pregnant women hit the glass ceiling, they are stopped by the maternal wall.”

Calvert says there are many things that firms or inhouse legal departments can do to counter the effects of the pay inequity exposed by the AJD study. Adopting transparent compensation systems will allow attorneys to understand what kinds of lawyer activities will be rewarded.

Also, make mentoring count. If mentoring is encouraged but time spent mentoring plays no role in compensation, no one will benefit.

Firms should make such changes without delay. As Sterling, the survey leader, puts it in her 2013 law review article, “Despite 20 years of research that documents gender bias in the legal profession, it would be fair to say that change has come slowly. It is time to pick up the pace. We have tried endurance, now we need to sprint.” D&B Jonathan Groner is a freelance writer in Washington, D.C., and a former managing editor of Legal Times. He can be reached at jonathangroner@gmail.com.

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AT THE TOP DIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

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Women GCs in Hard Hat Industries Power Through the Glass Ceiling

BY LYDIA LUM

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Gender battles of the past have, ironically, helped fuel the careers of some women in historically male-dominated fields. oon after her first child was born, Candice J. Wells began considering career options. As much as she enjoyed working for a law firm, she felt overwhelmed by the demands of clients—many of which were in the petroleum industry—and motherhood.

So Wells took an in-house job with one of her client companies.

When opportunity called again, she moved to Houston-based LINN

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Energy, LLC, and last October became its vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary.

She is among the growing ranks of women who lead corporate law departments in so-called hard hat industries.

For instance, 22 Fortune® 500 companies boasted women in such positions, according to last year’s MCCA General Counsel Survey. This figure was almost twice the combined total of female general counsel (GC) at Fortune® 500 giants in retail, restaurant and food businesses.

Wells and her counterparts at publicly traded companies find it invigorating to practice law and, quite often, blaze new trails in mostly male environments. Whether they are employed at steel mills, railroads, or manufacturers of hydraulic compo-

Photo courtesy of LINN Energy, LLC

Candice J. Wells

Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary

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Photo courtesy of Exelis Inc.

nents for military aircraft, women are gaining steam in these settings.

“I have yet to encounter a true gender barrier,” says Wells, who at age 38 became LINN Energy’s acting general counsel when her predecessor left for another job.

“Maybe it’s a generational difference because I think inequalities of opportunity may have gone away.”

Gender battles of the past have, ironically, helped fuel the careers of some women in historically maledominated fields.

Upon graduating from law school in 1979, Ann Davidson joined a law firm that had not previously hired a female associate. When she became pregnant, her joy was marred by supervisors who voiced doubts that she could remain healthy while working fulltime and speculated that her career might render her an unfit mother.

Davidson left the firm and became an attorney-adviser and trial attorney for the U.S. Navy, where she honed skills and gained experiences that vaulted her into the law departments of aerospace and defense corporations. Since 1983, she has worked for seven such companies, four of them spinoffs, including the McLean, Va.-based Exelis Inc., where she is now senior vice president, chief legal officer and corporate secretary.

“My parents always emphasized that I should find my opportunities and not let anything get in the way,” Davidson says. “Every law firm was male-dominated when my career began, so if my obstacles were gender-based, I still viewed them as generic obstacles.”

She and other GCs interviewed

by Diversity & the Bar lead teams in which 40 percent or more of the attorneys are women. But they are quick to point out that gender, along with race and sexual orientation, comprise only part of a diverse

Ann Davidson

Senior Vice President, Chief Legal Officer, Corporate Secretary 27

workforce. Davidson’s 14-member team at Exelis, for instance, includes an electrical engineer-turned-lawyer and a former technical communications expert in the military.

These GCs emphasize that women should not overlook opportunities in male-dominated industries. It doesn’t matter if a lawyer has never set foot on an oil patch or has never heard of coal slag. Instead, it’s more important to focus on the nuts and bolts of corporate governance, acquisition and divestiture, securities, environmental compliance, intellectual property rights, and occupational safety and health.

“The legal environments are fascinating and intellectually challenging, and there are multi-industrial issues,” says Kate Adams, senior vice president and general counsel of the Morris Township, N.J.-based Honeywell International Inc., which manu-

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Photo courtesy of Honeywell International Inc.

Kate Adams

Senior Vice President and General Counsel

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Photo courtesy of Harsco Corporation

A. Verona Dorch

Vice President, General Counsel, Corporate Secretary

factures products for commercial, space, and defense aircraft. “These are interesting places to work. They are rich environments and women should not vet themselves out. Women should not feel put-off.”

Adams left private practice in 2003 to join Honeywell as a litigator and rose to legal chief over its performance materials division. Five years ago, she was promoted to her current post when her male predecessor retired.

IT’S NOT ALWAYS EASY, BUT …

Still, the choice to work in a traditionally male-dominated business doesn’t always come easily. A. Verona Dorch says that if not for her two-and-a-half years as the sole, non-Japanese lawyer at a Tokyo chemical company, she would not have found the moxie to enter a mostly male industry.

Eight years ago, a recruiter told Dorch, an African-American who grew up in the New York City borough of Brooklyn, about vacancies at two hard hat companies. One was at a Fortune® 50 company. The other was at Harsco Corporation in the small, central Pennsylvania town of Camp Hill, where Caucasians make up more than 90 percent of the population.

Harsco provides outsourced services for steel mills and other metal-producing operations and equipment for railway track maintenance.

Dorch knew nothing about the industries comprising Harsco’s port-

Dorch figured they were testing her, so she took them aside, privately and individually after the meetings, to explain why the comments were unsettling. By building relationships with these men, the comments quickly subsided, she says.

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She cautions women not to pass up jobs, regardless of industry, simply because their spouses have entrenched careers or their children are in school, common reasons why women often feel professionally hemmed in.

would find ways to succeed, too.

In Illinois, she was tapped to become legal chief for one of the company’s electronics subsidiaries. Last year, she was promoted to senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Dover, which has $8 billion annually in sales.

Cabrera’s cross-country move wasn’t the first career choice outside her comfort zone. In 2004, she applied for an in-house job at Dover, which was then just a few blocks from pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb, where Cabrera was part of a 100-member legal team. She had never heard of Dover until a friend told her about the job. It turned out Dover’s entire corpo-

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Photo courtesy of Dover Corporation

folio but its in-house position offered the most potential for career growth, which cemented her decision to pursue it. Her Tokyo experience—her law firm sent her there as its secondee— had taught her how to navigate an unfamiliar culture.

As the lone woman and AfricanAmerican at many of Harsco’s executive meetings, Dorch grew uncomfortable by occasional jokes from male colleagues who seemed to question the validity of her input and her credentials, which also included a J.D. degree from Harvard Law School and senior positions at firms in Boston, New York and San Francisco.

Dorch figured they were testing her, so she took them aside, privately and individually after the meetings, to explain why the comments were unsettling. By building relationships with these men, the comments quickly subsided, she says.

She climbed the rungs of the law department and by 2012, was named Harsco’s vice president, general counsel and corporate secretary, replacing a man.

“With the right mind-set, women can grow and thrive,” Dorch says. “We can step in and do well.”

Ivonne M. Cabrera agrees. Four years ago, she followed her colleagues when Dover Corporation moved its headquarters from New York City, where she had lived for 20 years dating back to law school, to the Chicago suburb of Downers Grove.

Although Cabrera was nervous about moving to the Midwest, she reminded herself about her family’s risky, immigrant journey from Cuba.

Shortly after Fidel Castro’s rise to power in the late 1950s, Cabrera’s maternal grandmother left for Florida with merely five dollars and her mother and teenage daughter in tow.

If her family could start over and eventually thrive despite such circumstances, Cabrera was confident she

Ivonne M. Cabrera

Senior Vice President, General Counsel, Secretary

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STAYING GROUNDED The GCs we interviewed offer the following suggestions to women who are considering— or poised to join—a corporate law position in a hard hat industry: • Be your authentic self. Don’t pretend to be a man.

• Keep your eyes open. The right path might not be what you originally expected.

• Take responsibility for your career and for yourself. Find ways to accomplish your goals within the corporate confines. Demonstrate your value to the company and negotiate what you would like your supervisors to accommodate.

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• Surround yourself with advisers— a personal board of directors. The broader their backgrounds, the richer their input will be. Women GCs say they value feedback from spouses, relatives, mentors, bosses and former classmates.

The GCs also meet whenever possible with the rank-and-file workers who literally wear hard hats. At Harsco, which has 12,000 employees in 35 countries, A. Verona Dorch recalls a 2011 visit to a steel mill in Europe during which she met people who vented about how corporate decisions negatively impacted their work.

“It’s important to stay grounded,” Dorch says of her role as top counsel. “I don’t want people to be treated badly.”

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rate office housed only 40 people.

During the interview, Cabrera asked about the size of the law department. The general counsel replied that Cabrera was in the presence of the entire department.

He told her they would make a formidable team, with his expertise in corporate transactions and hers in litigation.

She signed on, immediately noticing the overrepresentation of men in management and in the workforce.

But she trusted her boss. “There was a job to be done, and he thought the best person to do it was me,” she says.

“He was results-oriented, and there was a no-nonsense atmosphere.”

As her boss predicted, they learned from each other, and she immersed herself in the dozens of businesses under Dover’s global umbrella, which have included manufacturers of farm machinery, construction equipment, and pumps for oil and gas drilling.

CULTIVATING C-SUITE RELATIONSHIPS WELL

Similarly, LINN Energy’s Wells cultivated relationships with senior executives that she says secured her place in the C-suite there.

After she became acting general counsel in March 2013, the Securities and Exchange Commission began an informal inquiry of some of the company’s non-GAAP (Generally Accepted Accounting Principles) measures and hedging strategies—the outcome has yet to be determined— which coincided with related classaction and derivative lawsuits against LINN. Wells remained calm.

“In those months, I believe I provided sound judgment, and my relationships with each member of senior management provided value,” she says. “My CEO was approached by many men with more years of experience whom he could have hired as the permanent general counsel but didn’t.

Ultimately, he gave me a chance.”

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“What used to look like career liabilities,” Davidson says half jokingly, “are now considered breadth of experience.”

YOUR FAMILY CAN ADAPT TO CHANGES

Meanwhile, Exelis’ Davidson has found herself defending some of her career choices during job interviews, such as relocating multiple times for different corporations. Many defense contractors consolidated after the Cold War ended but expanded after the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in the U.S. Through it all, Davidson has served as general counsel at four companies in this field and has been heavily involved in spinning them off from others.

“What used to look like career liabilities,” she says half jokingly, “are now considered breadth of experience.”

Davidson, however, discusses her cross-country moves candidly with potential employers and with senior executives when they are considering her for promotions. “During interviews, I explain that my moving around a lot has taught me how to adjust to new circumstances. As a leader, you cannot just remain who you are. You have to adapt.”

She cautions women not to pass up jobs, regardless of industry, simply because their spouses have entrenched careers or their children are in school, common reasons why women often feel professionally hemmed in.

“It’s easy for women to say, ‘I can’t move for a job,’ but kids pick up on our attitudes,” Davidson says. “If kids

feel something is potentially harmful, like a move, it’s not helpful. If we as mothers look at a move as an exciting challenge and an opportunity, the kids will, too. I moved my kids during middle school and high school, and they adapted.”

She adds, “I’m not suggesting women quit their jobs recklessly, but to weigh all factors carefully. Moving isn’t for everyone, but for me it has worked out well.”

Davidson and her peers say they haven’t had insurmountable problems in hard hat businesses with work-life balance either.

Harsco’s Dorch predicts that as the number of women who run law departments in traditionally maledominated industries keeps growing, the number of women ascending to chief executive in corporations across all professions will climb, too.

With women GCs shattering so many glass ceilings, the perception of women as CEOs is steadily evolving among corporate decision-makers, Dorch says, adding, “This is the way that we’re going to change viewpoints and show that we can succeed.” D&B Lydia Lum is a freelance writer and editor and former staff reporter of the Houston Chronicle and Fort Worth Star-Telegram who can be reached at lydialum999@yahoo.com.

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Gala

The MCCA DIVERSITY GALA

Washington, DC

July 25, 2014

Red Carpet, VIPs, Business Executives, General Counsel, Premium Networking, Elegant Ambience Join MCCA in the nation’s capitol to honor the foremost corporate and industry leaders at one unforgettable awards presentation.

Employer of Choice Honorees

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Sponsored by

For more information you can visit our website: www.mcca.com/gala

“if I only knew then

what I know now” THE CHALLENGES FACING NEW ATTORNEYS ARE GREATER THAN EVER: DEMAND IS HIGH FOR CHEAPER AND FASTER LEGAL SERVICES, GLOBAL CHANGES IN THE FIELD ARE CREATING NEW INTERNAL STRUCTURES AND REQUIREMENTS, CARVING OUT A CAREER PATH WHILE MAINTAINING STANDARDS OF EXCELLENCE AND ETHICS, TO FINDING GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT TO COVER LAW SCHOOL DEBT AND VYING FOR PATHWAYS TO THE COVETED PARTNERSHIP — ALL WHILE MAINTAINING A BALANCED LIFE. TO HELP NEW ATTORNEYS, SEASONED LEADERS, INCLUDING FIRM PARTNERS, OFFER THEIR REFLECTIONS AND ADVICE GLEANED OVER YEARS OF HARD WORK:

By Dianne Hayes

“A skill that should not get short shrift is people skills, [which enable you] to stand out in interviews and in your job performance.”

Rebecca Woods Partner

SEYFARTH SHAW LLP

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An international law firm, Seyfarth Shaw LLP has more than 800 attorneys in the U.S., London, Shanghai, Melbourne and Sydney. The firm offers legal counsel to clients of all sizes meeting their business and legal needs in litigation, employment, corporate, real estate and employee benefits.

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HEN I STARTED LAW SCHOOL 19 YEARS ago, the dean noted that “Everyone wants to be in the top 10 percent, but 90 percent of you won’t make it.” My goal was to be in that top 10 percent, and I worked hard to achieve that. The single most important characteristic of those who wound up in the top 10 percent was work ethic.

That principle applies in the practice of law: Lawyers who work hard, who are careful, and who are diligent are likely to succeed, whether they are in private practice, in-house, or in the government. My academic credentials were critical to helping me stand out and to opening doors for me.

Some of my success was luck, but much of it was hard work and perseverance.

In today’s rapidly changing legal landscape, it’s even more critical for law graduates to distinguish themselves from their competitors. If you’re in law school, get as much of a return on your investment as you can by aiming for high grades, law review, clerkships, moot courts and such.

This doesn’t mean lawyers should be workaholics and uni-dimensional humans. To the contrary, lawyers who are well-rounded by balancing work diligence with outside interests, family and personal health are the happiest and most interesting lawyers I know. There is a “season” for DIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

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many things in one’s life. When I was in my 20s and early 30s, it was my “season” for working crazy hours and having little work/life balance. I was trying to prove myself, learn as much as I could, and grab on to as many opportunities as I could. That provided me with a foundation to build upon. Later, when I had a family, I learned to adjust my personal expectations, and frankly, while I have a young child, it’s now my “season” to juggle family expectations and set priorities among my work goals.

A skill that should not get short shrift is people skills, [which enable you] to stand out in interviews and in your job performance. The ability to connect with all kinds of people in socially appropriate ways, to handle difficult situations, and to navigate through a workplace’s social mores can’t be undervalued.

Finally, it is absolutely true that “who you know” can be an important factor in life. Your law school classmates, your co-clerks, your early-years professional colleagues, and even opposing counsel are all potential sources of future job referrals, clients, and a rich network that can help you in a variety of ways. Burn no bridges and maintain those connections through the years in the most meaningful way you can.

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“What you observe in a person’s body language, the emotion in their voice, their eye movements and other tendencies can be even more revealing than what they say.”

Marcus V. Brown

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Executive Vice President and General Counsel ENTERGY CORPORATION

An integrated energy company, Entergy Corporation is engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. With more than 2.8 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, Entergy has annual revenues of more than $11 billion and approximately 14,000 employees.

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E A GOOD LISTENER: IN ADDITION TO HAVING strong basic skills like legal researching, legal writing and legal reasoning, there are a few other things I believe are valuable for young lawyers. Of particular importance is learning to be a good listener. Too many young lawyers are eager to disclose how much they know but sometimes they end up demonstrating just how much they don’t know instead.

Listening well is fundamental to being able to get the information you need to best help your client. Listen with your eyes and ears. What you observe in a person’s body language, the emotion in their voice, their eye movements and other tendencies can be even more revealing than what they say. Further, when others provide feedback about your work, don’t be defensive, but listen fully and seize the opportunity to improve.

Treat People with Respect: Young lawyers in particular should be sure to treat with respect not only other lawyers

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and judges, but also the administrative professionals and other support people whom they work with and encounter.

Many times these individuals have worked in an environment much longer than the new lawyer and their knowledge about procedures, preferences, and styles of the more senior lawyers and judges can be invaluable. Unfortunately, the new lawyer who thinks he or she “outranks” the staff and is therefore dismissive of their input may miss out on very valuable knowledge.

Act with Integrity, Always: Finally, practice with integrity. Your reputation is your most valuable asset. Younger lawyers sometimes don’t realize how small the legal community can be in a city, town or state. Compromising your integrity for a short-term win or gain is hardly ever worth it. You may encounter the situation again and the shoe may be on the other foot or, worse yet, you may develop a reputation for not having much integrity—something that can be extremely difficult to overcome.

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“When you’re thinking about firms that do highquality, interesting work, the differences among them are probably much more pronounced than you might guess from the outside.”

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J. Steven Baughman Partner, Intellectual Property ROPES & GRAY LLP

Ropes & Gray has 1,100 attorneys located in 11 offices in New York, Washington, D.C., Boston, Chicago, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, London, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Tokyo and Seoul, and practices in areas including private equity, M&A, life sciences, healthcare, finance, investment management, hedge funds, tax, intellectual property, litigation and securities litigation.

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NE OF THE THINGS I DID NOT APPRECIATE AS much as a law student as I do now is that law firms—like people—really are very different from one another, and in ways that can profoundly shape your experience as a lawyer.

When you’re thinking about firms that do high-quality, interesting work, the differences among them are probably much more pronounced than you might guess from the outside.

When you consider that, in this line of work, there will inevitably be times when you are working very hard and as part of groups of people to meet deadlines from judges, clients or agencies, how your team functions—and how people think about and treat each other, and what they value—can really make a huge difference, both in the immediate experience and in what you learn from it. It impacts how your life is, day to day, and what kind of a DIVERSIT Y & THE BAR®

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lawyer you develop into in the long run.

Finding out what those differences are, of course, can be a challenge as a law student or new lawyer. Friends and classmates who have experience at a particular firm can be invaluable, but, short of that, a careful look at some of the less obvious aspects of law firm life—how the people interviewing you interact with their coworkers, what the people you meet are willing to talk about and what interests them, how the people you aren’t interviewing with interact with each other as you walk down the hall—can also provide some clues.

It’s worth thinking hard about what matters to you and what might be your best fit when considering an employer: The choices out there really are meaningfully distinct from one another, and finding the right match for you can make all the difference.

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“...prepare yourself for a steep learning curve in applying legal theories and legal rules to the practical world of advising and advocating for your clients.”

Mary Snapp

Corporate Vice President, Deputy General Counsel LEGAL & CORPORATE AFFAIRS MICROSOFT CORPORATION

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Microsoft’s Department of Legal and Corporate Affairs (LCA), which has approximately 1,300 employees located in 55 countries, is responsible for the company’s legal work, its intellectual property portfolio and patent licensing business, and its government affairs and philanthropic work.

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AWYERS ENTERING THE LEGAL PROFESSION today have no shortage of advice from professors, fellow lawyers, family members and other professionals. It is my pleasure to add a couple of thoughts to the mix, based on my own experience.

First, prepare yourself for a steep learning curve in applying legal theories and legal rules to the practical world of advising and advocating for your clients. You’ll go from contract law to drafting contracts, from regulatory expertise to advising on product design, from rules of civil procedure to preparing to argue a motion in court. Embrace that challenge and opportunity! And along the way, learn as much as you can about the business or nonprofit or government agency as you can, in order to provide the best advice possible to them.

Second, identify other lawyers from whom you can learn, watch them, and then model some of your own style and behavior to see what works for you. While others will tell you to find a mentor (and that’s generally good, too), MCCA.COM

I am really suggesting that you find leaders in areas of interest to you, a subject matter, a manager, a skill to be developed. What makes them great? What can you adapt for yourself? For example, I have over the years found myself speaking to large audiences more and more frequently. While there is no substitute for experience, I have also pushed past my comfort zone to be a more engaging speaker, by examining techniques used by someone else who brought down the house.

And finally, build networks in your community right away on initiatives that are important to you. These need not be pro bono in the traditional sense. It might be service on a nonprofit board, or it might be volunteering to support a local candidate for office, or it might be engaging with your local school district or a faith-based community.

You’ll have a life with a breadth of personal meaning, you’ll make friends who may not be lawyers who will offer you a broader perspective, and over time you will find ways to bring those networks and connections back to support your career and your law firm.

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“Perception is reality. Figure out how you want to be perceived and be consistent about taking action that allows others to see you that way.”

Alita T. Wingfield

Executive Director and Managing Attorney GLOBAL LITIGATION GROUP MORGAN STANLEY

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Morgan Stanley is a multi-national financial services corporation headquartered in midtown Manhattan, New York City. Morgan Stanley operates in 42 countries and has more than 1,300 offices and 60,000 employees. The Legal and Compliance Division is also global with more than 1,200 lawyers in the U.S. and around the world.

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F I KNEW THEN WHAT I KNOW NOW I WOULD HAVE been more confident and fearless, more prepared and more aggressive earlier in my career.

Be Confident and Fearless—What has brought you this far will continue to sustain you. Take on an assignment or a new project with the confidence that you can handle it and spend the time it takes to do it well.

Don’t procrastinate, don’t cut corners, and anticipate questions so that you are prepared with answers.

Be Prepared—Preparation eases anxiety. Do your research and create an outline before you begin any writing assignment. I learned to think of my first draft as my “sloppy copy” no matter how polished it may have been. Build in time so that you can take a day away from your “sloppy copy”—review it again with fresh eyes. You will find that this approach will always lead to a better document.

Be Aggressive—You are the CEO of your career. You should not depend on mentors, sponsors, advocates, friends, professors, alumni, or former employers to get you to the next level. They can all be extremely helpful but you have to lead the way. Figure out what you want and ask for it, work for it, and put yourself in a position to deserve it.

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Successful skills and character traits—You must be thorough and diligent and willing to put in the extra time.

Track down every lead, follow each research trail and ask the follow-up question. The power is in the details.

You must have integrity and be honest; be willing to reveal bad news and own up to mistakes. You will have a time in your career when the law or the facts are not in your favor—be clear and upfront always. Avoid any temptation to slant the truth. You will also have a time when you make a mistake, such as citing the wrong law, submitting a document with a typo, missing an important detail.

You must own up to it early and without excuse.

Other helpful hints to rise to the top: Perception is reality. Figure out how you want to be perceived and be consistent about taking action that allows others to see you that way.

Volunteer to work on something that is important to your organization. I chose to focus on the firm’s and the Legal and Compliance Division’s diversity and inclusion efforts. Little did I know that I would enjoy it so much. It allowed me to build meaningful relationships with senior management, create long-lasting programs and initiatives, and build valuable leadership skills that I would not have otherwise obtained so early in my career.

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“With never-ending challenges brought about by these changes there are two fundamental character traits that are necessary to be competitive: a strong work ethic and passion for the law.”

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Phillip Yang

Vice President and Corporate Counsel PRUDENTIAL FINANCIAL, INC.

Prudential Financial, Inc., has more than $1.1 trillion of assets under management, and has operations in the United States, Asia, Europe and Latin America. Its employees help individual and institutional customers grow and protect their wealth through a variety of products and services, including life insurance, annuities, retirement-related services, mutual funds and investment management.

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HE PRACTICE OF LAW, EITHER IN A LAW FIRM or a corporate in-house law department, is very different now than it was some 23 years ago when I got started. Since then, there has been tremendous change in the tools that we use and increased pressure on attorneys to add value to their clients.

With never-ending challenges brought about by these changes there are two fundamental character traits that are necessary to be competitive: a strong work ethic and passion for the law. However, these characteristics are just the baseline of what you need to stay in the game. In order to really stand out, there are three other skills that, if properly developed, will set you apart from your peers.

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They are what I refer to as CSI: 1. Collaboration to drive efficiency by working successfully with others and leveraging each others’ strengths.

2. Sensitivity to diverse thoughts and being open to different perspectives, which can make a significant difference in solving problems effectively.

3. Innovation to provide better, faster and more accurate service to your clients.

If you can keep these career skills in mind (strong work ethic and passion combined with CSI), your rise to the top of the legal profession will be just a matter of time.

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“Exercise regularly, remain connected with your friends, and don’t forget to take vacations.

They are important for you to reset your senses and your mind.”

Josetta I. Jones 40

Supervising IP Counsel, Downstream & Chemicals Team INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY & TECHNOLOGY LAW GROUP CHEVRON U.S.A. INC.

Chevron is one of the world’s leading integrated energy companies, involved in virtually every facet of the energy industry. Chevron has a diverse and highly skilled global workforce that consists of approximately 61,900 employees.

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HILE TAKING A BOOT CAMP CLASS, THE coach would make us do an inordinate amount of balance exercises. When we queried him about why we had to do all of these exercises, he said that if we start adding these exercises into our regular routine, then we’d have a smaller chance of falling later in life. As I look back on my legal education and career, I realize that balance training is equally as important for our careers.

First and foremost in anything that you undertake, you must have balance. This advice rings true especially for the law. And, I don’t mean balance where you have a diversity of practice areas, but balance where you practice law, where you exercise, where you connect with friends, and where you take vacations.

Law students and new attorneys should know that this is just one aspect of your life. When I started law school I repeatedly heard that “Law school is a jealous mistress. It will take all of your time.” And, I experienced that jealousy of law school.

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My classmates and I had great plans to take over the legal profession. I think, however, that those grandiose expectations did not always match reality. Breaking into the profession will be challenging. There will be disappointments, and at times you may not feel that you are valued. However, there will also be immeasurable highs.

You will be euphoric about winning your case. We have to be mindful of how we deal with disappointments as well as successes. But, in order to fully appreciate the highs and in order to not let the lows bring you down, you need balance.

Take time out for you.

Exercise regularly, remain connected with your friends, and don’t forget to take vacations. They are important for you to reset your senses and your mind. Balance seems intuitive, but it is easy to get “caught up” in law school and work. Yes, there are lots of other tips for having a successful legal career—know your subject matter, know your audience, network, volunteer. And, all of those tips are part of the equation. However, you will reap a fulfilling and successful career if you make balance a priority.

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“I wish someone would have told me early on in my career about the tremendous amount of time, mostly non-billable, that needed to be exerted on client development.”

Jeffrey B. Jones

Office Managing Shareholder LITTLER MENDELSON

Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice with more than 1,000 attorneys in over 60 offices worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and has served as a single-source solutions provider to the global employer community for more than 70 years.

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NOW YOUR CRAFT. YOU MUST HAVE A VERY good understanding of your area practice.

That is a given. However, law students and new attorneys must understand the business aspects of any law firm/practice and the importance of establishing relationships early on which will lead to... clients. This is not emphasized enough. I wish someone would have told me early on in my career about the tremendous amount of time, mostly non-billable, that needed to be exerted on client development. The focus was mostly on billable time. While meeting billable hours standards is a must to keep the status quo, it is not enough to advance your career and get you into leadership/management roles within the firm.

There are three keys to advancement and success in the legal profession: • Be extremely responsive— you are not the only lawyer in town; • Have a good book of business— you will always have work to do; and • Be a good firm citizen— being a team player is not overrated.

Achieving these goals takes an enormous amount of effort and time; however, if you do not have all three there

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will always be a glass ceiling that will limit your potential.

Lastly, you have to be very focused and organized to balance your time needed to succeed at work along with time spent with family. This is a skill set that is difficult to manage. I would encourage all new attorneys to jump on top of this right away. Seek advice from senior attorneys who are successful at both. Success at work is desired so that your family can have a better quality of life...at least that is what keeps my engine clicking on all cylinders.

The Final Word

While your path may differ from others in the field, there are some basics that stand the test of time. Making it to the top of the law profession requires tenacity tempered with instinct, ethics and good judgment. Consider the words of wisdom from those who have been in the trenches and have reflected on their journey—their success. D&B Dianne Hayes is a freelance writer/editor based in Maryland who specializes in diversity issues, education and STEM. She can be reached at Hayesassociates@comcast.net.

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ASSOCIATION FOCUS

BY LEKAN OGUNTOYINBO

NCVAA—CREATING A VOICE FOR VIETNAMESE-AMERICAN ATTORNEYS

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VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANTS BEGAN ARRIVING Kim Nguyen, a senior associate at an Orlando, Fla., IN THE UNITED STATES IN LARGE NUMBERS law firm who is also NCVAA vice president, says a large NEARLY 40 YEARS AGO, RIGHT AFTER THE number of people in the community still don’t speak FALL OF SAIGON. MANY OF THEM SETTLED IN English, particularly those from her parents’ generation.

PLACES LIKE CALIFORNIA, LOUISIANA, TEXAS Many of them are mystified or intimidated by the workAND MICHIGAN, WORKING AS SHRIMPERS, ings of the law and some would prefer to deal only with FISHERMEN AND SMALL MERCHANTS. an attorney who speaks their language.

Now as the community comes of age, more young “It’s nice to build a network,” says Nguyen. “So if they Americans of Vietnamese descent are going to college and have a need for an attorney, there’s someone they can reach moving into professions, including law. out to. With my last name, I get a lot of calls from people Estimates of Vietnamese-Americans working in the looking for a Vietnamese attorney. This morning I got a legal field range from 1,000 to 2,000, but anecdotal call from someone. I had to speak Vietnamese to her. evidence suggests the numbers are rising. In the last She was looking for an attorney who speaks Vietnamese, decade or so, several Vietnamese-American lawyers groups so I referred her to someone in Ohio.” have popped up around the country; among them, the NCVAA often recruits Vietnamese-American underVietnamese-American graduates to help out Bar Associations at its signature event, of the Greater its annual national “A LOT OF THEM DON’T KNOW THEY Washington D.C. conference, as part CAN STUDY LAW WITH AN ENGINEERarea and of Northern of an effort to expose California. About them to attorneys and ING DEGREE AND BECOME PATENT nine years ago, these the legal profession.

ATTORNEYS.” —NGUYEN VU groups came together In addition to netto form an umbrella working opportuniorganization known ties, the conference as the National Conference of Vietnamese-American features professional development workshops. Sometimes Attorneys (NCVAA). The organization formally incorpothe organization honors high-profile jurist at the conferrated as a bar in 2010. ence. Past honorees include Jacqueline Nguyen, a judge on Though there are several Asian-American legal groups, the ninth circuit of the U.S. Court of Appeals. Nguyen, NCVAA is America’s first national Vietnamese-American who immigrated to the States as a 10-year-old, is said bar association. NCVAA was formed when some young to be the first Vietnamese-American woman to Vietnamese-American lawyers who belonged to other local serve as a judge. and regional associations of Vietnamese-American lawyers Many Vietnamese immigrant parents know little about and often ran into each other at various law conferences the legal profession and are likely to steer their children decided to form their own national group as a way to toward engineering, medicine and pharmacy—traditional connect and perhaps even socialize but, most importantly, middle-class occupations in the old country, Vu says. create a national voice like some of the other bar associa“A lot of them don’t know they can study law with an tions formed along ethnic lines, says president Nguyen Vu, engineering degree and become patent attorneys,” he adds. a Washington D.C.-based corporate attorney.

“We let them know there are other avenues out there.”

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Most of NCVAA’s pipeline development work takes place at the local level under the auspices of some of the member groups. For instance, the Washington, D.C. group regularly meets with young people and takes questions about the practice of law.

Each year, the Vietnamese-American Bar Association of Northern California (VABANC) awards a fellowship to a freshly minted attorney interested in practicing public interest law, specifically on issues and cases of interest in the Vietnamese-American community. The non-renewable, one-year fellowship is for attorneys of Vietnamese descent or any attorney working on issues affecting the Vietnamese community. The attorney works independently with the aid of this stipend. This year the award was raised to $50,000, up from the $35,000 given annually for the past three years. Much of the fellowship is funded with a recurring grant; the rest of the money comes from donations from other attorneys.

“It’s something we’re very proud of,” says Christine Pham, an area attorney who is the incoming president of the Vietnamese American Bar Association of Northern California Law Foundation, the charitable arm of the group which awards the fellowship. “We are one of the few minority bars that has a public interest fellowship. The goal is to provide opportunities for attorneys who work with the Vietnamese-American community.”

The fellowship is just one of the high-profile programs offered by the Northern California group. For several years, VABANC has teamed up with the Santa Clara University law school and the Alameda County Bar to provide a monthly legal clinic in English and Vietnamese in Oakland and San Jose, according to Pham.

“We vet every appointment so that they are meeting with someone who can answer their questions,” says Pham, a Michigan native born to immigrant parents. “It takes a lot of work but we find that it works better so we can assign them with the right volunteer attorneys.”

She notes that a large number of Vietnamese immigrants came here as refugees and still grapple with a

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number of issues, including language proficiency.

“Many former political prisoners [who came] here had low rates of education, high rates of poverty and suffered from trauma,” she says. Compared to most of the other Asian-American groups, members of the Vietnamese community tend to have lower Nguyen Vu rates of income and are less likely to go to college, she says. “We want to be able to (help) on issues where they can’t afford attorneys—like housing, family law and immigration.”

NCVAA officials say that the importance of this kind of help was demonstrated in a couple of high-profile instances in the last decade. One was in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina in 2005 and the other was after the BP oil spill in the Gulf in 2010. Both disasters had a devastating impact on the livelihoods of Vietnamese-American fishermen and shrimpers. Several attorneys of Vietnamese descent stepped up to provide assistance.

“A lot of Vietnamese attorneys mobilized and were able to come out and act as a conduit between the government and the people,” says Nguyen. “One attorney went to Mississippi and worked full time to assist the Vietnamese fishermen. He translated and explained (legal and compensation issues) to the community.”

These collective and individual endeavors, she says, helped affirm one of NCVAA’s missions and that of its affiliates of serving as a valuable resource to the Vietnamese-American community. D&B

Lekan Oguntoyinbo, an award-winning veteran of several major dailies, is an independent journalist. He can be reached at oguntoyinbo@gmail.com or on Twitter @oguntoyinbo.

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DIVERSITY NEWS

BY JASON GOITIA

USING RESPECTFUL LANGUAGE WHEN TALKING ABOUT DISABILITY “THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE RIGHT WORD AND THE ALMOST-RIGHT WORD IS THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LIGHTNING AND A LIGHTNING BUG.”—MARK TWAIN

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As lawyers, we know that words and phrases are very powerful, and should be chosen and used thoughtfully to make the most of opportunities and talents. It is with that in mind that we know that we need to choose the words we use to discuss disabilities carefully.

Disrespectful language can make someone feel excluded, and that person may end up contributing less than his or her potential. Many people may not have a disability right now, but may have a disability in the future. Plus, coworkers or clients may have a disability themselves, or they have a family member or a friend who has a disability. Disability affects all people. So, we should learn to use respectful language, and teach others to do the same. This article lays out a few guidelines to use when discussing disability. However, while you should always be respectful, the impacted person

For example, use the phrase “person with a disability” instead of “disabled person.” Using the term “disabled person” implies that he or she is a broken person who is less than a whole person. You want your words to reflect that the disability is a feature of who he or she is, but it is not a defining characteristic.

Similarly, refer to a person’s disability only when it is related to what you are talking about. For example, you should not ask “What’s wrong with you?” when you see someone who has a disability. Also, do not refer to people in general or generic terms such as “the girl in the wheelchair.” Always call a person with a disability by his or her name, and you avoid this issue.

Use the term “accessible” rather than “handicapped.”

For example, calling a bathroom stall an “accessible stall,” a parking space an “accessible space,” or seating as “accessible seating” reflects that you are talking about a stall, a parking space, or seating, and not a person. I have had people who use wheelchairs tell me they had to wait to

DISRESPECTFUL LANGUAGE CAN MAKE SOMEONE FEEL EXCLUDED, AND THAT PERSON MAY END UP CONTRIBUTING LESS THAN HIS OR HER POTENTIAL. is a better guide on his or her own preferences.

As an overarching principle, you should refer to the person first (you may sometimes see references to “peoplefirst” language). That way, you acknowledge the person before the disability; the language we use influences the way we see people, and we want the language we use to acknowledge that we see the person before the disability.

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use the bathroom because someone without a need for the accessible stall was using it. If we start to refer to bathroom stalls as accessible stalls (rather than handicapped stalls), hopefully people will opt for that particular stall last (instead of first), as they should.

Use the phrase “little person” instead of dwarf or midget. This will emphasize that you are talking about a person, and not a condition.

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Do not refer to people who are blind as “The Blind” (like they’re a block of wood). Just say the person is blind or has a vision issue.

Use “deaf” or “hard of hearing” instead of “hearingimpaired.” A lot of people who are hard of hearing do not like the word “impaired.”

You should say that someone has a learning disability or dyslexia, not that he or she is slow or dimwitted. Saying that a person is slow or dimwitted just mocks those challenges. Never say someone or something is “retarded,” even if joking.

You cannot see every disability; there is a whole category of disabilities called invisible disabilities (also called hidden disabilities). While they are serious, many can be overcome successfully. For example, prosopagnosia, or face blindness, is a condition where people cannot recognize other people by their faces. Dr. Oliver Sacks, who was portrayed by Robin Williams in the movie Awakenings, is someone who has this condition (meaning he is unable to recognize his patients by looking at their faces). He has an entire career of doing path-breaking work. Imagine if he, or someone who supervised his work, used that disability to mock, exclude or limit him.

Underdogs can come out ahead by compensating for their perceived weaknesses, oftentimes through creative and innovative thinking. Similarly, people with disabilities must

often be creative and innovative to accomplish the same things as those who do not have disabilities (although in a manner that does not look the same). We all can use many of these strategies to maximize our own performance.

Parents of children seem to prefer the term “special needs.” Again, you should always be respectful, and use the terminology the person (in this case, the parent) prefers.

Choosing the words we use to discuss disabilities carefully allows us to make the most of opportunities and talents. We should always use respectful language, but recognize that the affected person is a better guide on his or her own preferences.

While it can be difficult at first, respectful language quickly becomes a habit and can shape the way everybody sees people with disabilities (and the way people with disabilities see themselves). Being respectful is not only important on its own, but it can also develop a pool of talent and opportunity for everybody. D&B

Jason Goitia serves on the board of the National Association of Attorneys with Disabilities. He is a former ABA Business Law Section Diplomat, has a Hispanic background and works for the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Goitia has multiple sclerosis.

He can be contacted at jason.goitia@gmail.com.

MOVERS & SHAKERS

46

MICHAEL WU

GERALD C. WELLS

DANIELLE GRAY

MELISSA S. WOODS

Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary Carter’s Inc.

Partner Quarles & Brady LLP

Litigation Partner O’Melveny & Myers LLP

Of Counsel Meyer Suozzi’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Groups

Michael Wu was recently appointed senior vice president, general counsel and secretary of Carter’s Inc. Wu joined Carter’s from Rosetta Stone Inc., where he served as general counsel and corporate secretary from 2006–2014. Prior to that, Wu served as vice president and general counsel of Teleglobe International Holdings Ltd. Wu serves on the advisory committee of the Asian American Bar Association of New York and the board of directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Corporate Counsel Association. Wu holds a J.D. from the University of Virginia School of Law and his B.A. from Emory University.

Gerald C. Wells has joined the Washington, D.C. office of Quarles & Brady LLP as a partner in the Corporate Services Practice Group. Prior to joining the firm, Wells was a partner at DLA Piper in Atlanta.

He focuses his practice in franchising, licensing, distribution, mergers and acquisitions, and general corporate law. Wells has consistently been recognized in The International Who’s Who of Franchise Lawyers and Best Lawyers, and as a Franchise Times Legal Eagle. He earned his law degree from the College of William and Mary and his undergraduate degree from the University of Maryland.

O’Melveny & Myers LLP welcomes back Danielle Gray as a litigation partner.

In her service to the Obama administration, Gray has held a number of senior legal and policy roles, most recently as President Obama’s chief liaison to his Cabinet. Gray will be a member of O’Melveny’s Financial Services Practice Group and will provide counseling to financial institutions, healthcare companies, and other consumer financial services companies on complex regulatory problems and litigation. Gray will also play an active role in the firm’s appellate and white collar and corporate investigations practices.

Melissa S. Woods, Of Counsel in Meyer Suozzi’s Labor and Employment Law Practice Groups, was appointed to the AFL-CIO Lawyers Coordinating Committee (LCC) Diversity Initiative Steering Committee. The LCC Board, comprised of attorneys representing AFL-CIO affiliated international, national and local unions, is engaged in the work of improving and expanding the organization’s programs to educate and mobilize its members and advance the labor movement’s goals, while the Diversity Steering Committee specifically focuses on the development and implementation of diversity programs within the LCC.

CORRECTION: Who Made Partner in 2013?

While celebrating attorneys of color who made the career milestone of partnership in 2013, we inadvertently left out Adria Perez of Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton. Our apologies to Ms. Perez and congratulations to everyone for their hard work.

Please send your submissions to our Movers & Shakers feature to kimhoward@mcca.com Please include a high-resolution photo (300 dpi or greater), along with an electronic version of the applicable announcement.

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