KBA CLE Attract and Retain Top Attorney Talent

50376839.1
ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP ATTORNEY TALENT:
LEVERAGING FLEXIBLE OR REDUCED SCHEDULES
(AND TECHNOLOGY!)
TO KEEP THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST
KBA Annual Meeting
June 19, 2015
Moderator:
Amy Morgan, Shareholder
Polsinelli PC
6201 College Blvd., Suite 500
Overland Park, KS 66211
(913) 234-7512
amorgan@polsinelli.com
Panel Members:
Heather Humphrey, General Counsel and
Senior Vice President - Human Resources
Great Plains Energy and KCP&L
1200 Main
Kansas City, MO
Kari S. Schmidt, Managing Partner
Conlee Schmidt & Emerson, LLP
200 W. Douglas, Suite 300
Wichita, Kansas 67202
(316) 264-3300
karis@fcse.net
Kelly Stohs, Shareholder
Polsinelli PC
6201 College Blvd., Suite 500
Overland Park, KS 66211
(913) 234-7525
kstohs@polsinelli.com

Biography of Kari S. Schmidt
Ms. Schmidt is the managing partner of the law firm, Conlee
Schmidt & Emerson, LLP, located in Wichita, Kansas. She
is also an adjunct instructor in the Barton School of Business
at Wichita State University and at Friends University,
teaching graduate and undergraduate students She has
taught courses in Consumer Transactions, Legal Research
and Writing, Law and Banking, and Employment Law. She
is an instructor for the Center for Management Development
and frequently presents at continuing legal education seminars. Her practice areas
include employment law, probate, business law, and federal criminal defense.
Ms. Schmidt was previously Chief Legal Counsel for the Farm Credit Bank of Wichita,
and then moved into commercial banking as Senior Vice President and General Counsel
for Railroad Savings Bank, F.S.B., Wichita, Kansas. She supervised the legal, human
resources, quality control, loan review and shipping departments. She then took a
position as Manager of Employee Relations at Cessna Aircraft Company.
Ms. Schmidt is past President of the Wichita Bar Association and has served on boards
and committees of the Wichita, Kansas, and American, Bar Associations. Her other
organizational affiliations include the Wichita Women Attorneys’ Association, Chamber
Music at the Barn, and the Wichita Association for Motion Picture Arts which sponsors
the Tallgrass Film Festival.
Ms. Schmidt graduated from the University of Kansas and the University of Kansas
School of Law (1983). She is married to her law partner, Jeffrey Emerson.

49791178
ATTRACT AND RETAIN TOP ATTORNEY TALENT:
LEVERAGING FLEXIBLE OR REDUCED SCHEDULES (AND TECHNOLOGY!)
TO KEEP THE BEST AND BRIGHTEST
By Amy Morgan and Kelly Stohs
1. ATTRITION
a. The Issue: An equal number of men and women are graduating from law schools,
but women are a stark minority in the upper tiers of law firms.
i. Law schools are graduating talented, driven, energetic women. Yet the top of law
firms – the partners, managers, decision-makers – are primarily men. Despite the
steady flow of female graduates from law schools, there is significant disparity –
an absence in many law firms – of women at the top.
ii. Nearly a decade ago, an article in the New York Times addressed the issue:
“Although the nation’s law schools for years have been graduating classes that are
almost evenly split between men and women, and although firms are absorbing
new associates in numbers that largely reflect that balance, something unusual
happens to most women after they begin to climb into the upper tiers of law firms.
They disappear.” O’Brien, “Up the Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women
Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006. Many have
believed the pipeline of female graduates would eventually reduce the disparity at
the top, but that does not appear to be happening. But the issue of attrition has
persisted. Id.
b. Statistics
i. National Association for Law Placement (NALP) Statistics regarding Women in
2014
(1) NALP reported the following statistics concerning women in law firms in
2014:
Role in Law Firm % of Women in that Role
Partners 21.05%
Associates 44.94%
Summer Associates 46.33%
Total Lawyers 33.48%
“Diversity Numbers at Law Firms Eke Out Small Gains - Numbers for Women
Associates Edge Up After Four Years of Decline,” NALP Bulletin, Feb. 17, 2015.

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ii. Partners
(1) In 2005, only about 17% of the partners at major law firms nationwide
were women. Nearly ten years later, in 2014, only about 21% of partners
at major law firms nationwide were women.
(2) According to the most recent bulletin from the NALP, female partners
continue to make “small gains” in their representation among law firm
partners as a whole in 2014. Although the percentage of female associates
increased a bit after eroding from 2010 to 2013, it has yet to go above the
45% mark reached in 2009-2012. “Diversity Numbers at Law Firms Eke
Out Small Gains - Numbers for Women Associates Edge Up After Four
Years of Decline,” NALP Bulletin, Feb. 17, 2015.
iii. Equity v. Non-Equity Partners
(1) Are equity partners in multi-tier law firms disproportionately white males?
The answer is decidedly yes — and new data are helping us to describe the
unequal representation of men and women and minority and non-minority
law firm partners in these firms with additional precision. The
Demographics of Equity - An Update,” NALP Bulletin, Feb. 2013.1
(2) A recent analysis of recent data by NALP shows that in 2013, only 16.5%
of equity partners were women and only 5.4% were minority. “The
Representation of Women and Minorities Among Equity Partners Sees
Slow Growth, Broad Disparities Remain,” NALP Bulletin, April 2014.
(3) The recent NALP findings on women equity partners mirror recent
findings by the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) that
found “the 200 largest U.S. law firms report only 17% of equity partners
are women.” Id.
(4) [A]lmost 63.6% of male partners were equity partners as of February
2013, while somewhat less than half, just over 47%, of both women
partners and minority partners were equity partners, a differential of about
16 percentage points. “Diversity Numbers at Law Firms Eke Out Small
1
“We have known definitively for nearly 20 years that law firm partnership ranks were
disproportionately made up of non-minority men. (NALP first began tracking the demographics of law
firm partners in 1993.) With the emergence and growth of multi-tier partnerships, however, there has
been little data available to describe the representation of women and minorities among the narrower
class of equity partners in these multi-tiered firms.” “The Demographics of Equity - An Update,” NALP
Bulletin, Feb. 2013. “Starting in 2011, NALP began asking law firms to report demographic
information for equity and non-equity partners through the NALP Directory of Legal Employers. With
two years worth of data now available, the findings are many, but as first reported last year, there is a
definite skew amongst women lawyers and minority lawyers who are partners toward non-equity status.
The good news, to the extent there is any, may be that this skew is not more dramatic than it is.
Nonetheless, the bottom line is that partners in general continue to be disproportionately both male and
white, and in multi-tiered firms, the skew amongst equity partners appears to be even greater.” Id.

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Gains - Numbers for Women Associates Edge Up After Four Years of
Decline,” NALP Bulletin, Feb. 17, 2015
(5) More dramatically perhaps, among equity partners, 83.5% were men,
16.5% were women, and 5.4% were racial/ethnic minorities. (The
minority figures include both men and women, so the three figures add to
more than 100 %.) Among non-equity partners, the respective figures were
72.4% men, 27.6% women, and 9.1% racial/ethnic minorities. Id.
(6) Finally, among all partners, the equity/non-equity split is about 60%/40%.
Half of partners were male equity partners; 10% were women equity
partners; and just over 3% were minority equity partners . . . . Id.
iv. Part-Time Attorneys
(1) According to a NALP Workplace Questionnaire based on responses from
637 law offices nationwide, 70.6% of these offices offer a part-time
schedule program. Judith N. Collins, Nat'l Ass'n For Law Placement.
Findings From The NALP Workplace Questionnaire (2005). Although
this may be a considerable amount, 96.5% of those permitting attorneys to
work a part-time schedule determine the schedule on a case-by-case
basis. Id.
(2) These statistics contrast remarkably when compared to part-time work in
general, which garners roughly 14% of working individuals as compared
to the average of 4% for working attorneys. Press Release, Nat'l Ass'n for
Law Placement, Few Lawyers Work Part-Time, Most Who Do Are
Women (Dec. 7, 2006). Even firms that pride themselves on their
work/life efforts find their usage rates are only between 7% and 11%. See
PAR, “The Business Case for a Balanced Hours Program for Attorneys”
(2007), available at http://apps.americanbar.org/labor/lel-aba-
annual/2008/pdf/Williams2.pdf
2. WHAT IS CAUSINGATTRITION? WHYARE WOMEN LEAVING?
a. “Firms want women to stay. Men at the firms want women to stay, and women want to
stay. So why aren’t they?” O’Brien, “Up the Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women
Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006 (quoting Karen M.
Lockwood). “Law firms are way beyond discrimination — this is about advancement
and retention. Problems with advancement and retention are grounded in biases, not
discrimination.” Id. (quoting Karen M. Lockwood).
b. Factors Causing Attrition
i. Social Expectations / Childrearing. While there is trend toward more sharing of
family demands, the lion’s share still falls on women. Balancing the demands of
the practice with family life. The need and desire to provide presence and
predictability at home. Challenge of balancing heavy workloads and

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unpredictable hours and expectations of a minimum number of billable hours.
This is a difficult balancing act. And even if a woman is able to balance work and
kids, there are often other demands and pressures regarding civic and professional
involvement, leadership in the community, client development, and other non-
billable expectations.
(1) When analyzing the problem of attrition, you really cannot address the
problem without the social expectations and realities of childrearing and
household roles.
(2) One real solution is to reassess the role that women play in the family,
develop a sense of shared responsibilities for the household and, most
importantly, shared responsibilities for taking care of the kids. O’Brien,
“Up the Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big
Law Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006.
(3) In addition to the “glass ceiling” issues that work against women in law
firms, some have described a “maternal wall” that impedes the
advancement female lawyers. O’Brien, “Up the Down Staircase: Why Do
So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?” New York Times,
March 19, 2006. The maternal wall is “built on the unstated assumption
among male partners that women who return to firms after having children
will automatically be less willing to work hard or will be less capable than
they were prior to that – resulting in less-choice assignments or less-senior
postings.” Id.
(4) Many women feel pressured into choosing between family and continuing
practicing law. “When a mother happens also to be a trial lawyer,
flexibility in her firm can mean that she need not necessarily choose
between her children and her career. Such flexibility, in many respects,
equates to equal opportunity for female lawyers.” “A Career in the
Courtroom, A Different Model for the Success of Women Who Try
Cases,” DRI White Paper (“DRI White Paper”), p. 31.
(5) Lack of on-ramps for attorneys returning to practice or returning to full-
time practice. “Those who temporarily give up their professional dreams
to pursue child-rearing or other personal goals have a difficult, if not
impossible, time finding easily available on-ramps when they choose to
re-enter the legal world.” O’Brien, “Up the Down Staircase: Why Do So
Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?” New York Times, March
19, 2006
ii. Lack of effective mentoring relationships and Absence of Female Role Models
(1) Lack of effective mentors impacts not only development of legal skills but
also learning to effectively market and balance lifestyles. Mentoring is
more than training. A mentor is a trusted advisor. DRI White Paper, p. 29.

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(2) Absence of female rainmakers to model or learn from. This affects the
development of young female associates and their confidence. They have
little guidance in developing profiles that would make them strong
candidates for partnership. The lack role models to provide advice on
career choices, opportunities to have client contact to develop rainmaking
skills, intervention on their behalf with other partners, and delegation of
challenging work to develop their skills as effective litigators. This often
puts them at a disadvantage in comparison to their male counterparts.”
DRI White Paper, at 19.
iii. Challenges in Networking and business development.
(1) Marketing / Developing a book of business, which are impeded by social
and moral expectations. Developing business takes time, which is one
thing that many female attorneys have do not have. Pressure to participate
and find time to participate in professional and service organizations.
iv. Lack of flexibility / regimented criteria for partnership
v. Quality of work assignments (discrete assignments, lack of opportunity to view
the entire case); Opportunity to prove yourself; Advancing beyond low-grade case
assignments.
(1) If women are given quality assignments and are given opportunities to
develop a feeling of value, they are more likely to be loyal to the firm and
stay with the firm. DRI White Paper.
vi. Women are sometimes used as “tokens,” “bait,” or “window dressings” to entice
clients with diversity requirements.
(1) “A firm should not try to portray itself as diverse simply by employing
‘window dressing.’ I have been included by my firm on marketing teams
with clients who have certain diversity requirements. As a woman and an
ethnic minority, it has been my distinct impression that I have been
included solely for the purpose of demonstrating to the client that the
firm’s makeup complies with the client’s requirements. This impression
has later proved accurate when I have not been allowed to handle any of
the work ultimately given to the firm by this particular client.” DRI White
Paper, p. 30.
vii. Diversity breeds diversity.
(1) “Because so many women leave, there are fewer who have the power to
change things at the firm for future generations of women. As women
become partners and acquire more power within their firms and within the
profession, and as firms become more ‘family friendly’ in their cultures,
improved recruitment and retention of quality female lawyers will likely
follow.” DRI White Paper, p. 31.

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viii. Perceptions and behaviors of those in positions of power.
(1) Perceptions that women who have children are not as committed to
practice as male counterparts. This creates a generalized bias in women
themselves against moving up the law firm ladder and discouraging those
who might otherwise be motivated to advance
ix. The Billable Hour Regime
(1) Form over Substance: Associates may be told they have 2 weeks of
vacation but they might as well be told they can take 20 weeks because of
billable hour accountability.
x. Compensation and the Gender Pay Gap.
(1) “The pay disparity increases with seniority, as law firms’ subjective
decisions regarding whom to reward for the origination of business, and
how much, often leave women lawyers shortchanged.” See A Note from
ABA President Laurel G. Bellows and Task Force on Gender Equity Chair
Roberta D. Liebenberg. “When Women suffer pay inequities, they often
vote with their feet and leave.” Id.
xi. Social Challenges in Marketing, Pitches, etc.
(1) Challenges of having behavior misconstrued when marketing to clients.
Underlying sexual overtones by virtue of the male-female relationship.
Concerns regarding perceptions of one-on-one marketing events, such as
dinners or other activities. Preference to market in a group.
(2) “Good Ol’ Boy” Club. Exclusion from certain marketing activities.
Exclusion from pitches. Predominance of male marketing activities.
3. WHY SHOULD LAW FIRMS COMBAT ATTRITION? THE UPSIDE TO
FLEXIBILITY….
a. Reducing attrition is good for law firm business.
(1) Forget about skin color or gender or whatever, if you want to run a great
business, you need great, talented people.” O’Brien, “Up the Down
Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms?”
New York Times, March 19, 2006 (quoting Michael M. Boone, founding
partner of Haynes and Boone in Dallas, TX). “Even the largest firms are at
risk if they don’t do this.” Id.
(2) “With law firms courting major corporations that demand diversity within
the ranks of those advising them, and with women increasingly
dominating the top tiers of law school graduates, veteran lawyers say that

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promoting women’s legal careers is not just a matter of goodwill or high-
mindedness. It’s also a winning business strategy.” Id.
(3) Studies show that nearly 80 percent of all associates have left their large
law firm by the fifth year of practice. By conservative estimates, it costs
$200,000—and can cost as much as $500,000—to replace a second-year
associate. See PAR, “The Business Case for a Balanced Hours Program for
Attorneys” (2007), available at http://apps.americanbar.org/labor/lel-aba-
annual/2008/pdf/Williams2.pdf These costs include interviewing time
spent by partners and associates at the firm, hiring bonuses, lost training
costs for the departed attorney and additional costs of training the new
hire. Every time five associates walk out the door, a firm loses a million
dollars or more. Id.
(4) More than forty percent of new associates, and an even greater percentage
of women and minorities, leave their firms by year three, even though
associates do not begin to reach ROI until at least year four. The Project
on Attorney Retention reports that it costs somewhere between $200,000
and $500,000 to replace an attorney. Constant turnover and churn costs
dearly. See http://abovethelaw.com/atl-human-capital/august-2014/.
(5) Thomson West estimates that US law firms are spending roughly $1
billion each year on training and professional development for their
attorneys. The Hildebrandt Institute, “Changing Approaches To Lawyer
Training: The Latest Battleground In The Growing War For Talent”
(2006).
(6) Flexibility is good for business – and good for the profession
(a) The inflexible, billable-hours regime is an obstacle to job
satisfaction for both sexes, a trend that is more pronounced among
the most recent crop of law school graduates. O’Brien, “Up the
Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big
(b) As law schools graduate more women, firms will often find that
the best possible candidates for associate positions are women. To
attract, retain, and motivate the best qualified individuals, firms
must ensure equal opportunity to climb the firm’s ladder. To
maximize the return on training time and dollars, they must adopt
and implement policies that will foster loyalty among all associates
and develop the best possible future partners. This means that in
the years to come, law firms will have to implement more “user
friendly” policies and practices for women attorneys in order to
retain them. They will need to track the progress of the women
attorneys within the firm to ensure that they are being promoted to
partnership in sufficient numbers and given the same access as

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their male counterparts to professional and business development
opportunities. It is important for law firms in today’s competitive
and socially diverse environment to reflect similar diversity at all
levels of the firm, particularly as an increasing number of women
attorneys become judges and general counsel of corporations. DRI
White Paper, p. 25.
(c) Flexibility is not a novel concept. According to a new EY survey of
9,700 full-time employees in eight of the world’s largest
economies – the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Brazil, Mexico, India, China and Japan – employees listed
flexibility as a top feature they want in a job. Flexibility ranked
just behind competitive pay and benefits. And they cited a lack of
flexibility as among the top reasons they would quit.
http://www.ey.com/US/en/About-us/Our-people-and-culture/EY-
work-life-challenges-across-generations-global-study
(d) A full 67% of all respondents in the EY survey listed “flexibility
stigma” at a company as a big reason why they would quit. Id. In
other words, opting to telecommute a day or two a week or work
flexible hours is great, unless the end result is that you’re denied a
promotion or raise because your boss doesn’t support the
company’s policy. Id.
(e) In one study, 45% of female law graduates cited “Work/Life
Balance” as the number one reason for choosing their current
employers. Thirty-four percent of male law graduates reported that
work/life balance was among their top three reasons for selecting
their current employers. See PAR, “The Business Case for a
Balanced Hours Program for Attorneys” (2007), available at
http://apps.americanbar.org/labor/lel-aba-
(7) To avoid incurring the expense and stress of attorney turnover, law firms
need to understand and implement the best strategies to manage attorney
Retention. Top associates effectively meet client needs and successfully
achieve the firm’s organizational goals; it should be a top priority to secure
the firm’s most productive and valuable attorneys.
(8) Increase Profit; Keep your Investments; “Keep the Keepers”
(a) As a result of disparities in pay between the sexes, and other
factors, “[f]irms lose well-trained, talented women lawyers, and
clients lose outside counsel with critical knowledge, experience,
and familiarity with the client’s business. This severe talent drain
also impacts the bottom line as firms lose their investment in these
women lawyers and lose the potential revenue that women would

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generate if they remained with the firm. If today’s firms are to
survive and thrive, they must retain, promote, and fairly reward
talented women lawyers – before they leave.” A Note from ABA
President Laurel G. Bellows and Task Force on Gender Equity
Chair Roberta D. Liebenberg.
(1) Judges come from litigator ranks – and when there is a small pool of
women to choose from, it hurts the odds.
(2) Be Competitive with Other Firms; Cutting Edge
(a) If there is an undercurrent against flexible policies at a firm, you
can bet there is another firm that embraces it and will attract and
retain talent
ii. Diversity from a Client Perspective
(1) Companies are increasingly more interested in diversity, not only in their
regularly-retained firms but in the teams that represent them on single,
one-off occasions.
(2) “With law firms courting major corporations that demand diversity within
the ranks of those advising them, and with women increasingly
dominating the top tiers of law school graduates, veteran lawyers say that
promoting women’s legal careers is not just a matter of goodwill or high-
mindedness. It’s also a winning business strategy.” O’Brien, “Up the
Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law
Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006..
(3) Companies are watching who is entering the legal work force versus who
is staying and making partner – the numbers are discouraging.
(4) Clients want trial teams that look like the jury pools in the communities
where they try cases. A trial team can communicate more effectively when
it is representative of its audience. There is a growing trend among
clients, particularly larger corporations, to request women attorneys on
their trial teams. DRI White Paper, p. 28.
(5) An increasing number of in-house attorneys charged with hiring and
managing outside law firms are women.
iii. Other Benefits to Law Firms
(1) Flexibility Breeds Loyal, Longer-Term Attorneys and Leaders: Effective
part-time policies help firms develop more committed, long-term
attorneys. DRI White Paper, p. 34. A supportive firm culture reduces
stress and develops a healthy firm culture. Reduces attrition. Attorneys

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tend to feel a genuine sense of loyalty and remain members of the firm.
Id.
(2) Flexibility is good for everyone at the firm – not just women
(a) “There are two constituencies where work/life balance is of
particularly urgent concern: Women and the so-called Millennials.”
http://abovethelaw.com/atl-human-capital/august-2014/. It is
important that law firms keep young people generally, whether
female or male.
(b) This is not just a women’s issue. And it is not just an issue for
attorneys with young families. Having children is not the primary
reason most women leave law firms; most say they depart for other
careers or for different ways to practice law. O’Brien, “Up the
Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big
4. HOW DO LAW FIRMS COMBAT ATTRITION?
To retain the best and the brightest, the legal profession needs to focus on the issue of how law
firms and lawyers – faced with today’s billable hour demands – manage attorney time.
a. PHASE 1: Embrace / Accept Idea of Flexibility
i. The issue of attrition is misunderstood and somewhat ignored by many. Why?
ii. How do you change the culture of law firms? This is difficult and will take time.
iii. The lawyers who have had positive experiences working part time have some
things in common:
(1) Their firms view part-time policies as beneficial to the organization as
well as the lawyer and not just as a concession [accommodation] to the
personal needs of one or two attorneys.
(2) They have a part-time coordinator or a supervisor or an alliance with a
partner who champions their cause and supports their efforts to set
boundaries around their hours and their workload.
(3) They feel valued and not stigmatized.
(4) They also understand the bottom-line concerns of their managing partners
and communicate their investment in finding win-win solutions.
(5) They are good at promoting themselves within their firms so that the value
of retaining them is always obvious.

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(6) They have worked out arrangements with their firms so that a portion of
the hours they work are not billable hours. Instead, they can continue to
attend meetings or participate in committees or in some way remain
integrated in the life of the firm.
(7) In addition, these lawyers work for firms that are willing to be flexible: if
a shortened workday (i.e., physical presence in the office 6 hours a day, 5
days a week) does not work, then they try an abbreviated workweek (i.e.,
physical presence in the office 10 hours a day, 3 days a week). What
counts is that the firm and the lawyer work together to find what works for
both.
(8) These lawyers use electronic communication to its maximum
effectiveness.
(9) Finally, they have sufficient quality childcare or family support to allow
them to be flexible and responsive to client needs.
See Ellen Ostrow, available at http://www.lawyerslifecoach.com/article-
archive/the-pain-and-the-promise-of-part-time-work-in-law-firms.
b. PHASE 2: Adopt / Implement
i. How do we close the gap at the top?
ii. More Flexible Models (How to define “Part-time” / “Reduced Schedule” / “Less
than full time”
(1) Reduced number of lawsuits or matters to handle
(2) Abbreviated work week v. shortened work days (examples above)
(3) Available and accessible when needed
(4) Flexibility – no “I don’t work on Fridays, so don’t bother me then
“approach
(5) Akin to sabbaticals or short-term disability leave where firms figure out
how to make it work
(6) Move away from the institutional model, the billable hour regime. Adopt
more flexible models
(7) Promote and retain women by offering flexible working schedules,
leadership development and career planning programs, and transparent
and dedicated mentoring — all buttressed by strong internal support and
an emphasis on the bottom-line merits of its policies. O’Brien, “Up the

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Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law
Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006.
iii. Make the Compensation Structure more Flexible
(1) % of full time = 50, 60, 75, 80%
(2) Eligibility bonuses – prorated
(3) A publication by the ABA addresses the gender pay gap. See Closing the
Gap: A Road Map for Achieving Gender Pay Equity in Law Firm Partner
Compensation, ABA (“Closing the Gap”). Closing the Gap sets forth
twelve recommended practices that can make the compensation process
fairer and more transparent and create a level playing field for female and
male partners. Closing the Gap suggests that law firms should:
(a) Build transparency into the compensation process.
(b) Include a critical mass of diverse members on the compensation
committee.
(c) Develop systems to promote fair and accurate allocation of billing
and origination credit.
(d) Require diversity in pitch teams and related business-development
efforts and ensure that diverse lawyers become a party of the client
team when successful.
(e) Reward behaviors that promote institutional sustainability.
(f) Implement formal client succession protocols.
(g) Measure and report results.
(h) Develop a process to resolve allocation disputes promptly and
equitably.
(i) Implement training for all involved in the evaluation and
compensation process.
(j) Engage the client’s role in gender equity.
(k) Implement systems to ensure equitable compensation for partners
on a reduced-hours schedule.
(l) Maximize the effectiveness of affinity groups.
iv. Develop Women’s Initiatives or Programs

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(1) Offer quarterly symposium for women attorneys to develop professional
relationship with women clients and women attorneys in other firms. DRI
White Paper, p. 28.
v. Technology
(1) “Firms must abandon the notion that if a lawyer is not in the office, in
court, or in a deposition, she must not be working.” DRI White Paper, at
32.
(2) Creating a seamless work environment
(a) Impedes on personal space but makes physical location irrelevant
(b) Billing station = everywhere where there is internet and phone
access.
(c) Smartphone with e-mail. Consider removing the automatic
signature: “Sent from iPhone” on iPhone emails
(d) No. 1 Technological Necessity: Remote sign-in on laptop or
desktop computer = home office. EXAMPLES:
 Citrix
https://www.citrix.com/
 GoToMyPC
http://www.gotomypc.com/remote-access/
 Cisco Virtual Private Networks
http://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/ios-nx-os-
software/virtual-private-networks-vpns/index.html
(e) Scanning capability at office and at home office
(f) Paperless case files, accessible remotely
(g) Dual Monitors at office and at home office
(h) Teleconference line for calls so that attorneys working remotely
can participate in multi-party calls with clients, opposing counsel,
courts, etc. EXAMPLE:
 Soundpath Teleconferencing
http://soundpath.com/
(i) Voice to text software, where voice messages are captured and
retrievable via email so attorneys can see an email that they have

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received a voice message and can listen to that voice message via
an audio file attached to the email. EXAMPLE:
 Mutare Electronic Voice Messaging (“EVM”)
http://www.mutare.com/evm.asp
(j) Electronic timekeeping software that allows attorneys to enter their
own time electronically without the need of a legal assistant to
input it. EXAMPLE:
 Carpe Diem® Electronic Time Sheet
http://www.timetracking.co.uk/products/carpediem/
(k) Consider providing mobile phone number to clients and colleagues
vi. On-Ramps
(1) Offer sabbatical policies and outreach practices so that women who depart
the firm to raise children have an easier time re-entering the work force —
and rejoining the law firm — when they are ready to do so. O’Brien, “Up
the Down Staircase: Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law
Firms?” New York Times, March 19, 2006.
vii. Some practices that demonstrate flexibility by successful firms include the
following:
(1) Being receptive to flexible work schedules, reduced hours, telecommuting
and job sharing
(2) Having a written policy (part-time, flex-time) that is openly communicated
and adhering to it while periodically examining the policy to evaluate its
effectiveness
(3) Making the program available to all attorneys, regardless of gender,
religious belief or tenure with the firm (e.g., childcare, eldercare, wanting
reduced hours for lifestyle reasons)
(4) Involve practice leaders and firm management in evaluating individual
requests for alternate arrangements to determine feasibility and how to
accommodate the request while maintaining client demands
(5) Entering into an agreement with the participating attorney that sets forth
both parties’ expectations; the agreement should cover hours,
compensation, benefits, eligibility for bonus, compensation in the event
the attorney exceeds the agreed upon hours, and status on returning to full-
time

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(6) Keeping the participant attorney on a partnership track – to the extent
desired by the attorney – commensurate with the hours worked by the
participants and to the extent that participants meets other criteria for
partnership
(7) Monitoring those attorneys on reduced hour arrangements to discuss
scheduling, whether “schedule creep” is occurring.
DRI White Paper.
c. PHASE 3: “Buy-In”; Allowing Participation without Stigma
i. Today, even law firms that have adopted flexible policies have not “bought in.”
(1) The majority of firms offer part-time arrangements (approximately 70%
according to the NALP Workplace Questionnaire). However, only a small
minority of women utilize the arrangement. Only approximately 4% of
working attorneys are part-time. Press Release, Nat'l Ass'n for Law
Placement, Few Lawyers Work Part-Time, Most Who Do Are Women
(Dec. 7, 2006). Even firms that pride themselves on their work/life efforts
find their usage rates are only between 7% and 11%. See PAR, “The
Business Case for a Balanced Hours Program for Attorneys” (2007),
available at http://apps.americanbar.org/labor/lel-aba-
(2) The disparity between the availability of part-time and utilization is
believed to arise from the perception that any reduction in the number of
hours signifies a reduction in commitment. That a part-time attorney does
not make herself available to clients or might jeopardize her prospects for
advancement. DRI White Paper, at 33.
ii. “Buy in” requires modification of Firm’s Traditional Cultural; Top-Down; Action,
not Lip Service
iii. How does a law firm “buy in”?
(1) Communications within the Firm: “If a firm decides to make a
commitment to retain and promote its women attorneys, senior partners in
the firm must communicate such commitment from the top down and put
into place focused diversity efforts. These efforts include consciously
considering overall diversity when assembling trial teams and, when
appropriate, designating a diversity partner or committee. There must be
an eventual shift in firm culture such that diversity is truly embraced by
the firm as a whole. DRI White Paper, at 28.
(2) Communications outside the Firm: Recruitment and interviewing are
important in managing attorney turnover. Advertise your flexible policies
in interview process; attorneys in firm need to tell recruits about it

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d. Any Flexible Arrangement Comes with Challenges
i. Working part-time can be an ego buster to the attorney because it may be a
temporary financial step backward. But choosing to work part time is not solely
about the math. While money matters in attorney satisfaction and motivation, not
at the expense of overall work-life satisfaction.
ii. Child care, FAMILY (Many male attorneys may be able give their heart and soul
to their work because they have a spouse at home tending to their families. And
while female attorneys give their heart and soul as well, some working mothers
express a wish that they wish they had “wife” to help more at home.)
iii. Pulling all-nighters, versus work stress keeping you up at night
iv. Efficiency, delegation, time management
v. Secrecy of part-time, the Shhhh! Factor
vi. Not just a quality of life issue
vii. Not just personal balance. “Balance” may be a myth; “integration” may be a more
realistic approach. A new EY survey of 9,700 full-time employees in eight of the
world’s largest economies – the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany,
Brazil, Mexico, India, China and Japan – found that a third of workers globally
say it has become more difficult to manage their work-life balance in recent years.
http://www.ey.com/US/en/About-us/Our-people-and-culturestigma/EY-work-life-
challenges-across-generations-global-study
viii. Not just concession or accommodation
ix. Some attorneys just believe that when it comes to part-time trial attorneys, “It
can’t be done.” The part-time litigator is the “Sasquatch” of the legal world:
Rumored sightings but never confirmed.
x. “Schedule Creep” = an attorney is assigned more work than can be handled in the
time contemplated by the reduced schedule. DRI White Paper, at 35; DRI,
Women in the Courtroom: Best Practices Guide (2007), p. 13.

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