Women see the value of networking
July 8, 2008
Ungaretti & Harris junior associates Layla Strothoff and Jill Taylor greet guests at the firm’s women’s wine tasting and networking event. Photo courtesy of Ungaretti & Harris
Only about 20 percent of the partners in Chicago’s largest law firms are female — a 2 percent increase since 2003.
These numbers are based on Chicago Lawyer’s 2008 diversity survey, which was sent to 200 Illinois law firms, and 92 firms responded. According to the survey, about 45 percent of the associates in these firms are women. While times have improved for female lawyers, everything isn’t always equal when it comes to how business gets assigned and which opportunities are made available to them.
But many female lawyers don’t plan to wait for business and social connections to knock on their office doors. Instead, they have created formal and informal networking opportunities within their law firms and within the legal community so they can make connections, generate business, and learn from other women’s experiences.
They hope these networking groups will also increase the number of women who join, and stay in the legal profession.
”Women face totally different challenges,” said Anita J. Wilson, vice president and chief employment counsel at TreeHouse Foods, Inc. ”The way they are perceived is totally different from how men are perceived.
”I think women should network so they can learn. I am not about reinventing the wheel. Rather than beat my head against the wall, I network with other women and figure out how they have done it.”
Networking matters
It’s not enough anymore to simply do good work, said E. Lynn Grayson, a partner at Jenner & Block.
Lawyers must do good work, and make sure others know about this good work. These objectives are more critical for female lawyers who, in some instances, are not working on a level playing field because of their gender, Grayson said.
”Many women attorneys would tell you that they still feel the need to be better, quicker, and faster,” she said. ”Networking is really a basis of developing your reputation, and building your brand as an attorney and a player in the larger legal community.”
Grayson chairs Jenner & Block’s Women’s Forum, which was created to foster opportunities for professional, social, and personal growth for the firm’s female attorneys. It sponsors events that enhance professional development, networking, and self-promotion opportunities for women.
When young lawyers network, it helps people get to know them so they get considered the next time new business comes across a senior partner’s desk, or the next time a potential client wants a new lawyer, she said.
”Networking is all about becoming known, and becoming a player and making sure you position yourself to make a difference for yourself and your career,” she said.
It also gives everyone an opportunity to meet interesting people, make social connections and create an overall fuller life, Grayson said.
”I think the most challenging part, particularly for younger attorneys and sometimes senior attorneys, is, not everybody is naturally born with the skill-set to be a networker,” she said. ”Networking skills are something that can be learned.”
Wilson, from TreeHouse Foods, said she does not typically flash her business card the moment she meets someone new. She likes to create a bond with someone first.
”I’m a kind of talkative person who always finds a connection with someone,” she said. ”I was at an event where Lovie Smith was getting an award, and a woman and I started talking about how fabulous he looked.
”She is not a lawyer but works in compliance, and we became friends by talking about how good Lovie Smith looked. Now I’m able to call her when I have questions.”
Men and women network differently, she said.
Men, for example, like to hold large events or take people to dinner, while women tend to network on a more intimate or personal level, she said. For example, two women may move quickly from greeting each other to talking about how they handle their childcare.
”For men who are in law firms, I think, as they continue to work with women who are in-house, they need to think of different ways to network with women,” Wilson said. ”I just got invited to a WNBA game, and you can bring your kids. I think that’s a great idea, and it was fun, fun, fun.”
Female lawyers cannot exist in a bubble, said Dorothy Capers, deputy corporation counsel for the City of Chicago. Networking helps people move forward in their careers, and can be a good resource when overcoming hurdles, Capers said.
Women often feel guilty about using their time to network. Many women would rather spend their time finishing a brief or handling their family’s needs, she said.
”I’ve often spoken on panels and told women to just do it,” said Capers, president of the Black Women Lawyers’ Association of Greater Chicago, Inc. ”Don’t forsake your opportunity to network because you are trying to put other things in place. Sometimes it is more important to advance your career and build those relationships.”
Some female lawyers must still fight to get the best opportunities and salaries that are comparable to what their male counterparts receive, she said. Others say they are still hurt professionally by their desire to start families.
Women sometimes hurt themselves, Capers said, because of ”our inability to get out there and brand ourselves, network ourselves, and make a name for ourselves, and really show what we are doing.”
My friend is in Chicago and she works for a law firm. She’s had her senior boss hitting on her and when she takes her case to male lawyers they all blame her for flirting , can anyone give some advise.?