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2020 Women in Law Retreat

Retreat Schedule

Draft Schedule, 02/21/2020

Thursday, April 30

2:00-7:30 p.m. Registration

4:30-4:45 p.m. Event Orientation with Icebreaker

Led by Eileen Letts, Partner, Zuber, Lawler, and Del Duca

4:45-5:00 p.m. Welcome Remarks

Stephanie Scharf, Partner, Scharf Banks Marmor, LLC; Mary Torres, Owner and Member, Law Offices of Mary T. Torres; and Maureen Mulligan, Partner, Peabody & Arnold

5:00-6:00 p.m. Plenary - "Personal Perspectives: Leading from Within" Fireside Chat 

An intimate conversation with some of the legal profession’s luminaries will address workplace dynamics as it applies to gender, race, and ethnicity.  Expect a deep dive into the observations these experts have made over the course of their careers.  This session will include a robust Q&A period with the audience.  Major takeaways from Commission research such as Guided Conversations, Men in the Mix and Bias Interrupters will also be discussed as it applies to the speakers’ personal experiences.

Speakers:  Michelle Banks, Senior Advisor, BarkerGilmore and Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice-President, General Counsel, and Secretary, New York Public Library

Moderator: Jean Lee, President and Chief Executive Officer, Minority Corporate Counsel Association

6:00-7:30 p.m. Welcome Reception

Friday, May 1 

7:30-10:30 a.m. Registration

7:30-8:30 a.m. Networking Breakfast 

8:45-9:15 a.m. Plenary - Moving Up Instead of Moving Out: What We Know from  Long-Term Careers for Women in Law Research 

Despite the great influx of women into the profession over the past 30 years, far too many experienced women attorneys are leaving their firms just when they should be in the prime of their careers and enjoying the most success.  Clients are increasingly seeking senior women lawyers to try cases and lead deals on their behalf, and firms that continue to allow a gender gap will find themselves at a competitive disadvantage in the legal marketplace.  Equally problematic is the loss of talent and diversity when large numbers of women outright leave the legal profession, in much greater numbers than men.  The ABA’s ground breaking Initiative on Achieving Long-Term Careers for Women in Law, co-chaired by Roberta Liebenberg and Stephanie Scharf, conducted a series of innovative research studies of experienced women, men, and managing partners across a spectrum of practice settings, to examine the everyday experiences that affect the satisfaction, success, and attrition of experienced women attorneys.  Based on the results of their eye-opening research, Bobbi and Stephanie recommend concrete strategies and solutions to create a more level playing field for women attorneys at all stages of their careers and to stem the attrition of talented and experienced women from the legal profession.

Speakers: Roberta Liebenberg, Partner, Fine, Kaplan, and Black and Stephanie Scharf, Partner, Scharf Banks Marmor, LLC 

9:15-10:30 a.m. Plenary - Developing a Gritty Team 

Beyond developing your own personal grit and growth mindset – two of the main characteristics of successful women lawyers – how can you help those you work with maximize their grit and growth mindset to support team success?  Grit and growth mindset are important tools to develop for staying focused and committed to longer-term goals and handling challenging situations.  Lots of conferences address how you can be “gritty” but these speakers will tackle a new topic and share how to create and support a “gritty team” in a legal working environment.

Speakers: Paulette Brown, Senior Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Locke Lorde, LLP; Ingrid Busson-Hall, Senior Director, Head of Financial Crimes Advisory and Workplace Relations, PayPal; Elizabeth Deeley, Partner, Latham & Watkins; Milana Hogan, Chief Legal Talent Officer, Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP;
Moderated by Mary Torres, Owner & Member, Law Offices of Mary T. Torres

10:30-10:45 a.m. Break

10:45-11:45 a.m. Breakout Sessions

Breakout 1: Nuts and Bolts of Grit
For those unfamiliar with, or who want a refresher on, the principles of grit and growth mindset, two traits that many successful women lawyers have in common.  Learn how to develop these traits and apply them to your own career success.
Facilitator: Milana Hogan, Chief Legal Talent Officer, Sullivan & Cromwell, LLP

Breakout 2: Discussion on Developing Gritty Teams
Dig deeper into the takeaways from the plenary, clarifying actionable steps to develop your own team’s grit and growth mindset.
Facilitator: Paulette Brown, Senior Partner and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer, Locke Lorde, LLP

Breakout 3: Discussion on Developing Gritty Teams
Dig deeper into the takeaways from the plenary, clarifying actionable steps to develop your own team’s grit and growth mindset.
Facilitator: Ingrid Busson-Hall, Senior Director, Head of Financial Crimes Advisory and Workplace Relations, PayPal

Breakout 4: When Will  You Need Grit?
Brainstorm and develop scenarios when mid-career and senior women lawyers might use their grit and growth mindset to ensure success.  Future users of the Grit Project Toolkit will benefit from considering the scenarios you envision.
Facilitators: Katherine Larkin-Wong, Litigation & Trials Associate, Latham & Watkins and Morgan Smith, Professional Development Director, Dykema

12:00-1:30 p.m. Luncheon Keynote Speaker - Paula Boggs

Paula Boggs, former GC of Starbucks Corporation, will discuss how taking risks can lead to rewards as she chronicles her decision to leave her position as General Counsel of a major company and change her direction to pursue her dream as a singer/songwriter.

Speaker: Paula Boggs,  Musician, Public Speaker, Writer, Lawyer and Philanthropist

2:00-5:30 p.m. Choose One Excursion

  • Desert Botanical Garden Guided Tour
    Follow the brick path: take the Garden’s mail trail and learn the unique characteristics of desert plants from around the world.  The loop trail features outstanding displays and exhibits including the Sybil B. Harrington Cactus and Succulent Galleries and the Berlin Agave Yucca Forest.  This tour focuses on desert plant biology where you can explore the great diversity of form, texture, and color found in this wondrous array of cacti and succulents from around the world.  You will also learn how desert plants are uniquely adapted to survive and thrive in a harsh desert environment and people’s interactions with desert plants.  Learn the amazing ways people use desert plants for food, tools, and shelter.
  •  Desert Hike
    We’ll begin by meeting your group at the resort, and accompanying you to the trailhead; on the way, our lead guide will deliver a briefing on desert hiking safety and offer tips on staying comfortable.  When our boots meet the desert, we’ll make sure that everyone has plenty of water, and we’ll be carrying some high energy snacks along as well.  Our guides will open up this amazing resource with information, anecdotes and observations of the area through which our carefully selected trail winds.
  • Taliesin West Guided Tour
    This guided tour gives an intimate and in-depth look at Taliesin West.  In addition to the seminar theater, music pavilion, cabaret cinema, and Frank Lloyd Wright’s private office, this tour includes a visit to the dramatic living room where you will sit in Wright-designed furniture and experience first-hand the drama of being a guest in Wright’s famous living room.

6:00-7:00 p.m. Networking Reception

7:00-9:00 p.m. Dine-a-Rounds

A variety of offsite dinner reservations will be made. Enjoy food and conversation with your fellow attendees.

Saturday, May 2

7:45-8:45 a.m. Networking Breakfast

9:00-10:15 a.m. Plenary: Moving into Positions of Power

If you’re preparing to move into a new position of power within your current job or pivot to a new one, new research offers steps you can take to get to the next level.  Whether you want to rise to equity partner, manage your firm or department, increase your business, become a General Counsel, or run a non-profit this session will present research that identifies best practices for women lawyers to claim power within their legal organizations.  Learn how to promote allyship and systemic change to retain more women in the legal profession.  You will leave with exclusive tips and action steps for staying in the game and taking it to the next level.

Speakers: Dorothy Capers,. Senior Vice President and General Counsel of National Express LLC; Cyndie Chang, Los Angeles Managing Partner, Duane Morris; Betty Francisco, General Counsel, Compass Working Capital; Eileen Letts, Partner, Zuber, Lawler, & Del Duca; Patricia Lee Refo, ABA President Elect and Partner, Snell & Wilmer

Moderated by Maureen Mulligan, Partner, Peabody & Arnold, LLP

10:15-10:45 a.m. Break

10:45-11:45 a.m. Breakout Sessions

Breakout 1: How Can I Be Appointed to a Corporate Board?
If your next goal is to branch into corporate board leadership, this is your chance to ask questions and create a personalized strategy.
Facilitator: Denise Keane, Consultant, DKeane, LLC, Chair, DirectWomen, and former General Counsel, Altria

Breakout 2: Take Your Business to the Next Level/Rise into Firm Leadership (Large Firms)
Chart your path to becoming a major rainmaker in your firm and attaining that coveted management position.
Facilitator: Paula Hinton, Partner, Winston & Strawn, LLP

Breakout 3: Take Your Business to the Next Level/Rise into Firm Leadership (Small and Medium Sized Firms)
If you are part of a boutique firm or even hang out your own shingle, don’t miss hands-on tips to attract a wider client base and stand out as a thought leader in your practice area.
Facilitator: Kathleen DeBruhl, Owner, Kathleen L. DeBruhl & Associates, LLC 

Breakout 4: How Do I Become a General Counsel?
You can assume the helm of a corporate legal department; clarify your road map here.

Facilitators: Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice-President, General Counsel, and Secretary, New York Public Library and Michelle Banks, Senior Advisor, BarkerGilmore

12:00-1:30 p.m. Closing Luncheon – a Recipe for Workplace Well-Being: D-R-E-A-M

Effective leaders foster peak-performing workplaces in which business and people grow and thrive together. This includes taking good care of themselves and fostering work cultures that enable others to be their best.  In this session, Anne Brafford will help you build happy, healthy, and engaged teams using her science-backed “DREAM” team recipe: Developing, Relationships, Energy, Autonomy, and Meaning. Anne’s a doctoral student in organizational behavior who was a Big Law partner before shifting her career focus to become a thought leader on lawyer well-being.  Anne was Editor-in-Chief and a co-author of the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Being’s 2017 report; creator of the ABA’s Well-Being Toolkit for Lawyers and Legal Employers; and author of the ABA-published book Positive Professionals, which provides advice for aspiring positive leaders.

Speaker: Anne Brafford, Founder, Aspire Legal

1:30-5:00 p.m. Optional Excursions