2016WomeninLawHackathon
TheResultsReport
#hacktheglassceiling
TheEventDetails
Theinaugural2016WomeninLawHackathonwascreatedbyDiversityLabincollaborationwithStanford
LawSchoolandBloombergLaw.Nineteamsconsistingof54high-levellawfirmpartners,18expertadvisors,
and9StanfordLawstudentsworkedvirtuallyoverthepastsixmonthsfromJanuarytoJune2016to
generateinnovativeideasandsolutionstoincreasetheadvancementandretentionofexperiencedwomen
lawyersinlawfirms.Theteamspresentedtheirideasinpersontoapanelofdistinguishedjudgesatapitch
eventatStanfordLawSchoolonFriday,June24,2016.
Thetopthreewinningteamsgrantedtheirprizemoney(1stplace$10,000,2ndplace$7,500,3rdplace
$5,000),donatedbyBloombergLaw,totheirchoiceofnon-profitorganizationsthatareadvancingwomenin
thelegalprofession.Anadditional$10,000,donatedbyDiversityLab,wasalsoawardedtonon-profitsby
thetwo“crowdfavorite”award-winningteams.
Anoverviewofallofthenineideas,includingthewinningteamsanddonorrecipientsfollow.Foradditional
details,pleasecontactCarenUlrichStacy,FounderofDiversityLab,[email protected].
TheIdeas
Team1,PowertoWIN(WomeninIncreasingNumbers)
IdeaOverview:
“Businessisthegatewaytosuccess.”Designedtoaddressthepersistentdisproportionatelylow
percentageofwomenrainmakersandequitypartnersatlargefirms,PowertoWINbringstogether
clientsandfirmstoenhancewomen’saccesstoandcreditfortheacquisitionofbusiness.Agroupof
foundingWINlawfirmswillinvitesupportiveclientsandcompaniestoparticipatebycommittingto
apportionatargetedpercentageoftheirlegalspendtoWINparticipatingfirms(andtoincreasingthis
spendovertime).TheWINlawfirmswillcommittoprovidingalistofpracticeareasinwhichthey
havewomenlawyersqualifiedtoleadmatters,toallocatingatleastmajoritycredittothewoman
attorneyleadingthematter,andtocertifyingthisallocationofcredit.Theprogramwillbestructured
toallowwomentoforgemeaningfulrelationshipswithclients,receiveatleastmajoritycreditfor
theirwork,andgainincreasedvisibilityandinfluencewithintheirfirmsandwithclients.Participating
firmsalsowillagreetotrackandreporttherepresentationofwomenintheirpartnershipranks.An
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outsideorganizationwillmanagethecollection,tracking,andreportingofinformationtoensure
confidentialityandpropermanagement.
TeamAdvisors:
LisaHorowitz,FounderandPrincipalAdvisoroftheAttorneyTalentStrategyGroup
ManarMorales,PresidentandCEOoftheDiversityandFlexibilityAlliance
TeamMembers:
BethDeeley,PartnerandCo-ChairoftheDiversityandInclusionCommittee,Kirkland&Ellis
HowardEllin,GlobalHiringPartner,Skadden
CarolFaber,Partner,Co-ChairofDistressedPropertyPracticeandChairofWomen’sInitiative
Network,Akerman
BarbaraGrandjean,Partner,HuschBlackwell
CatharinaMin,PartnerandVice-ChairofBusiness&FinanceDepartment,ReedSmith
ToddRolapp,ManagingPartner,BassBerry
CourtneySladic,Student,StanfordLawSchool
Team2,OnTrack-for-PartnershipProgram
CrowdFavoriteAward;$5,000donationtoInstituteforInclusionintheLegalProfession
IdeaOverview:
TheOnTrackprogramtackleswomenlawyers’advancementthroughaholisticapproachinvolving
fourentitiesworkinginconcerttosupport,guide,anddeveloppartnership-readyassociates:(1)a
teamofthreefirmpartners;(2)anexternalexecutivecoach;(3)aclientexecutivewhowillserveasa
clientcoach;(4)andapeernetworkofsimilarlysituatedwomenlawyerswhowillconnectthrough
theprogram’sappandsocialmedia.
Elementsoftheprogramincludeunconsciousbiastrainingforthepartnersandcoachesinvolved,as
wellastrainingonbusinessdevelopmentandothercareerskillsfortheassociate.TheOnTrack
programseekstoexpandparticipatingassociates’businessdevelopmentcapabilitiesthroughthe
relationshipwiththeclientcoachaswellastheguideddevelopmentofabusinessplan,whichmost
firmstypicallydonotintroduceuntilpartnership.Throughthepeer-to-peernetwork,women
nearingpartnershipeligibilitywillhavetheopportunitytodevelopexternalconnectionsandbenefit
fromaready-madesourceofsupport.
TeamAdvisors:
IdaAbbott,President,IdaAbbottConsulting,Co-Founder,HastingsLeadershipAcademyforWomen
SandraYamate,CEO,InstituteforInclusionintheLegalProfession
TeamMembers:
KayChandler,Partner,Cooley
GraceChediak,Student,StanfordLawSchool
TraceyCohen,Partner,FaskenMartineauDuMoulin
JohnMartin,PartnerinChargeofPaloAltoOffice,BakerBotts
SarahPayne,Partner,Co-Head,Technology,M&AandFinanceGroup,Sullivan&Cromwell
LisaPirozzolo,Partner,Co-Chair,IntellectualProperty,WilmerHale
SusanSpaeth,ManagingPartner,KilpatrickTownsend&Stockton
HenryWalker,FirmChair,KilpatrickTownsend&Stockton
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Team3,FiveYearMoment
3rdPlace;$5,000donationtoNationalAssociationofWomenLawyers(NAWL)
IdeaOverview:
Thisefforttargetsthe“FiveYearMoment,”thetwotothreeyearsbeforeanassociatemakespartner
throughthetwotothreeyearsfollowingherelevationtopartner,andfocusesonsupporting
businessdevelopmentacumenandskillswithinthatkeytimeframe.Applyingmetric-drivenand
experientialsolutions,theFiveYearMomentprogramaimstoeliminatesystemicandindividual
barrierstobusinessdevelopmentsuccessforwomenlawyers.Researchshowsthattheabilityto
developbusinessisthesinglemostimportantfactorforbothpromotiontopartnershipandsuccess
asapartner.
Encompassingamenuof20potentialsolutions,theFiveYearMomenttargetssystemicbiases,such
asbarrierstosharingoriginationcreditorexclusionfromclientcontact,bymappingoutwaysto
moreeffectivelytrackandsharecredit.Italsotargetsindividualdevelopmentneeds,suchas
knowledgeormentoringgaps,byofferingtrainingsolutions.Anotherofitsinnovativedimensionis
aimedatatraditionalweaknessofmanywell-intentioneddiversityprograms—measurementand
follow-up.TheFiveYearMomentincludessuggestedmetricsforall20solutionstosupportfirms’
ongoingparticipation,accountability,andcommitment.
TeamAdvisors:
CarolFrohlinger,President,NegotiatingWomen,Inc.
JennyWaters,ExecutiveDirector,NationalAssociationofWomenLawyers(NAWL)
TeamMembers:
BrettBartlett,Partner,AtlantaChair,Labor&Employment,SeyfarthShaw
AnnaJaffe,Student,StanfordLawSchool
LisaKobialka,Partner,KramerLevin
DianaKruze,Partner,MorrisonFoerster
MikeMcNamara,USManagingPartner,Dentons
DawnSchluter,Partner,GroupLeader,PersonalServices,MillerCanfield
JamesWareham,Partner,Chair,GlobalLitigation,FriedFrank
Team4,PowerDevelopmentProgram
2ndPlace;$7,500donationtoCenterforWomeninLaw,UniversityofTexas
IdeaOverview:
ThePowerDevelopmentProgram(PDP)servesasaninnovativeandmultidimensionaltwistonthe
traditionalsecondmentconcept.ItaimstofollowtheguidanceofMeganBelcher,formerChief
EmploymentCounselatConAgraFoods,whourgedHackathonparticipantsto“upsettheapplecart”
inpursuitofgenderequityinlawfirms.ThePDPspecificallyseekstodismantlethreecurrentbarriers
towomen’sadvancementinlawfirms:women’slackofeconomicpowerandinfluenceinfirms;
firms’traditionallynon-strategicapproachtosuccessionplanning,whichofteninvolvesretiring
partnerstransferringrelationshippartnerstatustootherswholooklikethem(i.e.,typicallywhite
men);andclients’lackofvoiceinsuccessionplanningfortheirmatters.
ThePDPmodelpairstwogenerationsoflawyers–awomanpartnerandawomanassociate–with
aninstitutionalclientwithastatedcommitmenttodiversityfora12-monthperiod.Thefirstmonth
willbeafullimmersionexperienceforthewomenlawyersinwhichtheywilldevelopkey
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relationshipsandbetterunderstandtheclient’slegalandbusinessissues.Forthenext11months,
thelawyerswillspenduptofivedayspermonthon-sitewiththeclient,supportingthelegalteam
andidentifyingprofessionaldevelopmentopportunitiesforwomenemployedbytheclient.Atthe
conclusionofthe12months,thewomanpartnerwillearneconomiccreditontherelationshipteam
forthatclient,enlarginghereconomicinfluenceatthefirmandpositioninghertobecomeoneofthe
keyrelationshippartnersfortheclient.Additionally,anexternalcoachwillbeassignedtothe
partner/associatepairtoprovidesupportandstrategicguidancetomaximizethepositiveoutcomes
ofthe12-monthPDP.
TeamAdvisors:
AveryBlank,PrincipalandOwner,AveryBlankConsulting
SangLee,CEO,SJLShannonandFounderandOwner,SJLAttorneySearch,LLC
TeamMembers:
ErikaMeritDouglas,Student,StanfordLawSchool
MajaEaton,Partner,Co-Chair,GlobalProductLiability&MassTortsPractice,SidleyAustin
JessicaEverett-Garcia,Partner,PerkinsCoie
AndreaFarley,Partner,Chair,CorporateDepartment,TroutmanSanders
MichaelFlorey,Partner,Fish&Richardson
KarolKepchar,Partner,AkinGump
DavidKoschik,Partner,White&Case
Team5,MansfieldRule
CrowdFavoriteAward;$5,000donationtoCatalyst
IdeaOverview:
“MakinglawfirmleadershipmorethanaMan’sField—TheMansfieldRule.”
TheMansfieldRuleisbasedonthepremisethatthebestwaytoretainandadvancewomenisto
placemorewomenintopositionsofpower–wheredecisionsthataffecttheirlivesandthelivesof
otherfirmlawyersarebeingmade.TheRulewouldrequireparticipatingfirmstointerviewand
considerwomenlawyersforkeyfirmleadershiprolesbymandatingtheactiveconsiderationofat
leastonewomancandidateforsevenhigh-levelpositionsinlawfirms,includingmanagingpartner,
practicegroupleadership,clientrelationshipleads,andexecutivecommitteemembership.
TheMansfieldRuleisinspiredbytheNFL’sRooneyRule,whichmandatestheconsiderationof
AfricanAmericancandidatesforopenheadcoachpositions.PriortotheimpositionoftheRooney
Rule,theNFL’sminorityhiringstatisticsremainedvirtuallyflat,despitethefactthatAfricanAmerican
coachesaveragedmorewinsthantheirwhitecounterparts.Justthreeyearsaftertheadoptionof
theRooneyRule,thepercentageofAfricanAmericanheadcoachesincreasedfrom6%to22%.The
MansfieldRule–namedforArabellaMansfield,thefirstwomanadmittedtothebarintheUnited
States–aimstoreplicatethissuccessforwomenleadersinlawfirms.
TobuildexternalvisibilityandaccountabilityaroundtheRuleandtoencouragelawfirm
participation,clientswouldgiveenhancedconsiderationforprospectiveworktoparticipatingfirms
andanagreed-uponpercentageoftheirexistingworktofirmscertifiedbyanindependentpartyas
MansfieldCertifiedfirms.
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TeamAdvisors:
RosalieChamberlain,Founder,RosalieChamberlainConsulting&Coaching
PatGillette,FormerPartner,OrrickHerrington&SutcliffeLLPandCo-Founder,Opt-inProject
TeamMembers:
AnneCappella,Partner,FirmwideWomen@WeilLeader,WeilGotshal&Manges
MarkHelm,Partner,Munger,Tolles&Olson
TammyKnight,Partner,DirectorsCommitteeMemberandWomen’sInitiativeChair,Holland&
Knight
NinaMarkey,Partner,LittlerMendelson
IngridRechtin,Partner,Covington&Burling
MackenzieTudor,Student,StanfordLawSchool
JohnWander,Partner,DallasManagingPartner,Vinson&Elkins
Team6,OnTrackSponsorshipApp
IdeaOverview:
TheOnTrackSponsorshipAppaimstoboosttheresultsoftraditionalfirmprogramssuchas
mentoring,sponsorship,andcoachingbygamifyingtheseactivitiesinanappformatandcreatingan
accountabilityprocesstoensurethatmentorsandsponsorsfollow-throughwiththeirsupport
commitments.Leveraginglawyers’competitivestreaksaswellasthepopularityof“fitbit”-type
trackingapps,OnTrackallocatespointsforaccomplishmentsacrossseveralareas,includingClient
Interaction,ProfessionalDevelopment,InternalMarketing,andotherkeyareasoflawyers’career
growth.Forexample,asponsormightearn50pointsforintroducingaprotégétoaclient,150for
offeringmeaningfulparticipationinaclientcall,andupto500pointsforpositioningtheprotégéas
firstchaironaclientmatter.Throughpushnotifications,sponsor/mentor/protégéteamswouldbe
abletocomparetheirpointswithcolleaguesandtheircompetitors,andoverallstandingswillbe
shownontheapp’sdashboard.Allfunctionscanbecustomizedtotailorthelevelofpointsand
disclosurestomatchthefirm’svaluesandpreferences.
TeamAdvisors:
KarenHester,ExecutiveDirector,CenterforLegalInclusiveness
EllenOstrow,FoundingPrincipalofLawyersLifeCoachLLC
TeamMembers:
CourtneyCronin,Student,StanfordLawSchool
MaureenJeffreys,Partner,Telecommunications,Internet&MediaPracticeGroupLeader,Arnold&
Porter
GinaKastel,Partner,ExecutiveCommitteeMember,FaegreBakerDaniels
RiseNorman,Partner,SimpsonThacher&Bartlett
IanPeck,PartnerandChairofBankruptcyandBusinessRestructuring,Haynes&Boone
DanielRhynhart,Partner,CommercialLitigationPracticeGroupLeader,BlankRome
ChristinaGuerolaSarchio,Partner,BoardofDirectorsMember,Orrick
Team7,CompFirmation
IdeaOverview:
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CompFirmationleverageslanguageoptimizationtechnologytohelpfirmsdisruptsystemic
unconsciousbiasandultimatelyclosethelawfirmpaygap.Offeringamenuofthreecustomizable
tools,thesolutionsapplytoboththefrontandbackendsofpartnercompensationdecisions:
• LanguageOptimizersoftwarereviewslawyers’end-of-yearmemosdetailingtheir
accomplishmentsinthepastyearandscrubsself-deprecatorylanguage(whichresearch
showsisdisproportionatelyemployedbywomen).Theuserwillhavetheoptionofaccepting
orrejectingthesuggestedchanges.Theresultwillfacilitatemoredirectandunapologetic
claimingofcredit.
• FillintheBlanksequalizesinputstoend-of-yearmemosandenhancesobjectivityby
providingstandardwordingandaskinglawyerstofillinonlytherequiredinformation.This
willincreaseconsistencyacrossgendersandpersonalitytypesandreduceanybiasresulting
fromthosewhomayusekeywordstoeitherinflateordownplaytheirachievements.
• TheBlindDataOptimizeroperatesonthebackendofcompensationsystems,using
regressionanalysistoreviewcompensationdecisionsandflagresultsthatappear
inconsistentwiththefirm’scompensationguidelines.Forexample,itwouldflagasituationin
whichagroupofpartnershadbillingsinthesamedollarrange,butthemen’scompensation
washigherthanthewomen’s.
TeamAdvisors:
LindaChanow,ExecutiveDirector,CenterforWomeninLawattheUniversityofTexasSchoolofLaw
JenniferZimmerman,ExecutiveDirector,LegalandComplianceDivisionofMorganStanley
TeamMembers:
SethAronson,Partner,FormerLosAngelesManagingPartner,O’MelvenyMyers
SandraEdwards,Partner,ChairofEnvironmentandProductLawGroup,FarellaBraun+Martel
ElishaKing,PartnerandDeputyGeneralCounsel,DLAPiper
LeahSchleicher,Partner,Co-ChairoftheDiversity&InclusionCommittee,Neal,Gerber&Eisenberg
LaurenSchneider,Student,StanfordLawSchool
MarkWasserman,Partner,CorporateManagingPartner,SutherlandAsbill&Brennan
HuiyaWu,Partner,GoodwinProcter
Team8,AdvanceWhenReady
IdeaOverview:
ThegoaloftheAdvanceWhenReadyprogramistofixthemisalignmentofthe“lawfirmclock”and
the“lawyerlifeclock”byeliminatingthetraditionallockstepassociateadvancementmodeland
movingtoamorefluid,performance-basedadvancementmodel.Manywomenlawyersreport
feeling“leftbehind”orstigmatizedforusingbenefitssuchasleavesofabsenceandflexible
scheduling.Infact,manyfirms-eitherformallyorinformally-usetermssuchas“offtrack”to
denotelawyerswhoarenotprogressingalongthe“lawfirmclock”advancementexpectations.
Becauseofthis,womenlawyersoftenoptforalternatecareerpaths,greatlycontributingtothe
overwhelmingrateofattritionofwomenlawyerspriortothepartnershipstage.UnderAdvance
WhenReady,bothwomenandmenassociateswillprogressthroughskills-oriented“bands,”with
transitionsbetweenbandstiedtoperformanceandexperiencemilestonesratherthanclassyear.
Theaimistoharmonizefirmneedsandassociatedevelopment,combatstigmaassociatedwith
takingtimetoaddresswork-lifecommitmentconflicts,and-aboveall-toensuremorewomenstay
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atlawfirmslongenoughtobeactivelyconsideredforadvancementtopartnership.Because
AdvanceWhenReadyisdesignednotonlytoextendthelongevityofwomeninlawfirmsas
associatesbutalsotogetthemoverthe“partnershiphump,”anincreasingamountofattentionwill
bespentonbusinessdevelopmentplanningasassociatesprogressthroughthebands,inorderto
positionwomenforcontinuedsuccessthroughouttheircareers.
TeamAdvisors:
MarkBeese,FounderandPresident,LeadershipforLawyers
AmandaPackel,DeputyDirector,RockCenterforCorporateGovernanceatStanford
TeamMembers:
ColleenBal,Partner,Co-ChairofPartnerNominatingCommittee,WilsonSonsiniGoodrich&Rosati
SarahFlanagan,Partner,ChairofManagingBoard’sCommitteeonAdvancementofWomen
Attorneys,Pillsbury
DavidGerson,Partner,MorganLewis
TedHollifield,Partner,Partner-in-ChargeofSiliconValleyOffice,Alston&Bird
TiffanyLee,Partner,PaulHastings
RobinRussell,Partner,HoustonOfficeManagingPartner,Co-ChairofBankruptcyGroup,Andrews
Kurth
AbigailXu,Student,StanfordLawSchool
Team9,SMART(SolutionstoMeasure,AdvanceandRewardTalent)
1stPlace;$10,000donationtoMs.JD
IdeaOverview:
Researchshowsthatwomenlawyersspendadisproportionateamountoftimeonoffice
“housework,”suchasadministrativetasksforthefirmorparticipationinnon-managementlevel
committees,forwhichtheytypicallyreceiveverylittlerecognitionorinstitutionalcredit.Although
theseactivitiesareimportanttothefirm,theytendtobeundervaluedduringcompensationand
promotiondecisionswhencomparedtoservingasapracticegroupleader,beingarainmaker,or
participatingontheexecutiveorothermanagement-levelcommittee.TheSMART(Solutionsto
Measure,AdvanceandRewardTalent)platform,whichincludesanappandadashboard,isagender
neutralreportingandevaluationsystemthatpromotestheretentionandadvancementofwomenby
aligningfirmvaluesandculturewithcompensationandpromotion.
TherearethreemainaspectstoSMART,including:
SMARTPillars:Eightcategoriesthatdeterminehowlawyersaremeasuredforpromotionand
compensationpurposes;
SMARTBuildingBlocks:TheunderlyingelementsthatcompriseeachSMARTPillar;and
SMARTScore:Measurementof,andawaytofairlycompensate,allvaluablelawyercontributionsto
thefirm.
Theeightpillarsinclude:
• Billableandpro-bonohours;
• Businessdevelopment;
• Advancingdiversity;
• Qualityofwork;
• Clientsatisfaction;
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Lawyerdevelopment;
Leadershipandinitiative;and
Externalvisibility.
EachPillariscomprisedofSMARTBuildingBlocksthatserveasthefoundationforthePillarandguide
lawyersindeterminingtheactivitiesthatfallintoeachcategory.Forinstance,staffingworkteams
withaneyetowarddiversityisaBuildingBlockoftheAdvancingDiversitySMARTPillar.Firmscan
customizetheSMARTplatformbyweightingandrewardingthebehaviorsthatmostalignwiththeir
corevaluestoinformtheirlawyershow,proportionally,theyshouldspendtheirtimeandefforts.
LawyersevaluatedusingtheSMARTplatformwillentertheiractivitiesundereachSMARTPillarto
tracktheproportionaluseoftheirtime.UsingtheSMARTScore,firmscanevaluateeachlawyer’s
contributiontothefirm’scultureandvalues.TheparticipatinglawyerscanalsousethePillarsfor
goalsetting,andsupervisors/sponsorscanusetheSMARTScoretodetermineifaparticularlawyer’s
timeisaccuratelyreflectingthefirm’svalues,therebyensuringthatalllawyersparticipate,
proportionally,intheworkthatiscriticaltofirmsuccess.
ThegoaloftheSMARTplatformistobalancecontributionsandcredit,realignrewardswithvalue
systems,rewardnon-billableworkthataddsvaluetothefirm,encouragesharingpreviously
undervaluedwork,andpromotetransparencytohelpdisruptunconsciousbias.
TeamAdvisors:
DeborahEpsteinHenry,President,FlexTimeLawyersLLCandCo-FounderandManagingDirector,
BlissLawyers
KatieLarkin-Wong,PastPresident,Ms.JDandAssociate,Latham&Watkins
TeamMembers:
RachelBoochever,Student,StanfordLawSchool
EvaDavis,Partner,Co-Chair,GlobalPrivateEquity,WinstonStrawn
ChrisGroll,Partner,Chair,Mergers&AcquisitionsGroup,Holland&Hart
PerletteJura,Partner,Co-Chair,TransnationalLitigationGroup,GibsonDunn
LynnPasahow,Partner,Fenwick&West
ReidSchar,Partner,Co-Chair,WhiteCollarGroup,Jenner&Block
CateStetson,Partner,LitigationGlobalBoardMember,HoganLovells
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__________________________________________________
WomeninLawHackathonContact:
CarenUlrichStacy
Founder&CEO,DiversityLab
303-520-5899
[email protected]
www.DiversityLab.com
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