Advancement
Knowing Who’s Who in the Job Search Process
August 18, 2017
By Valerie Fontaine – Job seekers in the legal marketplace find a myriad of online and in-person resources of varying uses and value. Do-it-yourselfers might stick to Internet options such as social media, job boards, and employer listings with great success; others seeking the more human touch might reach out to one or more of the
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Will Diversity Tech (Finally) Transform the Future Workplace?
July 31, 2017
By Michelle Silverthorn — (Originally published on June 6, 2017 on the Illinois Supreme Court Commission on Professionalism’s 2Civility website.) Last week I wrote about starting a new diversity and inclusion initiative from scratch. I briefly mentioned the buzziest new term in diversity and inclusion: diversity tech. Diversity tech is what happens when some of the smartest start-up minds
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THE MANSFIELD RULE: Making Leadership More Than a Man’s Field
May 31, 2017
By Patricia K. Gillette — “What if we consider that it is not the women, but the system that needs to be fixed?” Whatever we are doing in law firms to increase gender diversity in positions of economic and institutional power is not working. How do we know that? Simply look at the statistics. The number of
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Confident, Powerful, Effective Networking: An Interview with Kelly Hoey
May 3, 2017
By Stacey Schwartz, Esq., Executive & Career Coach — Raise your hand if you love to network. So how many hands do you see? Anyone? Bueller? Now raise your hand if you like to help people. Raise your hand if you like to share what you know. Raise your hand if you like to support your friends
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The End of Work Life Balance
January 26, 2017
By Eva Davis, Co-Chair Private Equity, Winston & Strawn — Blog posts, women’s conferences, mentoring programs, and lifestyle and career counseling tips tout the many ways to attain “work-life” balance. “Balance” is an equal distribution of weight that allows something to remain upright and steady. “Work-life-balance” is a condition in which different elements of “work”
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Laterals Must Take a Proactive Role in Their Onboarding
June 15, 2016
By Valerie Fontaine – Much is written about the lateral lawyer onboarding process from the employer’s point of view, but the newly hired lateral must play an equal or greater role in the process. Most large law firms have an established protocol yet, once everyone gets busy, it’s not always followed or completed. As a lateral
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Reentry Attorneys: Wanting Back In (and Bringing A Lot Too)
April 17, 2016
By Carroll Welch – There’s a huge, still largely untapped source of energy and talent available to legal employers right now, and with the recent increase in structured programs that recruit, vet, re-orient, and/or mentor these candidates, there’s never been a better time to include them in a workplace that prioritizes diversity: reentry attorneys. Opportunities such
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What’s Your Hook?
January 21, 2016
By Valerie Fontaine – A narrative hook grabs readers’ attention at the beginning of a story and draws them in so they continue reading. Similarly, in a job search, your hook or Unique Value Proposition (UVP) states the clear benefit you provide to a prospective employer. It communicates who you are, what you do, what differentiates
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Under the Microscope: Three Types of Reviews That Can Benefit Your Firm
December 3, 2015
By Naomi Beard – (Originally published August 2015, PD Quarterly by NALP) The importance of lawyer talent development has taken hold within law firm culture. Once regarded as a discipline found primarily in corporate America, talent development has been increasingly recognized by law firms as critical reinforcement for their strategic and business goals. Today, law firms dedicate themselves to
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Looking into My Crystal Ball . . . Hot Practice Areas for 2016
November 23, 2015
By Valerie Fontaine – Hot and cold areas of law practice fluctuate with economic cycles. Areas that are hot right now may be completely cold in the future, and vice versa. Right now, and for the foreseeable future, real estate and corporate transactional practices are absolutely hot. Real estate finance, development, construction, purchase and sale, and
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