On June 18th we hosted the Philadelphia Bar Association’s First Women in the Profession Summit.  We had a great turnout with about 150 attendees.  If you were unable to attend, the Legal covered the event (sent 3 reporters!), and you can read about it on the front page of the June 19th issue.  If you attended, we’d love to hear from you.  Did you enjoy the Summit?  What did you think about the CLE’s offered, and the faculty?Should we do it again next year?  What did you enjoy most/least about the programs?  What else would you like us to know?    As always, if you don’t feel comfortable posting publicly, you can email me directly at feeleym@pepperlaw.com.

I thought you all might be interested in reading this article from the ABA Journal (link below).  Also, check at the posts following the article – some are quite disturbing.

“Firms Err When They Treat Pregnant Lawyers ‘as Bellies,’” Lawyer Says.

Read the complete article at: Firms Err…

May 27th WIP Meeting, 12:00 p.m., Bar Assocation HeadQuarters
Join us for a frank and informative about medical issues relevant to professional women, including a discussion about fertility, and related legal issues such as adoption. Attendees will have the opportunity to submit anonymous questions. Panelists include:
Jackie Gutmann, M.D.
Clinical Associate Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Thomas Jefferson University, and physician, Northern Fertility and Reproductive Associates
Rebecca Schatschneider, Esq.
Jerner & Palmer P.C.
Moderated by Nikki Johnson-Huston, Esq.

First Women in the Profession Summit
June 18, 2008
PBI CLE Conference Center, Wanamaker Building, Suite 1010, 100 Penn Square East

11:30 – 12:00 Registration and Lunch

12:00 – 12:15 Welcoming Remarks
A. Michal Pratt, Chancellor, Philadelphia Bar Association
Maria Feeley, Chair, 1st WIP Summit

12:15 -12:35 Key Note Address by Charisse Lillie, Vice President of Human Resources for Comcast Corporation and Senior Vice President of Human Resources for Comcast Cable

12:35 – 12:45 Break

12:45 – 1:45 Women in the Courtroom – Communication Across the Gender Gap
Moderator: Lynn Marks, Executive Director, Pennsylvanians for Modern Courts
Faculty: The Honorable Frederica A. Massiah-Jackson, Philadelphia
County Court of Common Pleas
The Honorable Norma L. Shapiro, EDPA
The Honorable Dolores K. Sloviter, U.S. Court of Appeals for the
Third Circuit
The Honorable Petrese B. Tucker, EDPA
The Honorable Diane M. Welsh (ret.), JAMS

1:45 – 2:45 Hot Topics for Women
Moderators: Kimberly Ruch-Alegant, Brett, Tessler & Associates, P.C.
Kelly Dobbs Bunting, Greenberg Traurig
Faculty: Danielle Banks, Stradley Ronan Stevens & Young, LLP
Nancy O’Mara Ezold, Nancy O’Mara Ezold, P.C.
Natalie Klyashtorny, Nochumson P.C.

2:45-3:00 Break

3:00 – 4:00 Best Practices for the Retention and Promotion of Women Lawyers
LAW FIRM EXECUTIVE PARTNERS
Moderator: Maria Feeley, Partner, Pepper Hamilton LLP
Faculty: J. Gordon Cooney, Jr., Philadelphia Managing Partner, Morgan
Lewis
Thomas A. (Tad) Decker, President and CEO, Cozen O’Connor
Patrick Dunican, Chairman and Managing Director, Gibbons P.C.
Nina Gussak, Chairwoman, Pepper Hamilton LLP
John J. Soroko, Chairman and CEO, Duane Morris

4:00 – 5:00 Best Practices for the Retention and Promotion of Women Lawyers
CORPORATE COUNSEL
Moderator: Roberta D. Liebenberg, Partner, Fine, Kaplan & Black, R.P.C.
Faculty: Kamil Ali-Jackson, General Counsel, Ception Therapeutics
Teresa Ciccotelli, Divisional Counsel, Saint Gobain Corp.
Wanda Flowers, Chief Counsel, Sunoco, Inc.
Lorraine Koc, General Counsel, Deb Shops, Inc.

5:00 – 6:30 Cocktail reception

Anyone see the March 24th article in the ABA Weekly Newsletter on-line (below)?  They needed a study for this?  

Work/Life Balance

The Baby Effect: More Billables for Men, Fewer for Women

Mar 24, 2008, 06:06 am CDT

The Baby Effect: More Billables for Men, Fewer for Women

Posted Mar 24, 2008, 06:06 am CDT
By Debra Cassens Weiss

A Canadian study suggests that having children leads to fewer billable hours for female lawyers and more for their male counterparts.

The study of 670 lawyers at an Alberta law firm found that mothers with school-aged children billed fewer hours than childless women, while fathers with preschool-aged children billed more hours than childless men, according to a synopsis posted on TaxProf Blog.

Researchers Jean Wallace and Marisa Young conclude that billables dropped for the mothers because they were more likely to have partners who also work, putting more of the onus on the moms to handle household tasks and childcare, according to a blog published by business consulting firm Abeceder. The fathers, on the other hand, were more likely to have a partner who did not work and could take on more responsibilities.

Female lawyers without children had the highest billable hours of all the groups studied—more than male lawyers with or without children.

The study also found that men and women took advantage of family-friendly benefits in different ways. Fathers took advantage of flexible work policies to pursue leisure activities while mothers used them to tackle domestic duties.

On April 3, 2008, at 4 p.m., at the Temple University Beasley School of Law, Klein Law Building, Room 2A, the Women in the Profession Committee’s Public Service Task Force will present a program to local high school students on “How To Become A Lawyer.”  The program will feature:

   Rebecca Dougherty, Beasley School of Law Admissions Office 

   Maria Feeley, Co-chair, Women in the Profession Committee, Pepper Hamilton LLP

   Nikki Johnson-Huston, City of Philadelphia Law Department 

   Christine Welsh, Fox Rothschild LLP 

   Patricia Dansbury, Law Office of Patricia A. Dansbury 

   Jennifer Lambert, Pepper Hamilton LLP 

   Sarah Schlossberg, Dechert LLP

For information about the Women in the Profession Committee Public Service Task Force, please contact the Committee Co-Chair Maria Feeley feeleym@pepperlaw.com. 

Save the Date – First WIP Summit – PBI Conference Center – June 18, 2008

Interesting post today on Philawdelphia, the Bar Association’s Young Lawyers  Division blog: Litigation vs. Family Life.

Join us for the February meeting of the Women in the Profession Committee to be held on Tuesday, February 26, 2008, 12:00 p.m. – 1:30 p.m., 10th Floor Board Room.  We are pleased to present the following panel for a discussion about practicing in-house, including topics such as how to position yourself for an in-house position, what to expect once you get there, how to make the most of it, and the similarities and differences between corporate and law firm life. 

Sophia Lee, Esq. – Sunoco

Grace Manno, Esq.-  Comcast 

Lori White, Esq.  – CSS Industries, Inc. 

Moderators:  Maria Feeley and Danielle Banks 

Also, come to this month’s meeting to learn how to get more involved in the Women in the Profession Committee.   

For information about the Committee, please contact Committee Co-Chairs, Maria Feeley feeleym@pepperlaw.com or Danielle Banks dbanks@stradley.com. Save the Date – Next Meeting – March 25, 2008

The PBA Women in the Profession Mid-Year Meetings will be held in Philadelphia on March 6.   Part of the program will feature two panels: (1) reentry after time away from practice; and (2) communication between different generations in the legal workplace.  It’s free and should be a great event. Details are below:

4:45 P.M. – 5:45 P.M. – Reception

Panel 1: Just a Detour: Tips on How to Off-and On-Ramp Successfully

Panel 2: Say What? Enhancing Communication Across the Generations