denotes premium content | Feb 7 2012 Feature
posted 22 Apr 2010 in Volume 2 Issue 3
What attracted you to the legal profession as a career?
I’m a great believer that if you enjoy what you’re doing, you will do it well.When I was at school I very much enjoyed public speaking, discussion and debating; the intellectual rigour of putting forward a particular point of view and ensuring it could withstand questioning.
Of course there were other things I wanted to do. I did a lot of music and science at school, and it was difficult to make a decision, but the overall driver was probably that I wanted to do something I would really enjoy.The idea of doing law seemed to offer a tremendous opportunity for debate, to use your brain and think on your feet. I enjoyed the cut and thrust of debate. In fact, when I then went on to study law I also became involved in mooting, and that bore my expectations out.
How have you used your term as chair of the AWS?
Every year the chairwoman has a different theme, and for 2009 mine was ‘promoting the interests of women solicitors in business’. Talking to the many women in the profession, it became very clear to me that something which binds us all together is the fact we are all trying to provide legal services successfully and within a business context. We all have to provide proper and accurate advice, but also be sure that the services we provide are profitable. I wanted therefore to try to help women solicitors improve their legal business skills.
One particular initiative was the introduction of the AWS awards to recognise the many positive female role models that exist in the legal profession. These awards seek to recognise women solicitors who are the best at managing large or small practices; or in-house or legal-aid teams; or who are leaders in retaining and developing legal talent within their legal business.They are about looking at the business skills women have and showcasing them. Only around 22 per cent of women solicitors make it to partnership at the last count. For some, the road to partnership and/or promotion is a difficult one. Some women solicitors might get frustrated or lose heart along the way.Yet with role models you can see what others have achieved and it can inspire and help women realise their ambition.
I have also been promoting soft skills training to help develop women solicitors’ presence in the wider business community. These might be in presentation skills, for example, or the importance of communicating personal success as well as team success. Personal success stories are a very useful tool to help get you noticed and promoted.
What are the main problems that women solicitors experience when trying to advance their legal careers?
There are number of recurring themes. The first is flexible working. Even with the technology that could facilitate it, there is still a lack of flexible working in many law firms, which makes it very difficult for solicitors, male or female, with responsibilities outside of work to combine those with their working responsibilities.
Not being able to get the inside/outside work balance right can cause frustration for the woman solicitor and her employer, and if not handled correctly can lead to women solicitors not progressing as fast as they would like, or indeed can cause them to leave the profession.
A lot of the larger firms have now recognised this and are doing something about it. One reason for that is they spend a lot of time investing in women. Lawyers, male and female, are a valuable resource, and if they decide to leave it is a cost to the firm. One law firm has estimated that it costs about £125,000 to replace a senior lawyer.
If a firm can offer flexible working, women are more likely to be able to remain in the firm, and it may well create a greater sense of loyalty and productivity.Although the legal landscape is changing and more firms are getting better at offering flexible working, we do need to get better at change and make it happen more quickly.
Another issue is equal pay.The pay gap is significant. It is approximately 21 per cent before being adjusted for factors such as length of service, but even then it sits at around seven per cent.
It’s disappointing that after 30 years of equal pay legislation it is still an issue, but the Law Society and AWS have been working to try to identify some solutions to the problem.We are now in the process of working those up into some additional guidance for law firms.
How important is it that many law firms have started publishing gender statistics and other diversity information about their workforces?
In some ways, getting the information and establishing a benchmark is important in its own right, but more important is then ensuring there is an improvement each year after that initial step.We have seen improvements made by individual firms since the publication of statistics – promotion of more women to positions of senior responsibility, for example. Publishing statistics establishes a baseline which a law firm can then use to benchmark itself against others.
As soon as you start publishing, there is also the effect of peer pressure. If a firm sees a competitor doing better than it, it will want to know why and will most probably want to take measures to address the issue. What that means in practice is that there is now a greater prevalence of women’s networks at law firms which will discuss issues of relevance to women solicitors in each of their businesses. Now it isn’t unusual to hear law firms having discussions about the business case for flexible working, or asking whether their promotion criteria are gender neutral.These discussions are not about treating one sector of the legal community more favourably, rather they are about working out what are the best business structures and practices for our law firms to ensure profitability at the same time providing equality of opportunity. I think the increase in such discussions is a direct result of publishing statistics.
Finally, a number of client companies are also seeing these published statistics, and are asking if ‘X’ and ‘Y’ law firms have Z% of women solicitors in positions of responsibility, why hasn’t their panel firm? This can only be a good thing.
Do you think the recession has had an impact on the challenges faced by women solicitors in particular?
As far as I’m aware, there isn’t any statistical information to say that women solicitors have been affected in a different way to male solicitors.
One thing I have noted though is that the recession has clearly focused law firms on how they can save costs. Some law firms have been asking whether they need such large premises or whether they could reduce in size. Some are now allowing hotdesking, home working, and so on; much more flexible modes of working. For those solicitors that can seize these opportunities – and a lot of women can – it has presented a wonderful chance to work a bit more flexibly.
Do you have any advice or top tips for women just embarking on a legal career?
You can’t underestimate the power of having a sense of enjoyment in what you’re doing. Law is hard work. If you’re going to have to work hard, it’s better you do that in a subject area you enjoy.
Second, it’s hugely important to build up a network of advisers and friends who can support and help you and each other. It’s never too early to start that process of talking to different colleagues and contacts.
Finally, I would say never be afraid to take a risk. Sometimes while working you might have an idea but lack the confidence to articulate it. It might have been a brilliant idea but it’s now a lost idea. I would urge all women to have the confidence to put forward ideas and suggestions. Some will be liked, some won’t, but have the courage of your convictions to say your piece and you could be pleasantly surprised at the results.
What is your own experience of finding a satisfactory work/life balance in such a pressured career?
I am a great believer in people making sure they do get the work/life balance right. I’m also very upfront with my clients. I will talk to them about how they would like their transaction managed and the amount of contact they would like with my team.And I will put in place a system which works well for both the team and the client.The key is good communication, and discussing what is going to be the best way possible of doing a particular transaction. Often that can mean there is no need to be in the office all the time.
Invariably people argue you can’t work flexibly in a transactional area, but I say it does work. For example, I might be getting on a business flight to South Africa or Greece, but working on my laptop in the airport lounge before boarding.That is working flexibly.That is an acceptable way of working flexibly, and it is no different to logging on from home.
Do you have any advice for law firms trying to make a success of their women’s forums, networks or other diversity initiatives?
First you need to decide and understand what the women’s initiative is really trying to do, and look at its proposed role in the wider business context.You need to show people the reason why it makes good business sense to have the network.
Then you need to get buy in from the highest level possible, preferably the managing partner herself or himself, but certainly senior management.
Once it is up and running it’s also very important to listen to what people in the organisation are saying and remain adaptable to changing the focus if necessary.
Finally, encourage people to link up with other women’s initiatives, whether in competitor firms or wider industry. Link up with them, share experiences and learn and grow.
Clare McConnell was talking to Richard Brent, editor of Women Legal’s sister publication, Managing Partner. For more information about the AWS, visit www.womansolicitors.org.uk
