Case Study - Women Legal

Feature

posted 22 Apr 2010 in Volume 2 Issue 3

In 1985, six young men left one of the largest law firms in Texas to form what is known today as Munsch Hardt Kopf and Harr, P.C.Their idea was to create a new type of law firm, one that did not operate like the old guard firms.They envisioned a firm that was more energetic, agile and responsive; a firm that focused on the practice groups, industries and needs critical to a new generation of business leaders.

As a result, the spirit of the firm has always been one of progressive ideas, an entrepreneurial mindset and the ability to think ‘outside the box.’These philosophies not only continue to shape our business model today but are also a major driver of the firm’s diversity efforts.

As the firm has grown, the conscious effort to promote the hiring and retention of women and ethnic minorities has increased significantly.The business and client community that lawyers serve in Texas has become more gender and ethnically diverse. Likewise, law firms, including Munsch Hardt, are actively seeking to diversify their ranks in order to stay connected and relevant to their client base.

Put simply, diversity in work force promotes diversity in ideas.And diversity in ideas will help us continue to effectively partner with our clients and remain flexible and responsive to whatever new circumstance or unexpected change comes down the road.

To become more proactive in its diversity efforts, Munsch Hardt has implemented programmes to focus on both the retention and promotion of the women and minority lawyers at the firm as well as enhancing our diversity through lateral and law school hiring to bring new talent to the organisation.

Munsch Hardt lawyers don’t fit a mould. We do have a common thread through – a commitment to superior client service and a team attitude. Before we look at a new hire’s grades or a lateral’s book of business, we sit across a table and ask: is this someone I want to work with for the next 20 years? It sounds trite, but it’s true. Everyone from first year associates to the firm’s founders has an opportunity to interview new hires and has a say on who joins the team. No single voice reigns supreme.

When we bring in a new lawyer talent is a given, but character is paramount. While we continue to strive toward creating a more diverse population, we do not have a quota for ethnic minorities or a target gender ratio.We do have, however, an environment that fosters diversity in perspective and differences in problem solving.The firm’s goal is to create a diversity-friendly office – we believe that increases in diversity among our lawyers will follow.

To date, this model has lead to the beginnings of a diverse group of lawyers at Munsch Hardt and this diversity is making positive impact on the firm’s future.

Women join the pack
The first female lawyers joined Munsch Hardt in the early 1990s and the firm named the first female shareholder in 1995. Our firm now has female shareholders and associates in all three of our offices and women make up a valuable part of the team in each of our firm’s practice areas.

In 2008 the Munsch Hardt women’s initiative was established to focus and streamline the firm’s various efforts in attracting and retaining female lawyers. As a group, we adopted the following mission statement:

The Munsch Hardt women’s initiative exists to promote the retention and success of female lawyers at Munsch Hardt. Our focus is on building relationships among Munsch Hardt female lawyers with an emphasis on mentoring and business development, including the sponsorship of women’s networking events.

Perhaps most importantly, the women’s initiative provides a forum where female lawyers from across practice areas and across offices come together as a group and build meaningful relationships – something that is difficult to accomplish during the day-to-day bustle of office life.

We strive to develop a well-rounded, self-sufficient employee who can mature into the next generation of leadership at the firm. As part of that goal, Munsch Hardt places a strong emphasis on business development efforts from each of our lawyers, from the newest law school graduates to the most senior shareholders.

The concept is not that we require our new hires to bring in business (though of course that’s great if they do), but that no one is born knowing how to develop business. It is a skill learned from training and practice and the sooner that training and practice begins, the greater the likelihood of success. One thing that we have learned through the years is that men and women have the same capacity to develop business, but they don’t necessarily succeed in the same way.

As a result, one major goal of the women’s initiative is to equip women with specific tools to pursue business development opportunities that could result in engaging new clients and expanding and strengthening relationships with existing clients.

As is well known by all female lawyers (and women in business for that matter), it can be awkward for everyone involved when a woman lawyer invites a male client for an outing – and vice versa.Young male attorneys often receive great casual networking opportunities through golf outings, sporting events and through similar generally male bastions.As more women attorneys actively pursue their roles as business developers, we have hosted women clients at “spa” parties, wine tastings and similar events geared specifically toward creating women-friendly opportunities for client development. In terms of business development activities, women lawyers don’t have to be the square pegs trying to fit into round holes – thinking a bit more creatively opens up myriad new
– and enjoyable – opportunities for all of us.To that end, the firm has brought in speakers and coaches who specialise in creating tailored plans for developing business through effective networking and relationship building.

The initiative is currently undertaking a book study on business development for women lawyers; various attorneys will lead the review of chapters in the book and prompt group discussion through open-ended questions and real life examples of the topics studied.Again, the goal is more than simply teaching young associates how to network outside the firm; we are equally focused on creating internal networks and relationships among the women attorneys in an effort to increase retention.The input and support of a more senior mentor can often mean the difference between a young attorney who throws up her hands in frustration over a work situation or difficult client relationship and one who is able to navigate around the situation, by using alternative strategies and coping skills. It is a win-win situation for the firm and for the attorneys.

In November 2008, the initiative held its first large-scale networking event.We invited over 150 women clients, referral sources and prospects for an evening of wine and chocolates.We were very intentional in not overly structuring the evening. Our goal was to maximise the opportunities for networking and the creation of new friendships and contacts.The response from our guests was overwhelmingly positive.We plan to hold similar events once or twice per year. Of course, given the current economic climate, we are forced to take a hard look at the balance of funds expended and benefit gained.Whether we host extravagant events or simple gettogethers, building contacts is a critical component of business development, which in turn is a critical component of becoming successful lawyers. Likewise, creating opportunities for women lawyers is essential to the firm’s goal to promote retention of the women attorneys currently in its ranks.

In addition to coaching and encouraging our women attorneys in the art of business development, we have also taken actions to make Munsch Hardt a more woman-friendly place to work overall. For example, while the firm does not provide a prescribed reduced hour career path, it has accommodated alternative work schedules on a case by case basis, for many years.The great majority of these accommodations were for mothers of young children who were attempting to balance the demands of a legal career and a family. In addition, in 2008, our Dallas office was designated a “Mother-Friendly Worksite” by the Texas Department of State Health Services.Among other requirements for this designation was the creation of a discreet, private and lockable location for breastfeeding mothers to pump and store breast milk.

Reaching out to the community

Another important part of Munsch Hardt’s diversity efforts involves reaching out to diverse communities through bar activities, volunteer work and recruitment activities. The firm’s attorneys are involved in organisations such as the Summer Law Intern Program that reaches out to students in Dallas public schools and places them in paid legal internship positions for eight weeks of the summer.

The current number two person on our firm’s Office Services team started out as a high school intern with us about six years ago. One of our more recent interns, an African-American young man who is the child of a single mother supporting her family as a grocery checker, was awarded a full college scholarship upon graduation – the Munsch Hardt attorneys who befriended this young man and wrote college recommendations on his behalf could not have been more proud of his accomplishments. Munsch Hardt also has a diversity committee that ensures the firm is reaching out to ethnically diverse attorneys in lateral hiring and also supporting ethnically diverse students working on their law degrees.

Through the involvement of some of our Asian American attorneys, the firm actively supports the Dallas and Houston Asian-American Bar Associations and the Asian-American Law Students Association, organisations which provide mentoring and professional support for Asian-American law students and attorneys.We have also sponsored events hosted by the Asian-American Chamber of Commerce and currently sponsor several attorney memberships in the State Bar of Texas Asian-Pacific Interest Section. Relationships fostered by this involvement have resulted in summer clerk positions as well as several new client relationships. We also sponsored the annual gala of the J.L.Turner Bar Association (benefiting Dallas African-American attorneys and law students).

Last year, in an effort to increase our visibility to minority law students at Southern Methodist University Dedman School of Law, we established a book scholarship for minority students. Students were invited to submit essays and in addition to the chance to win scholarship itself, the top essayists were invited to participate in our firm’s “callback” interviews for summer clerkships. In a further effort to increase our visibility to minority and women law students, Munsch Hardt has participated in the Sunbelt Minority Recruitment Program for the past several years.This programme draws law students from five states and numerous law schools to Dallas,Texas for a full day of law firm interviews. Participation in the Sunbelt programme increases the firm’s access to an extremely diverse group of summer clerkship candidates in one action-packed day of interviewing.

Munsch Hardt recognises the value gender and ethnic diversity brings to the business and the client.To that end the firm has implemented programmes and initiatives to help retain its attorneys and to seek out additional talent that can help continue to build an energetic, agile and responsive firm. In the end, the primary goal in hiring is finding an attorney that believes in the firm’s philosophy and can succeed in this demanding, fast-paced profession.

Kitty Henry is a shareholder and Lean Clinton an associate at Munsch Hardt Kopf and Harr, P.C. For more information about the firm, see www.munsch.com