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Susan Blakely Susan Blakely

Speaks at Speaks at

National National Conference for Conference for College Women College Women Student LeadersStudent Leaders

June 1, 2012,June 1, 2012,

University of MDUniversity of MD

About Susan Blakely

Lawyer with 25 years experience at all levels of private practice and in the public sector

Mother of two children—One in law school and the other interested!

Wife of a fellow litigator

Author of Best Friends at the Bar (Wolters Kluwer/Aspen Publishers, 2009 and 2012)

Speaker on issues related to women and the law

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Published by Wolters Published by Wolters Kluwer Law & Kluwer Law &

Business/Aspen Business/Aspen Publishers, Publishers,

November 2009November 2009

Foreword by the Foreword by the Honorable Margaret Honorable Margaret Sweeney, US Court Sweeney, US Court of Federal Claimsof Federal Claims

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Best Friends at the BarContributor Pool

41 female private practice and public sector attorneys

7 female judges from local, state and federal courts

3 female law school deans and faculty

1 male former law school dean and private practice attorney

9 law school deans and directors of career services

1 female managing partner of an international law firm

4 male managing partners of international law firms

18 states and the District of Columbia represented

Today I will Talk About

The Problems and Hard Choices for Women Lawyers

The Quest for Balance and What That Means

The Importance of Having a Personal Definition of Success

Legal Imperatives and Law Practice Myths

The Challenges of a Male Dominated Profession; and

The Changes on the Horizon for Law Firms and What That

Means for Women Lawyers

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Troublesome Statistics

46% of women lawyers leave the profession mid-career—three times as many as men

76% of women lawyers in law firms leave that practice in the first five years

Fewer than 20% of the partners in law firms today are women

Recent Studies and Commitment to Change

National Association of Women Lawyers, Report on Retention and Promotion of Women In Law Firms, November 2011: Statistics on number of women partners in law firms has not changed in five years since NAWL started the annual survey;

Austin Manifesto, Women’s Power Summit on Law and Leadership at University of Texas Law: Data on women in positions of leadership were discouraging and showed much less progress than had been anticipated.

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Do Not Leave Before You Leave!

Sheryl Sandberg, COO of Google, speaking to a group of women on the subject of women advancing in business and why we have so few women leaders.

http://thecareerist.typepad.com/thecareerist/2011/01/facebook-coo.html

http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-coo-sandberg8

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A Better Approach

Careful Planning + Good Personal and Professional Choices = Satisfying and

Successful Careers

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Women Helping Women

Former Secretary of State, Madeline Albright:

"There's a place in hell reserved for women who don't help other women."

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Chart Your Own Course

Define Yourself

Have Realistic Expectations

Craft a Personal Definition of Success….. And

Celebrate Your Successes!!!

Achieving Your Goals

Always remember:

You cannot get further down the road UNLESS you are

ON THE ROAD!

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Success Can Be

Full time practice and partnership track

Alternative work schedule and partnership track

Part-time practice and part-time personal life

Solo practice, even out of your home….. And more!

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Myth: You Can Have It All

You can have some of it all the time, all of it some of the time but it is the rare woman lawyer who can have all of it all of the time.

The NEW BALANCE for Women Lawyers

Old Balance: Work/Home and Family

New Balance: Work/SELF/ Home and Family

Happiness on both sides of the balance requires the NEW Balance

Protecting your personal identity and taking care of yourself are critical to achieving your personal and professional goals. 15

Finding the New Balance

Identify what you really love to do;

Decide how serious you are about doing it;

Maintain your personal identity in whatever you do;

Take care of your personal needs;

Make time less of an enemy by getting the help you need;

Remember the importance of friendships; and

Be the best lawyer you can be and do it with true grit.

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Transition Profiles

Female managing partner of large international law firm;

In-house legal counsel of Fortune 500 company;

Inspector General of the US Department of Education;

VP and General Counsel of New York University;

Former VP of Overseas Private Investment Corporation and current Professor at University of Michigan Law; and

Assistant Dean for Career Services at a major law school.

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Myth: The Economy Will Rebound and Law Firms Will Remain

Unchanged

The wrong mentality: The practice of law will return to business as usual

Firms have changed in response to the economy, and some of these changes will be permanent

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Myth: The Old Boys’ Network Is a Thing of the Past

Minimize the Gotcha Moments

Understand that “No” Is an Answer

Be a Team Player

Watch Out For Emotions and Temper

Treat Support Staff Well

Party Hardy at You Peril; and

Dress Appropriately and Watch Out for Office Romances20

Best Friends at the Bar Will Teach You

How to find good MENTORS and Sponsors

How to ASK FOR HELP when you need it without compromising your position

How to find a comfort zone for PROMOTING WORK

How to maintain your DIGNITY in the FACE OF OPPOSITION; and

How to make a GRACEFUL EXIT if and when you need to21

Best Friends at the Bar Also Will Teach You

To take CREDIT FOR YOUR ACCOMPLISHMENTS

The VALUE OF NETWORKING; and

The importance of finding BALANCE in your life.

Learning these things will put you on the road to independence and success in your practice. 22

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Marian Wright Edelman, Founder and President of the Children’s

Defense Fund

“You’re not obligated to win. You’re obligated to keep trying to do the best you can every day… Don’t assume a door is closed; push on it. Don’t assume if it was closed yesterday that it is closed today. It doesn’t matter how many times you fall down, it just matters how many times you get up!”

To Achieve Satisfying and Successful Careers

HAVE CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELF AND BE YOUR BEST ADVOCATE

THINK ABOUT THE ISSUES EARLY AND OFTEN

MAKE GOOD PLANS AND INFORMED CHOICES

HAVE A PERSONAL DEFINITION OF SUCCESS AND

CHART YOUR OWN COURSE.

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Thank You!

For more information please visit:

www.bestfriendsatthebar.com

and connect to my blog, Facebook and Twitter

Bestfriendsatthebar@facebookand ssmithblakely on twitter