MILLENNIAL LAWYERS Engaging in the BAR T he Pennsylvania Bar Association is addressing the needs of five generations of lawyers in the workforce, including the generation termed “millennials,” and how we can help them become invested in the long-term future of our state bar and the legal profession. Following development of the PBA Strategic Plan, then-PBA President Sharon López formed the Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel. One of the areas studied by the panel concerned the challenges facing attorneys born between 1977 and 1992 and how the PBA will effectively engage these millennial lawyers. The panel made eight recommendations on issues affecting millennials, minorities and mothers (the “3 Ms”). At the January 2018 PBA Midyear Meeting, the panel presented the CLE program “Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession: Eight Recommen- dations to Move the Ball Forward” and provided a process and project update. In May of this year, the Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel received the PBA Award for Outstanding Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion for its efforts related to membership, leadership initiatives and diversity and inclusion. In August, the panel’s work and recom- mendations were part of a program at the National Conference of Bar Presidents’ annual meeting in Chicago. PBA Initiatives to Involve and Support Young Lawyers By Kathleen Wilkinson
Transcript
MILLENNIALLAWYERS
Engaging in theBAR
The Pennsylvania Bar Association is addressing the needs of five generations of lawyers in the workforce, including the generationtermed “millennials,” and how we can help them become invested in the long-term future of our state bar and the legal profession. Following development of the PBA Strategic Plan, then-PBA President Sharon López formed the Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel. One of the areas studied by the panel concernedthe challenges facing attorneys born between 1977 and 1992 andhow the PBA will effectively engage these millennial lawyers.
The panel made eight recommendations on issues affecting millennials, minorities andmothers (the “3 Ms”). At the January 2018 PBA Midyear Meeting, the panel presented theCLE program “Promoting Diversity and Inclusion in the Legal Profession: Eight Recommen-dations to Move the Ball Forward” and provided a process and project update. In May ofthis year, the Membership Engagement Blue Ribbon Panel received the PBA Award forOutstanding Leadership in Diversity and Inclusion for its efforts related to membership,leadership initiatives and diversity and inclusion. In August, the panel’s work and recom-mendations were part of a program at the National Conference of Bar Presidents’ annualmeeting in Chicago.
PBA Initiatives to Involve and Support Young LawyersBy Kathleen Wilkinson
Some of the findings considered by thepanel are that millennial lawyers are morediverse, more tech savvy and seek flexi-bility and options for working differently.According to López, “Millennials are collaborative, creative and looking for practical, concrete ways to achieve theirgoals. Once the bar association taps intothose resources and provides inclusivestrategies for connecting millennial attor-neys with seasoned lawyers, we will achievenew levels of engagement and success.Everything we do now to prepare collabo-rative opportunities will help us to sustainthis new wave of members.”
Maraleen Shields, a panel member and amillennial, points out research that showsmillennials hold the same values of manyof the other generations in the workforce,including baby boomers. Shields said shebelieves this younger generation wants touse technology to meet their goals by usingFaceTime or webinars as opposed to spend-ing hours driving to and from in-person
meetings. Millennials value their free time and weekends and may appear to be leaving the office early when, in fact,they are working late at night or very earlyin the morning.
When asked about his work this year, PBA President Charles Eppolito III saidthat he “embraces the varied and importantskills and assets millennials bring to thetable and has emphasized the need to reachout to that younger generation, to providethe value they seek through the PBA, toprovide millennials every opportunity toenhance their professional developmentand ability to connect with others, and toactively engage millennials in the PBA.This includes, among other things, betterand broader means of communication, including through social media, and moreeffective utilization of technology to bringPennsylvania lawyers together.”
For many years, attorneys have been en-couraged to bring children to PBA Section
Photo courtesy of the Hershey Entertainment& Resorts Company.
retreats such as the one held by the Civil Litigation Section, which tries to find family-friendly hotels for its annual retreats. Eppolito also wants to be very inclusive and stated that he “recognizes that family is very important to all of us,including millennials, and does not wish to ask our members to choose betweentheir families and being actively engaged in PBA.” To this end, he specifically askedvarious PBA entities, including the YoungLawyers Division (YLD), the Women inthe Profession Committee (WIP), the Soloand Small Firm Section and the Quality of Life/Balance Committee (along withothers), “to continually consider and createconferences, meetings, events and servicesthat are ‘family friendly’ and incorporatePBA’s value of our members’ families intowhat we do.”
The panel saw a need for the PBA to workon promoting best practices for workingremotely and assigned this task to the Soloand Small Firm Section. The PBA Quality
of Life/Balance Committee has held severalprograms on the effective use of flextime,mindfulness and avoiding stress in thepractice of law, and is another resourceavailable to millennials.
YLD Immediate Past Chair JonathanKoltash, one of the members of the BlueRibbon Panel, observed that he first got active in the PBA due to “mentoring fromabove” after a colleague invited him to anetworking event held by the PBA Govern-ment Lawyers Committee. Koltash wasfriends with past YLD chairs Lisa Benzieand Robert Datorre, who recruited him toserve as a YLD Zone 3 chair. From there,he became treasurer and then chair-elect of the YLD. Koltash said he does not knowmany young lawyers who wouldn’t want toinvolved in an organization in which youcan network with judges and more experi-enced lawyers. Koltash thinks the PBA is a great place for millennials, who probablyhave loans to pay, and one of the best benefits for young lawyers is in identifying
The Pennsylvania Lawyer 32 JSeptember/October 2018
internships and connecting with new jobsthrough the PBA Internship Board for Law Students and the Career Center.
The YLD learned that many women whobecame interested in leadership roles were“aging out” of the 38-year-old ceiling ofthe YLD. Some were already active in theirlocal bars and others could not be chairswhile in their early childbearing years.However, these same women lawyers werecoming back to the PBA ready to serve, but having aged out of the YLD. In 2017,in order to provide them with more time toseek leadership roles in the PBA, the YLDamended its bylaws. Now, lawyers up toand including those 40 years of age andthose who are 40 or older who have beenpracticing five years or fewer are includedin YLD membership.
Noting that there have not been many recent women YLD chairs — possibly because some “aged out” before they wereready to get involved with YLD leadership— Alaina Koltash says she is happy to havebeen able to follow her husband JonKoltash as YLD chair. She became active in the YLD two years after law school as a Zone 3 chair. Alaina and Jon Koltashagree that the PBA has to find new ways of solving problems and use good messag-ing to emphasize how it can help younglawyers network and get business.
Recognizing that it is very hard for a younglawyer to leave the office, Alaina Koltashrelated a story of having to prepare for a Commonwealth Court argument and almost missing a PBA GovernmentLawyers holiday party. When she finally
made the decision and arrangements to attend, she was delighted to see a judge andattorneys who were involved in her caseand she felt more at ease seeing them thefollowing day in court.
Alaina Koltash indicated that the PBA canhelp young lawyers build their leadershipskills by providing networking opportuni-ties and support systems. Young lawyers, in turn, can show their employers the valueof being active in the bar and how it helpsthem grow and develop, which helps intheir law practice.
Recognizing the need for mentoring opportunities, the Membership Engage-ment Blue Ribbon Panel recommendedthat PBA work on programs to help millennial lawyers develop practical skills.To help young lawyers who are establishingtheir practices, the Civil Litigation Section has held a series of trial “mini-camps” featuring experienced litigators and judges,followed by networking receptions. Thepanel has suggested that other committeesand sections consider using this example to reach out to millennials to help themdevelop skills and benefit from mentoringopportunities.
The realties for women lawyers of the millennial generation and issues faced aresimilar to those of the preceding genera-tion, according to WIP Co-chair AndreaTuominen. Tuominen explained, “Whilewomen may make up nearly half the lawschool graduates and associates at large law firms, only a fraction of them becomeequity partners and non-equity partners,earning a fraction of the pay — 69 cents to the male partner’s dollar.” Tuominenstated, “PBA’s Commission on Women inthe Profession provides access to informa-tion, opportunities for involvement at astatewide level and support and encourage-ment for women lawyers at all stages oftheir careers. Through its educational programs, formal and informal mentoringopportunities, promotion of policies andbest practices, the WIP is committed tobreaking down barriers and helpingwomen succeed.”
An example of one of those programs formillennials is a “Back to the Bar” program,such as the one put together by the Al-legheny County Bar Association, which is aresource for attorneys who are looking toenter or re-enter the workforce after takingcare of family responsibilities. Many
Young lawyers can show
their employers the value
of being active in the bar
and how it helps a young
lawyer grow and develop,
which helps in their law
practice.
ATTORNEY DISCIPLINARY /ETHICS MATTERS
Representation, consultation and expert testimony in disciplinary matters and matters
involving ethical issues, bar admissions and the Rules of Professional Conduct
(215) 751-2863
James C. Schwartzman, Esq.
STATEWIDE PENNSYLVANIA MATTERS NO CHARGE FOR INITIAL CONSULTATION
Judge, Court of Judicial DisciplineFormer Chairman, Judicial Conduct Board
of PennsylvaniaFormer Chairman, Disciplinary Board of the
Supreme Court of PennsylvaniaFormer Chairman, Continuing Legal
Education Board of the Supreme Court of Pennsylvania
Former Chairman, Supreme Court of PA Interest on Lawyers Trust Account Board
Former Federal ProsecutorSelected by his peers as one of the top 100
Super Lawyers in Pennsylvania and the top 100 Super Lawyers in Philadelphia
Named by his peers as Best Lawyers in America 2015 Philadelphia Ethics and Professional Responsibility Law “Lawyer of the Year,” and in Plaintiffs and Defendants Legal Malpractice Law
women delay childbearing and many mil-lennials step out of the practice of lawwhile they care for infants and young chil-dren. Shields observed that childbearingcan delay a woman’s opportunity to ad-vance within her firm or practice. Thepanel suggested gathering information onflextime policies, maternity policies andbreastfeeding policies and making it avail-able to all members.
WIP Co-vice Chair Melissa Leiningerchairs the WIP Back to the Bar subcom-mittee. She said the WIP “is proud to beworking closely with PBA Immediate PastPresident Sharon López on developing atoolkit that attorneys who are parents canuse to request, advocate for and securefamily time, while maintaining their con-nection with the practice of law and mem-bership in the PBA. This Back to the Barinitiative will focus on three components:getting ready for leave, staying connectedwhile on leave and returning to work as aparent or as a lawyer who was not practic-ing for a period of time.”
Members of the Membership EngagementBlue Ribbon Panel are Sharon López,Kathleen Wilkinson, Charles Eppolito III,
Sara Austin, William Pugh, Barry Simpson,Melissa Leininger, Jonathan Koltash, LoriMcMaster, Gerald Shoemaker, JonathanHuerta, Maraleen Shields, Ellen Bailey,Tim Riley, Jay Silberblatt, David Schwager,Elizabeth Simcox, Sandra Brydon Smithand William Baldwin. The panel antici-pates that its work and recommendationscan be carried forward to benefit PBAlawyers for years to come. ⚖
• • • • •
Kathleen Wilkinson is a past PBAZone 1 governor; chair, Civil LitigationSection; vice chair, Quality of Life/Bal-ance Committee; chair, MembershipEngagement Blue Ribbon Panel onMillennials, Mothers and Minoritiesin the Profession; and executive coun-cil member, Commission on Women
in the Profession. She was named one of the Top 50 Women Attor-neys in 2018 by Pennsylvania Super Lawyers. She is a partner, fo-cusing on civil litigation, at the Philadelphia office of Wilson ElserMoskowitz Edelman & Dicker LLP. Her email is [email protected].
If you would like to comment on this article for publication in ournext issue, please send an email to [email protected].
![1 PUBLIG ATTOR]IEYS OFFIGE](https://static.documents.pub/doc/80x56/586a0e881a28abd31d8b59d8/1-publig-attorieys-offige.jpg)
