Secrets of NYC’s Top Female Attorneys
Recently, New York’s women leaders in law sounded off to New York Magazine about what it takes to succeed as an attorney at the top firms and at the top of their practice areas in New York. The women, whose practice areas range from securities litigation to corporate law to immigration, seemed to have one piece of advice across the board, which was: “Be willing to work hard, and long. If you don’t love your job, you won’t make it through all the tough work it takes to succeed in this field.”
At least they didn’t sugar coat it. The article, entitled “New York’s Women Leaders in Law,” included some great tips and some tough love advice about how to get ahead.
The article noted that only 17 percent of the partners at United States law firms are women, while only 20 percent of federal judges and 24 percent of state judges are women. Additionally, women are leaving the law in droves. Despite starting out at firms on equal footing and in almost equal numbers as men, women tend not to stick it out to make partner great numbers. Maybe its work/life balance issues, maybe they find other opportunities more rewarding, or maybe firms don’t properly incentivize them to stay on and value their work in the way that would lead to their promotion. Whatever the roots of the complex problem are, industry experts agree that law firms have a hard time retaining women.
Gwendolyn M. Robosson, a partner and managing attorney at Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy. Robosson, and one of the nation’s top immigration lawyers explained, “I think that today, practicing law is a 24 hour 7 day a week job, and the expectation of clients is that you have to be available constantly. To be successful, particularly with the demands placed on professionals today, you have to be willing to give 110 percent.”
Divorce lawyer at Blank and Rome Sheila Reisel echoed this sentiment when she advised, “You have to be devoted to your client’s causes, and the client has to feel your commitment to their case and their issues,” Riesel says. “And you have to be willing to work hard.”
Amy Schuleman, a senior partner at DLA Piper, was honest about the illusion inherent in the concept of work/life balance, explaining it as a “complex iterative process.” Her secret to success is placing emphasis on “flexibility, constantly adjusting priorities, and appropriately delegating. I also believe in the importance of giving permission to men and women so they don’t feel furtive about the demands of family life.”
Valerie Ford Jacob, one of the only women in the US to head a major law firm, emphasized that you have to be passionate about the work you do (in her case, capital markets), in order to succeed. Ms. Jacobs explained, “I love [my firm] Fried, Frank, and I’ve had great clients over the years. That’s all great stuff, and it makes me excited.” Indeed, the consensus among the women partners interviewed is that you have to love what you do, otherwise the sacrifices you have to make will not be worth the high salary in the end.
