Hartford Business Journal

18 Hartford Business Journal | April 5, 2021 | HartfordBusiness.com In 2016 the American Bar Association for the first time recorded women representing a majority of American law school students. That's been true each year since, with female law students last year outnumbering men 20,829 to 17,206. "I think in our industry we just reached the natural question of '[women have] been practicing for a long time, why are we not using them as leaders?' " Specific efforts to hire, mentor and promote women has been a large part of increasing diversity and gender parity among McCarter's leadership, Ogilvie said. In the 2000s McCarter formed its Women's Initiative, a group that works closely with firm leadership to mentor women in their development as attorneys and promote them into leadership roles. Ogilvie said these efforts must continue because the visibility of more female leaders at Hartford law firms will likely get more women working toward becoming a managing partner one day. "Seeing other women locally doing it is inspiring, and it gives other women in the area an understanding that there are so many opportunities for leadership," Ogilvie said. Gender parity While more women are taking leadership roles, the legal industry still has a long way to go when it comes to gender parity, said Karen DeMeola, assistant dean for finance, administration and enrollment at the UConn School of Law and a past president of the Connecticut Bar Association. Data from the National Association of Law Placement's 2020 survey show that among participating law firms, just 32% of non-equity partners and 21.3% of equity partners are women. When compared to nearly two decades of female law students equaling or outnumbering their male counterparts, DeMeola said, the statistics raise questions about how firms are going about promoting women attorneys. Some factors holding them back could be rooted in negative assumptions about women with children — especially in an industry often focused on maximizing billable hours — and disparities in mentorship opportunities, DeMeola said. However, the legal industry has been more proactive than others in working to level the gender playing field, DeMeola said. For example, in 2015 the Connecticut Bar Association created the Connecticut Legal Community's Diversity and Inclusion Pledge and Plan, which 40 law firms and legal organizations signed. It's a multiyear plan that deals with issues like recruitment, retention, assessments and training. Further, the profession in general has been working on diversity and inclusion efforts for about 20 years now, during which time some changes have arrived slowly, but surely. For firms to keep increasing female leadership representation, they should continue to examine the role implicit bias plays in recruitment, retention and promotion, as well as emphasize mentoring opportunities, DeMeola said. Employment law firm Jackson Lewis has developed an in-house education and training program for its lawyers — called JL Academy — that has played a role in mentoring and promoting women, said Tanya Bovée, managing principal of the firm's Hartford office. Bovée, who has served as managing principal since 2016, said mentors were important to her rise to the top position since she joined Jackson Lewis about 17 years ago. That's why she also sees efforts to mentor and promote women as key to increasing the number of females serving as managing partners. "Mentoring is very important to me, and you might find that's a common theme," said Bovée, who still makes a point to encourage more experienced attorneys at the firm to make themselves available to younger lawyers in general and women in particular. "Mentoring is basically the opportunity to pay it forward." Don't let obstacles get between you and desired results. Wes is one determined and committed individual. Whether hiking up Mt. Killington with concrete cinder blocks (his idea of fun) or figuring out tough inventory questions, Wes is a talented and tenacious accountant. No matter what, Wes will take on hard obstacles and be committed to finishing any difficult task placed in front of him. An audit partner with particular specialties in auto dealerships and product distribution/fulfillment, he has the technical expertise of a seasoned CPA with the perspective of a marathoner. Knowing your business is not a sprint, and technical expertise is not the low hurdles. The challenges of accounting and auditing may not require an ironman on your team, but it never hurts. 231 Farmington Avenue, Farmington, CT 06032 | 860-678-7100 | www.flrcpa.com " " " " My strength is helping businesses large and small navigate complex accounting and auditing challenges. Wesley D. Barnard, CPA Karen DeMeola Tanya Bovée Associates Non-equity partners Diversity in legal industry leadership roles 0 20 40 60 80 Men Women Women of Color Equity partners Source: National Association of Women Lawyers survey % of leadership roles

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