For Women in Law, 'Business Development Is Key'

A recent survey of women in law firms by Marketing the Law Firm affiliate The American Lawyer found that ' unsurprisingly ' women are concentrated at the lower levels of law firms. That wasn't news to Elizabeth Anne “Betiayn” Tursi, who three years ago helped to found the Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), a lecture series that focuses on helping women become firm leaders. Six WILEF events have been planned for 2009 on both the East and West Coasts. A panel on June 23 in New York was entitled, “Different Approaches to Leadership for Women in Law.” Tursi, the principal of Tursi Law Marketing Management and the Editor-in-Chief of this newsletter, has been advocating for the career advancement of women in law since 1992, when she was the business development director at New York-based Kaye Scholer and became involved in several women's initiatives through the American Bar Association. We recently spoke with Tursi about the challenges women in law firms face. Her responses have been edited for length.

Q.: What is your honest assessment of how women are faring in the law firm world?

A.: I don't think they are faring very well. There's a problem. There are two areas that need to be emphasized: business development opportunities and leadership opportunities. Neither one is being addressed in law firm women's initiatives, and they should be. Part of the problem is a generational thing and a succession thing. According to a 2007 study by the National Association of Women Lawyers, 84% of equity partners are men and 92% of managing partners are men. That, in and of itself, is the problem. The men are still controlling the business development and firm leadership. It's interesting, because the women are really left to their own devices. They're not being given opportunities to build a book of business or to become leaders. It's not looking good for the future.

Q.: What is the remedy to these problems?

A.: I believe the remedy is education. This is where the women's initiatives can play a vital role. They need to provide real-life examples of how to go out and get business. They also need to foster leadership by providing education on how to become a leader. Men become leaders because they have books of business. They're involved in business development. The boys' club still exists, so initiatives should strive to create educational programs that show women how to mine opportunities and understand the politics of the firm, and to express interest in becoming leaders. That's what my group does. We train women to develop business and be leaders.

Q.: What problems do you see with the women's initiatives at many law firms?

A.: I don't think spa weekends are very productive. I don't think bringing in a guest speaker to talk to women is very helpful. There's no substance there. These initiatives need to be about education, not inspiration. They need speakers who have built their own books of business. A lot of women go out and hire private coaches because the law firms aren't providing that education.

Q.: Should law firms be focusing on so-called “women's issues” such as flextime?

A.: At this point, the issue of flextime and work/life balance is in overkill. For better or for worse, sometimes it works at law firms and sometimes it doesn't. We don't talk about flextime in my group because that's a soft issue. In this environment, you want to be [in the office] anyway. These soft issues have been out there for 10 years. To me, that's not a priority, and I think a lot of women lawyers would agree. You want to be a leader and a business developer. For the women who have held leadership roles, business development is what got them there.

Q.: Has the focus on “women's issues” been a hindrance to raising the profile of women in law?

A.: Absolutely. Positively. The issues should be business development and leadership. A lot of women have said to me, “I can do it all.” No one can do it all. The nomenclature of “the mommy track” hurt women in law.

Q.: How should women go about developing business?

A.: Women develop business differently than men. You can't put them in the same room and teach them the same things. Men have more opportunities because many of the industries lawyers deal with ' like finance ' are dominated by men. They have those opportunities to bond and develop business. Women need to be shown how to develop those relationships. It can be as simple as local community activity. But more than that, it's about meeting the right people. You have to cultivate people who will give you business, but I don't think that means hitting the golf course. Become involved in philanthropy. I'll give a New York example, because I'm a New Yorker. You can join the Lincoln Center Business Council. You'll find board members of banks there. Women have to think of where the men are.

Q.: Do you think women generally want leadership positions in firms?

A.: I think more women would want to be there were they not intimidated. Law firms are still controlled by white males. They're the ones on the management committees and the compensation committees, and those are the leadership roles that count. Hiring partner, head of the practice ' those don't count.

Q.: Can you give me some examples of women who have figured out the law firm leadership puzzle?

A.: Candace Beinecke, the chair of Hughes Hubbard & Reed [in New York]. She's built a book of business and she's been a head of her firm for a long time. She and Mary Cranston [former chairwoman of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman]. She has a large book of business. Business development is key. Keeping your head down and being a good soldier isn't the key, even though that's something women have been taught to do.

Karen Sloan is a reporter the National Law Journal, an Incisive Media sister publication of this newsletter, in which this article first appeared.

A recent survey of women in law firms by Marketing the Law Firm affiliate The American Lawyer found that ' unsurprisingly ' women are concentrated at the lower levels of law firms. That wasn't news to Elizabeth Anne “Betiayn” Tursi, who three years ago helped to found the Women In Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), a lecture series that focuses on helping women become firm leaders. Six WILEF events have been planned for 2009 on both the East and West Coasts. A panel on June 23 in New York was entitled, “Different Approaches to Leadership for Women in Law.” Tursi, the principal of Tursi Law Marketing Management and the Editor-in-Chief of this newsletter, has been advocating for the career advancement of women in law since 1992, when she was the business development director at New York-based Kaye Scholer and became involved in several women's initiatives through the American Bar Association. We recently spoke with Tursi about the challenges women in law firms face. Her responses have been edited for length.

Q.: What is your honest assessment of how women are faring in the law firm world?

A.: I don't think they are faring very well. There's a problem. There are two areas that need to be emphasized: business development opportunities and leadership opportunities. Neither one is being addressed in law firm women's initiatives, and they should be. Part of the problem is a generational thing and a succession thing. According to a 2007 study by the National Association of Women Lawyers, 84% of equity partners are men and 92% of managing partners are men. That, in and of itself, is the problem. The men are still controlling the business development and firm leadership. It's interesting, because the women are really left to their own devices. They're not being given opportunities to build a book of business or to become leaders. It's not looking good for the future.

Q.: What is the remedy to these problems?

A.: I believe the remedy is education. This is where the women's initiatives can play a vital role. They need to provide real-life examples of how to go out and get business. They also need to foster leadership by providing education on how to become a leader. Men become leaders because they have books of business. They're involved in business development. The boys' club still exists, so initiatives should strive to create educational programs that show women how to mine opportunities and understand the politics of the firm, and to express interest in becoming leaders. That's what my group does. We train women to develop business and be leaders.

Q.: What problems do you see with the women's initiatives at many law firms?

A.: I don't think spa weekends are very productive. I don't think bringing in a guest speaker to talk to women is very helpful. There's no substance there. These initiatives need to be about education, not inspiration. They need speakers who have built their own books of business. A lot of women go out and hire private coaches because the law firms aren't providing that education.

Q.: Should law firms be focusing on so-called “women's issues” such as flextime?

A.: At this point, the issue of flextime and work/life balance is in overkill. For better or for worse, sometimes it works at law firms and sometimes it doesn't. We don't talk about flextime in my group because that's a soft issue. In this environment, you want to be [in the office] anyway. These soft issues have been out there for 10 years. To me, that's not a priority, and I think a lot of women lawyers would agree. You want to be a leader and a business developer. For the women who have held leadership roles, business development is what got them there.

Q.: Has the focus on “women's issues” been a hindrance to raising the profile of women in law?

A.: Absolutely. Positively. The issues should be business development and leadership. A lot of women have said to me, “I can do it all.” No one can do it all. The nomenclature of “the mommy track” hurt women in law.

Q.: How should women go about developing business?

A.: Women develop business differently than men. You can't put them in the same room and teach them the same things. Men have more opportunities because many of the industries lawyers deal with ' like finance ' are dominated by men. They have those opportunities to bond and develop business. Women need to be shown how to develop those relationships. It can be as simple as local community activity. But more than that, it's about meeting the right people. You have to cultivate people who will give you business, but I don't think that means hitting the golf course. Become involved in philanthropy. I'll give a New York example, because I'm a New Yorker. You can join the Lincoln Center Business Council. You'll find board members of banks there. Women have to think of where the men are.

Q.: Do you think women generally want leadership positions in firms?

A.: I think more women would want to be there were they not intimidated. Law firms are still controlled by white males. They're the ones on the management committees and the compensation committees, and those are the leadership roles that count. Hiring partner, head of the practice ' those don't count.

Q.: Can you give me some examples of women who have figured out the law firm leadership puzzle?

A.: Candace Beinecke, the chair of Hughes Hubbard & Reed [in New York]. She's built a book of business and she's been a head of her firm for a long time. She and Mary Cranston [former chairwoman of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman]. She has a large book of business. Business development is key. Keeping your head down and being a good soldier isn't the key, even though that's something women have been taught to do.

Karen Sloan is a reporter the National Law Journal, an Incisive Media sister publication of this newsletter, in which this article first appeared.