Women’s Initiative
It’s about Connecting and Strengthening Relationships
The mission of FBT’s Women’s Initiative is consistent with our firm’s diversity mission: to work towards an inclusive environment where everyone has an equal opportunity to succeed. The Women’s Initiative is chaired by Julia Blackwell Gelinas, a member of the firm who also sits on the firm’s Compensation Committee.
The Initiative focuses on and directs activities targeted to its mission including, but not limited to:
- Work with the Advancement Committee, practice group leaders and firm management to further the objective of developing and advancing women lawyers in the firm
- Facilitate more targeted opportunities for mentoring to connect women lawyers with mentors and sponsors who will help them advance in the firm
- Where consistent with client service and professional development, support alternative work schedules for all attorneys, promotion of attorneys with non-traditional billable hour requirements to partnership, flexibility in opportunities and acceptance of working remotely
- Facilitate and support through the firm’s marketing department and practice group structure more targeted marketing opportunities for female attorneys and female clients
- Work directly with our Director of Diversity to ensure that our mission is being implemented on a daily basis
- Monitor workflow and substantive work opportunities to ensure that our female attorneys have an equal opportunity to develop and advance
Accomplishments
- A monthly, informal mentoring program in which a junior, female associate is randomly paired with a more senior female attorney for lunch
- Raising the professional and social profiles of our women attorneys through various civic awards nominations and social networking activities
Benefits
Through the Initiative, our women receive the guidance and direction they need to develop client service strategies and attorney-client relationships that produce long-term benefits for the law firm.
Several factors include:
- Consistent client contact resulting in stronger, improved relationships
- Accumulated knowledge and experience
- Greater legal, industrial, situational and client familiarity
According to previous Women’s Initiative co-chair Alison Stemler, the law firm is seeing results, “We’ve recruited some wonderful new lawyers, which I believe has made the firm better as a whole. When we have a broader array of people for our clients to work with, it strengthens our relationships with them, and it broadens our ability to communicate effectively with them.”
Looking to the Future
The Women’s Initiative continues to look for ways to support our women attorneys in their career paths while providing their clients with optimum legal services. Our programs encourage all attorneys to interact and work together while strengthening both internal and outside relationships that provide value to clients and communities.
But, even with the growth and success of the Initiative, Julia Blackwell Gelinas says there is still more to do. “Policies can be changed overnight — attitudes take time. With the proper focus and encouragement to continually challenge ourselves, we can succeed,” reveals Julia.
And, challenge is what the Women’s Initiative continues to do.
Frost Brown Todd is dedicated to building and maintaining a diverse work environment. We are committed to hiring the people best qualified for all employment opportunities, and we are an equal opportunity employer.
