About Us: Diversity

Women's Initiatives

As chair of the Women's Leadership Forum, I am proud of McGuireWoods’ commitment to women lawyers’ success. One of the ways we support women lawyers is through the McGuireWoods’ Leadership Forum. We also have a leading-edge parental leave program and part-time lawyer policy which provide a work-life balance that few law firms match. These are two of the reasons why Working Mother has recognized McGuireWoods as one of the 2009 "Best Law Firms for Women."

Since joining the firm in 1998 as a lateral associate, I have personally witnessed and benefited from McGuireWoods' commitment to diversity and, more specifically, the development and retention of women at the firm. I was promoted to non-equity partner the year following my three-month maternity leave for the birth of my eldest daughter. It was at that time I began to work at home on Fridays, with the full support of our firm's management, and that flexible arrangement continues to this day. Two years later, and following the birth of my second child, I was promoted to equity partnership.

Over the years, I have served as a mentor to female attorneys in our firm. Currently, I am a member of our Diversity Committee, the Nominating Committee for our Board of Partners, the Charlotte Recruiting Committee, and now, chair of the Women's Leadership Forum. These roles have allowed me to expand our firm's efforts in recruiting and retaining the best and brightest female attorneys. I am very proud of McGuireWoods for being an industry leader in its policies for family leave, and for part-time and flex-time work arrangements.

The Women’s Leadership Forum is an excellent example of McGuireWoods’ commitment to being a law firm of choice for the best and the brightest women attorneys.

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McGuireWoods Only Law Firm to Sponsor Women in the World Foundation

The Women in the World Foundation is a powerful, new initiative dedicated to highlighting and driving solutions for advancing women and girls. Building on the success of the Women in the World summits and harnessing the journalistic power of Newsweek and The Daily Beast, the Foundation will serve as a resource to all who seek to learn about and engage on the issues facing women and girls

Left to right in the photo: Yvette Harmon, partner, McGuireWoods; Tina Brown, editor-in-chief of The Daily Beast and Newsweek; Kim Azzarelli, president of Women in the World Foundation, and Kim Cacheris, partner and firmwide chair of the McGuireWoods Women's Leadership Forum.

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Chicago Annual Women's Leadership Forum

On Oct. 27, 2011, the women attorneys of our Chicago office hosted their annual Women's Leadership Forum (WLF) event for Chicago businesswomen at the Joffrey Ballet. Many of the firm's women clients and high-level executives attended the event, including women from companies such as ArjoHuntleigh, AT&T, Bank of America Merrill Lynch, BMO Harris Bank, Cole Taylor Bank, GE Capital, Hollister, JPMorgan Chase, Native Capital Investment, Oak Surgical Institute, Ohmx Corporation, PNC Financial Services Group, Sagent Pharmaceuticals, and Sears Holdings Corporation.

The event included a private performance by Joffrey dancers, who, dressed in full costume and accompanied by live music, performed three short excerpts from Tarantella, The Nutcracker and Age of Innocence. The Chicago WLF also hosted a cocktail reception in an adjacent dance studio, which allowed for our attorneys to socialize with clients and develop new relationships in an inspiring atmosphere.

McGuireWoods partners Ying Hsu (WLF Regional Co-chair), Amy Manning, Marta Stein and Rachel Mantz (WLF Regional Chair) at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 27, 2011, at the Joffrey Ballet.

McGuireWoods partner Marta Stein (left), associate Krista Eckhoff (center) and partner Ying Hsu (WLF Regional Co-chair) (far right) at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 27, 2011, at the Joffrey Ballet.

McGuireWoods associate Christine Kommer (second from left) with clients at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 27, 2011, at the Joffrey Ballet.

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Chicago Annual Women's Leadership Forum

On Oct. 21, 2010, the women attorneys of our Chicago office hosted their annual Women's Leadership Forum event for Chicago businesswomen at the Gruen Galleries. Many of the firm's women clients and high-level executives attended, including women from companies such as Associates in Nephrology, Cole Taylor Bank, Harris Bank, Stepan Company, Watson Wyatt & Company, and PNC Financial Services Group.  The event, which included a private tour of the three-story art gallery, allowed our attorneys to socialize with clients and prospects, and develop new relationships in a relaxed atmosphere.  We requested donations for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and received a great response. We collected several boxes of food to donate, as well as monetary contributions.

McGuireWoods Partner Pat Smoots (center) with clients at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 21, 2010, at the Gruen Galleries.

McGuireWoods partner Melissa Szabad (second from left) and associate Anna Timmerman (far right), with clients at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 21, 2010, at the Gruen Galleries.

From left, McGuireWoods partners Rachel Mantz (WLF Regional Chair), Kim Cacheris (WLF National Chair), and associate Ying Hsu (WLF Regional Co-chair) at the Chicago Women's Leadership Forum event held Oct. 21, 2010, at the Gruen Galleries.

McGuireWoods Teams with Working Mother Media and NAFE to Help Women Position Themselves for Boards

McGuireWoods partner Anne Whittemore (in green) participated as a panel member in a Women’s Leadership Forum event in Chicago. Other panelists, left to right, included: Laurie O’Shea, Barbara Feigin, Brenda Gaines, and Bob Burrus. Betty Spence, far right, president of the NAFE.

McGuireWoods’ Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) hosted “Breaking Into Corporate Boards,” produced by Working Mother Media and its subsidiary, the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE). Nearly 80 women attended the event, held at the Mid-America Club in downtown Chicago. Carol Evans,  president of Working Mother Media, told her own experience as a board member. Betty Spence, president of NAFE, made the keynote address, noting the percentage of women on boards of directors has actually dropped in the past two years.

A panel discussion followed, where the audience heard from board members and an executive recruiter who places women on boards. The panel consisted of: Laurie O’Shea, executive recruiter for Russell Reynolds; Barbara Feigin, a director on the board of VF Corporation who has served on boards for 20 years; Brenda Gaines, who serves on the boards of Fannie Mae, Nicor, Inc., Office Depot, Inc., and Tenet Healthcare Corporation; Anne Whittemore, a partner at McGuireWoods who serves on the boards of Owens & Minor, Inc., T. Rowe Price Group, Inc. and the Albemarle Corporation; and Bob Burrus, chairman emeritus of McGuireWoods, who is a director on the boards of Smithfield Foods and S.K. Famous Brands. Following the panel discussion, the audience participated in an exercise led by Betty Spence to see what they needed to do to position themselves for board duty.

McGuireWoods Accepts "Best Law Firm for Women" Award

Kim Cacheris (center), partner and chair of McGuireWoods' Women's Leadership Forum, accepts an award for McGuireWoods being named a 2009 “Best Law Firm for Women” by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC on Sept. 15, 2009, in New York; Carol Evans (left), president of Working Mother Media; and Debora Epstein Henry (right), president of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC.

To apply for “Best Law Firms for Women,” McGuireWoods provided detailed information on issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of women lawyers. The 50 winning firms were selected based on their workforce profile, family friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, and advancement and retention of women, among other criteria.

Carol Evans (left), president of Working Mother Media, is greeted by McGuireWoods partner Yvette Harmon (right), partner.

McGuireWoods’ New York office hosted a reception in September 2009 where Carol Evans, president of Working Mother Media told the audience how impressed she is with McGuireWoods’ commitment to work-life balance. She specifically cited the firm’s generous parental leave policies and its ramp-up program for new parents.

(Left to right): Kim Cacheris, partner and chair of McGuireWoods’ Women’s Leadership Forum; Tom Cabaniss, managing partner of McGuireWoods; Melissa Glassman, member, executive committee; Tom Sager, senior vice president and general counsel of DuPont Legal; and Jackie Stone, chair of McGuireWoods’ National Recruiting Committee, the firm’s hiring partner, and a member of the firm’s board of partners.

Guests at the New York reception where McGuireWoods celebrated being named a “Best Law Firm for Women” by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, included Tom Sager, senior vice president and general counsel of DuPont Legal, who is recognized as a national leader for improving the hiring, retention, promotion, and involvement of minorities and women.

Women's Leadership Forum Mixology Event

Our Chicago office recently hosted a Women's Leadership Forum Mixology event for Chicago business women at the Trump International Hotel. More than 50 women clients and other high-level executives attended the event, including women from companies such as Associates in Nephrology, Cole Taylor Bank, National City, Sears Holdings, and Takeda Pharmaceuticals. The group requested donations for the Greater Chicago Food Depository, and collected four boxes of food to donate, as well as monetary contributions. While learning how to make a few new drinks from the mixologist, McGuireWoods attorneys mingled with clients and prospects in a relaxed atmosphere that strengthened relationships and fostered new connections.

About McGuireWoods’ Women’s Leadership Forum

Internally, the Women’s Leadership Forum offers mentoring programs and hands-on training to our women lawyers. Externally, the forum provides networking events for women lawyers and clients. Each year, we organize events for forum members to meet other influential women, exchange information, share concerns, and discuss topics of interest. Events are geared toward enriching their personal and professional lives. The Women’s Leadership Forum also sponsors professional development opportunities for women lawyers. 

Supporting Work/Life Balance

McGuireWoods partnered with Working Mother magazine to provide the seminar “The Search for Work/Life Balance.” McGuireWoods is the first law firm to partner with Working Mother to offer to these seminars to provide career women in leadership roles with time management advice, and a workshop where attendees can create plans for achieving personal work/life balance.

Carol Evans, founder and chief executive officer of Working Mother,
is the keynote speaker for all three seminars.

Women in Leadership Roles at McGuireWoods

A number of women serve in key leadership roles, including on our Executive Committee, deputy managing partner, and a department chair. Our women attorneys hold leadership positions within the firm and manage a number of the firm's top client teams. The number of women in leadership roles is one of the major reasons cited by Working Mother magazine for McGuireWoods receiving recognition as a “Top Law Firm For Women Lawyers.”

Recruiting, Promoting & Retaining Women Lawyers

We actively seek to recruit and retain women associates, and annually promote a significant number of women to partner status. Over the past several years, McGuireWoods’ incoming fall associate classes represent a strong percentage of female attorneys. For the past two incoming fall classes, more than 50% of the associates were female.

Because retaining women lawyers is important to McGuireWoods, the firm offers some of the most comprehensive and attractive parental leave policies of large law firms in the United States. We also offer a very progressive part-time policy for lawyers. McGuireWoods’ Women’s Leadership Forum has been very active in making sure these sorts of programs are available to support all of our lawyers in pursuing a work-life balance.

Outreach to Support Women Lawyers

McGuireWoods is a national sponsor of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL). We also take a leadership role as one of the first signatories to the Chicago Bar Association Call to Action.

We support female law students by serving as one of the founding sponsors of Ms. JD – a blog forum for dialogue and networking among women in the legal profession, created by a committee of women from the top 14 U.S. law schools.

Women’s Leadership Forum 2010 Regional Chairs

 

Office	Chair	Co-chair
Atlanta, GA		Angela Spivey
Baltimore, MD	Cheryl O’Donnell Guth	Jennifer Stearman
Brussels, Belgium	Bénédicte Raevens
Charlotte, NC	Corby Cochran Anderson	Susan Pyle Dion
Charlottesville, VA	Suzanne Bednar
Chicago, IL	Rachel Mantz	Yuan-Ying Hsu
Jacksonville, FL	Lisa Purvis
London, UK	Stacy Lake
Los Angeles, CA	Susan Germaise	Lynn Whitcher
New York, NY	Yvette Harmon
Norfolk, VA	Karen Duncan
Pittsburgh, PA	Jennifer Cairns	Sally Edison
Raleigh, NC	Amy Worley
Richmond, VA	Anne Bentley McCray	Christine Mehfoud
Tysons Corner, VA	Dorothea Dickerman	Kristen Moye
Washington, DC	Amy Miller	Jessica Morrison