NEWSLETTER OF THE CENTER ON THE LEGAL PROFESSION FALL 2016 2016 Update Center Launches Initiative on Lawyers and Leadership In no other country do lawyers play as important a leadership role as in the United States. A majority of American presidents have been lawyers, and lawyers dominate in legislatures, government, and non-profit positions. President and Senior Counsel of the Southern A significant number also become and ethical commitments that are Center for Human Rights, Stephen Bright, was the inaugural speaker in CLP’s new Lawyers as corporate leaders; Stanford Law School necessary for successful leadership.” In Leaders speaker series. alum Brad Smith recently became law schools, although we have expanded president of Microsoft after a stint as the curriculum to include clinical and general counsel. In our local experiential approaches, we have not law and regulation in a swiftly communities, lawyers are often the ones focused on a structured and disciplined globalizing, information-driven world. who manage the PTA, or lead approach to developing leadership skills. International, national, and local laws neighborhood committees. Yet much of The Center’s newly launched leadership interact with each other and with each of the American public distrusts lawyers and initiative hopes to change this at Stanford us in more direct and complicated ways. lawyers themselves receive almost no Law School and set an example for other The role of the lawyer continues to formal education in how to lead. As institutions. expand in tandem with global and Center Director Professor Deborah The need for leadership development technological developments as the world Rhode noted in her recent book, Lawyers for lawyers both within and beyond law looks to lawyers to structure these new as Leaders, “The focus of legal education school is particularly strong in light of interactions. Cybersecurity is one and the reward structure of legal practice two trends in the profession. One is the example of a new and rapidly changing undervalues interpersonal capabilities continued and increasing importance of issue with dramatic (continued, page 7) 1 Center Launches Initiative 2 Women in Law Firms Research 4 Limited Legal Services Research 5 From the Director 5 Advisory Forum 5 Steering Committee 6 Legal Design Update 8 Law and Pop Culture Events 9 Featured 2015-2016 CLP Events 12 Center Faculty, Staff, and Fellows 13 2015-2016 Selected Outreach 13 Contact the Center Lab. Given the seemingly intractable nature of “woman problem” at law firms, Stacy wondered if the hackathon structure might surface new approaches. She approached Stanford Law School, recognizing that our position at the intersection of law and innovation made us an ideal co-sponsor for such an event. The Women in Law Hackathon brought together 54 high-level partners from law firms across the U.S. They worked together (virtually) in teams of 6 with two expert advisors and a Stanford Law student from January to June 2016. The teams presented their ideas in- person to a panel of judges at the pitch event at SLS on June 24, 2016. The winning teams focused on increasing access to business development and Rising Stanford 2L Grace Chediak (far right) pitching with her team at the Women in Law Hackathon clients, more comprehensive approaches on June 24, 2016 at Stanford Law School. to mentoring and feedback, and possible reliance on the Rooney Rule, borrowed from the NFL, which would require law Stanford Student Research firms to consider at least one female candidate for all leadership positions. Illuminates Challenges to Winning teams donated their prize money, put up by Bloomberg Law, to Increasing the Retention and organizations devoted to advancing women in the legal profession. Advancement of Women in Alongside the Hackathon, the Center led a policy lab course with four of the Elite Law Firms participating students during the winter quarter. Led by Stanford Professor Robert Gordon, Associate Dean of The problem of women’s lack of the Stanford campus this past June. Career Services Susan Robinson, and leadership in elite law firms is not a new The word “hackathon” has come Center Executive Director Lucy Ricca, problem. For years, firms, the legal recently into our common discourse the class surveyed the research on why media, academics, and clients, have through the world of computer women face such challenges in elite asked why women, despite being fifty programming. In a hackathon, firms and identified potential responses. percent of law school graduates, participants are put together on teams, The students ranged from a 1L who had disproportionately fail to become equity given a specific subject or problem on come to law school directly from college partners or to hold major governance which to focus, and a period of time to two LLM students from Australia and positions. Today, only eighteen percent (usually a few days) in which to do it. Canada who had been practicing in of law firm equity partners are women, a The idea is that by bringing diverse firms for some time. That breadth of percentage which has remained groups of people together under time experience was very valuable for the effectively stagnant for the pase decade. constraints, the teams will identify new course. The students met with It was this specific question – why approaches to long standing challenges. prominent female leaders, including women’s rates of retention and The Women in Law Hackathon was the Michelle Galloway, SLS alum (’89) and advancement have remained so poor brainchild of Caren Ulrich Stacy, former Of Counsel at Cooley LLP, Marie Huber, despite years of efforts – that inspired head of talent at Arnold and Porter and currently General Counsel of ebay, the Women in Law Hackathon held on now the founder and CEO of Diversity Michelle Banks, (continued, page 3) 2 SLS students in policy lab (at table from L to R) Mackenzie Tudor, Grace Chediak, Anna Jaffe, and Erika Douglas meet with Marie Huber and Michelle Banks. Key findings: Hackathon Judges (from left to right) Miriam Rivera (Stanford BA ‘86, MA ‘89, JD/MBA ‘95,), Venture Capitalist & Former Google VP/Deputy GC, Alexis Diaz (Stanford JD ’01), Managing Director, G100 & • Women are significantly General Counsel, G100 Companies, and Tony West (Stanford JD ’92), EVP Public Policy and underrepresented in positions of Government Affairs, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary of Pepsico, discuss the presentations. leadership (particularly on compensation committees) at large law firms. then General Counsel of the Gap, paper outlined 23 examples of the • Gender stereotypes influence the Kirsten Rhodes, Director of Deloitte’s inequities faced by women in detail and perception of women lawyers’ Marketing Development practice and issued 16 recommendations for competence and potential. leader of its West Coast Inclusion overcoming them. The students stressed • The billable hour adversely affects the platform, and Pat Gillette, partner at that there is no “silver bullet, ” and retention of women lawyers. Orrick and founder of the On Ramp proposed a multifaceted approach of • Women lawyers are not receiving fair Fellowship. They also consulted specific, actionable steps to attack “the credit for the generation of business as a result of a number of structural and “While our research uncovered lots of social barriers. • Female associates need mentoring and barriers...We are hopeful that firms will sponsorship from powerful partners. embrace new approaches that create new Key recommendations: • Take steps to ensure that a “critical and substantive opportunities for women mass” of women are appointed to leadership positions at law firms, particularly to the compensation to lead.” committee. • Provide associates with greater control Marianne Cooper, a sociologist at broader cultural and sociological factors over their career progression. Centrally Stanford who spoke in depth about the that underlie the key problems being monitor the distribution of assignments research on the effects of implicit bias. to ensure that each associate receives addressed.” The students quickly grasped the the opportunities they should. Anna Jaffe, LLM ’16, noted, “While complex and multifaceted nature of the • Allow associates to participate in our research uncovered lots of barriers to issue with economic, structural, cultural, management and decision-making at and social aspects and grappled with how the advancement of women in the legal earlier stages. to focus their research and present a profession, we also talked with many paper that did justice to the complexity people who are eager to solve this To publicize the findings of the Hackathon, Center Director Deborah Rhode, Executive but also offered clear solutions. problem. We are hopeful that firms will Director Lucy Ricca, and Anna Jaffe, published The students’ final product was a embrace new approaches that create new an op-ed in the National Law Journal, titled whitepaper on Retaining and Advancing and substantive opportunities for women “No Time for Diversity Fatigue at Women in Women in National Law Firms. The to lead.” Law Hackathon.” (see photos, page 15) 3 woman trying to obtain custody of at LSC grantee organizations offered her children from her ex- Center Runs “counsel and advice” in 60 percent of Ahusband’s family. A couple LSC-funded cases, but only offered seeking a simple divorce. A woman trying “extensive services” in 4 percent of cases. to get out of an abusive relationship. Policy Lab in Virtually no research has assessed the These are the types of legal issues facing effectiveness of this form of limited so many Americans across the country. Partnership assistance. To remedy this situation, LSC Although they involve “basic human President Jim Sandman and Alaska Legal needs,” they are matters often priced out with the Legal Services Corporation (“ALSC”) of reach for millions of individuals. Over Executive Director Nikole Nelson asked eighty percent of the legal needs of the Services the Center for help on better poor go unmet and between sixty-two understanding the impact of these and ninety-two percent of litigants in Corporation services.