CWIL Executive Director Linda Chanow will serve as a team advisor for the inaugural Women in Law Hackathon from June 23-24, 2016. The event will convene law firm partners, talent experts, and Stanford law students to advance women in the legal profession.
Fifty-four top law firms have signed up to participate in the Women in Law Hackathon, a new Shark Tank-style pitch competition aimed at generating innovative ideas to close the gender gap in law firms. Nearly two-thirds of the participants in the Hackathon are managing partners, practice group chairs, or other high-level leaders in their respective firms. They are working together virtually in teams from January to June 2016 to devise initiatives that will help retain and advance experienced women in law firms. Each team is comprised of six partners from across the country, two talent/diversity thought leaders, and a Stanford law student.
On June 24, 2016, the teams will pitch their ideas to a group of high-profile judges at Stanford Law School. The top three teams selected by the judges will grant their prize money, donated by Bloomberg Law, to nonprofit organizations that are helping to advance women in the legal profession and beyond. The first place award is $10,000, second place is $7,500, and third place is $5,000. Diversity Lab is contributing an additional $5,000 for a Crowd Favorite award voted on by the audience, which also will be donated to a non-profit.
The Women in Law Hackathon is the brainchild of Caren Ulrich Stacy, Chief Executive Officer of Diversity Lab, whose pioneering work has included creating the OnRamp Fellowship, the first re-entry program launched in the legal field for women returning to the workforce after an extended hiatus.
“Law firm leaders have been working internally for decades to solve the gender parity challenge, but very little progress has been made; currently women represent only 18 percent of the partnership in large law firms,” remarked Ulrich Stacy. “Now, these law firms are trying something different.”
“We are honored and delighted to partner with Diversity Lab and the other participants on this important initiative and to work together as a team for six months on ideas to catalyze the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women lawyers,” said David Gerson, partner and former management committee member at Morgan Lewis. “The exciting ideas that we all generate together will help us to achieve our own goals as a firm, and bring about meaningful and lasting change.”
Women in Law Hackathon participating law firms include:
Akerman; Akin Gump; Alston & Bird; Andrews Kurth; Arnold & Porter; Baker Botts; Bass, Berry & Sims; Blank Rome; Cooley; Covington; Dentons; DLA Piper; Farella Braun; Faegre Baker Daniels; Fasken Martineau; Fenwick & West; Fish & Richardson; Fried Frank; Gibson Dunn; Goodwin Procter; Haynes & Boone; Hogan Lovells; Holland & Hart; Holland & Knight; Husch Blackwell; Jenner & Block; Kilpatrick Townsend; Kirkland & Ellis; Kramer Levin; Littler Mendelson; Miller Canfield; Morrison & Foerster; Morgan Lewis; Munger, Tolles & Olson; Neal Gerber; O’Melveny & Myers; Orrick; Paul Hastings; Perkins Coie; Pillsbury; Reed Smith; Seyfarth Shaw; Sidley Austin; Simpson Thacher; Skadden; Sullivan & Cromwell LLP; Sutherland; Troutman Sanders; Vinson & Elkins; Weil Gotshal; White & Case; WilmerHale; Wilson Sonsini; and Winston & Strawn.
The judges and thought leaders serving as team advisors include:
Pitch Event Judges:
- Lucy Endel Bassil, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft 3
- Alan Bryan, Senior Associate General Counsel, Legal Operations – Outside Counsel Management, WalMart Stores, Inc.
- Alexis Diaz, Managing Director, G100 and General Counsel, G100 Companies
- Deborah Gillis, President and CEO, Catalyst
- Honorable Faith Hochberg, United States District Judge (Retired)
- David Perla, President, Bloomberg Law
- Deborah Rhode, Stanford Law School, Center on the Legal Profession
- Miriam Rivera, Venture Capitalist and Former VP/Deputy GC, Google
- Jim Sandman, President, Legal Services Corporation
- Tony West, General Counsel, PepsiCo
Team Advisors:
- Linda Chanow, Executive Director, Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas
- Ida Abbott, Consultant and Co-Founder, Hastings Women’s Leadership Academy
- Mark Beese, Founder, Leadership for Lawyers
- Avery Blank, Women’s Advocate and Business Strategist
- Rosalie Chamberlain, Leadership Coach and Diversity Expert
- Carol Frohlinger, President, Negotiating Women, Inc.
- Pat Gillette, Founder, Opt-In and Senior Counsel, Orrick
- Debbie Epstein Henry, Co-Founder, Bliss Lawyers and President, Flex-Time Lawyers
- Karen Hester, Executive Director, Center for Legal Inclusiveness
- Lisa Horowitz, Principal, Talent Strategy Group
- Katie Larkin-Wong, Immediate Past President, Ms. JD and Associate, Latham & Watkins
- Sang Lee, CEO, SJL Shannon and CEO, Lawyer Learning On Demand
- Manar Morales, CEO, Diversity & Flexibility Alliance
- Ellen Ostrow, Executive Coach and Consultant, Lawyers Life Coach LLC
- Amanda Packel, Deputy Director, Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University and CoDirector, Stanford Directors’ College
- Jennifer Queen, Consultant and Former Director of Talent at McKenna Long and Baker Botts
- Jennifer Waters, Executive Director, National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)
- Sandra Yamate, Executive Director, Institute for Inclusion in the Legal Profession
- Jennifer Zimmerman, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley