MWL’s Partnership Leadership Council: Celebrating Leadership, Innovation & Collaboration
“Minnesota Women Lawyers’ Partner Leadership Council is focused on innovation and growth for our members, our legal employer partners, and MWL. The PLC provides an opportunity for MWL to more closely collaborate with our partners – by providing a forum for sharing ideas, tackling challenges, and driving change, while also ensuring that MWL remains relevant and responsive to the needs of our members. On an individual level, PLC representatives become part of a cohort of attorneys connected across legal employers that can learn from one another, further develop professional leadership skills, and ultimately rise together,” states Kristin Haugen, FY21-22 MWL president, co-founder of the MWL PLC and vice-president, Legal at LifeWorks.
Established in 2017, MWL created the PLC to bring together legal community leaders in support of MWL’s mission to advance the success of women attorneys. To that end, MWL’s partners are invited to appoint an attorney representative to the leadership group each year. Since its inception, the overarching goals of the PLC have remained constant: (1) to promote MWL’s mission and values by building collaborative relationships with, and between, its legal employer partners; (2) to bring leaders together in an exchange of ideas and best practices related to advancing women attorneys; and (3) to make specific recommendations to the MWL board of directors, particularly in light of MWL’s mission, values, strategic plan, and current trends in the legal profession.
“The PLC has provided a tremendous opportunity for MWL to capitalize on its relationships with key stakeholders and employers across the profession. Through this collaboration, the PLC supports the work of MWL and members also have the chance to meaningfully connect with one another,” states MWL Executive Director Debra Pexa.
Since its inception, members of the PLC have gathered to discuss the successes and the challenges experienced by women attorneys. Responsive to the needs and interests of PLC members and MWL partners, topics have included: leadership development; maintaining strong professional relationships; career satisfaction; best practices for the hiring, retention and promotion of women attorneys; and more. These gatherings have served as an important forum to share experiences and garner ideas. Recognizing and resources from other PLC mem-bers. MWL recognizes there aren’t one-size-fits-all solutions, MWL encourages members to use the PLC discussions to inspire creative approaches that will work well with their particular legal employer.
In a nod to the group’s growing success, the PLC collectively decided to “level-up” its efforts in early 2020. The group developed a more formal leadership structure, implementing a steering committee to provide further direction. The PLC is currently led by 2021 Co-Chairs Amy Erickson of Lathrop GPM and Navita Lakhram of Fredrikson & Byron, P.A., with steering committee members Allira Bailey, US Bank; Laura Bartlow, Zelle LLP; Shayne Hamann, Arthur Chapman; and Jessie Sogge, Quinlivan & Hughes.
Additionally in 2020, the PLC adopted the theme of “Opportunities for Professional Success,” with a specific focus on identifying strategies for retention, promotion, and pay equity for women attorneys. Given the intent to delve deeper into these critical issues, the PLC felt this focus was not only timely and relevant, but broad enough to encompass the many practice areas, practice types, and experience levels of PLC members and the diverse legal community. This year, the PLC also committed to creating a deliverable to be shared with the PLC’s legal employer partners in 2022. “The PLC is dedicated not only to identifying strategies for retention, promotion, and pay equity for women attorneys, but also to making a lasting impact in our community by sharing these strategies, encouraging legal employers to adopt policies that positively impact the professional success of women attorneys, and recognizing those organizations that take such steps,” states Erickson.
Despite the unexpected restraints of the pandemic, the PLC set out to
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