Thomson Reuters Legal Executive Institute and Shearman & Sterling held a fascinating “TED-Style” event Thursday at the law firm’s New York office. To a full house, three women speakers addressed three important topics: convincing women to run for elected offices; the future of blockchain technology; and the recent “Women in the Law Hackathon” that was sponsored by Stanford Law and Bloomberg Law.

Charlotte Rushton
Charlotte Rushton

 

In related news, Thomson Reuters has launched a new monthly newsletter, “Gaveling the Glass Ceiling.

Charlotte Rushton, Managing Director, Large and Medium Law Firms at Thomson Reuters (legal business) wrote the first post, summing up the reasons why it’s necessary and where they plan to go.

Rushton noted that earlier this year, TR launched the “Transforming Women’s Leadership in the Law” initiative, identifying “the goal of repositioning the conversation away from what women can do and instead placing greater onus on law firms, general counsel offices and the overall legal industry.”

TR plans “a series of curated events, written content, podcasts and videos geared to highlight and educate on the structural barriers in organizations that often inhibit women’s professional development,” she said. More importantly, they will provide ways to remove barriers at firms and corporations, Rushton noted. (Rushton also participated in the TR/SS event, wrapping up the evening.)

Action, Not Just Talking

 

 

Back to the presentations

Jenny Waters, Executive Director, National Association of Women Lawyers, discussed the  Diversity Lab Women in Law Hackathon results. The group included 54 partners from law firms across the U.S. and nine Stanford Law School students, who worked together (virtually) in teams of seven, from January to June 2016 to design a project or initiative focused on increasing the retention and advancement of women in elite U.S. firms,” explained the law school. Then, in “Shark Tank-style” presentations, the teams presented their ideas to a panel of judges June 23-24. The top three teams chose what non-profits would get the bounty, donated by Bloomberg Law (1st place $10,000, 2nd place $7,500, 3rd place $5,000).

Read more about it:
SLS: “https://law.stanford.edu/event/women-law-hackathon/
ABA Journal: http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/10k_prize_winning_hackathon_team_dreamed_up_new_compensation_model/
Bloomberg Big Law Business: http://www.bna.com/bloomberg-law-play-pr57982073796/

Action, Not Just Talking 2

 

• Joyce Shen, Director, Emerging Technology Partnerships & Investments at Thomson Reuters, provided a terrific introduction to blockchain technology and it’s potentials for financial services and the legal industry.

 

Erin Loos Cutraro, CEO and Co-Founder of She Should Run, argued for more women to run for elected public offices. She also stressed the importance of encouraging young girls to lead. She Should Run was launched in 2011, to encourage women to “amplify the value of diverse voices in government.” And encouragement starts early—there is even a campaign to help young girls gain confidence with Barbie dolls.

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Monica Bay is a Fellow at CodeX and a freelance journalist and analyst. Email: mbay@codex.stanford.edu.  Twitter: @MonicaBay

Cover image: Clipart.com