Women in Law Hackathon

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The Women in Law Hackathon is an event sponsored by Stanford Law School, Diversity Lab, and Bloomberg Law. The first event of its kind, the Hackathon is a Shark Tank style pitch competition to generate innovative ideas and solutions that will lead to greater retention and advancement of experienced women in law firms.

We have enlisted 54 high-level partners from law firms across the U.S. and 9 SLS students to work together (virtually) in teams of 7 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. The teams will then present their ideas in person to a panel of judges at the pitch event at Stanford Law School on June 24, 2016.  The top three winning teams will grant the prize money donated by Bloomberg Law (1st place $10,000, 2nd place $7,500, 3rd place $5,000) to their choice of a non-profit organization that is advancing women in the legal profession and beyond.

Logistics

The teams have been participating in virtual group meetings twice a month since January 2016. They have received educational material sharing data, trends, and other resources to assist them in developing their proposals. The teams will meet in-person in Palo Alto, California at Stanford Law School June 23-24 to pitch their solutions to the judges.

(1) Hackathon Kickoff (January 2016)
  • Program Overview & Pitch Guidelines
  • Brief Overview of the Challenges & Current Data on Women
    • Current Data on Women in Law Firms – Jim Leipold/Sandra Yamate
    • Flex Time and Other Options – Manar Morales
    • Catalyst – Emily Zuckerman
    • Pay/Billing/Rate Gender Gap – Silvia Hodges Silverstein
    • Trial Lawyers – Stephanie Scharf
    • Center for Talent Innovation – TBD
    • Deloitte Millennial Study – TBD
  • Homework – Check In Discussions w/ Women at the Firm
(2) The Factors That Contribute to Lawyer Success, Engagement and Retention/Attrition (January 2016)
  • Rainmaking Traits – Pat Gillette
  • High Performing Lawyers Research – Caren Stacy
  • AmLaw Mid-Level Survey Analysis – Courtney Carter
  • Lawyer Brains – Dr. Larry Richard
  • Positive Psychology – Paula Davis Laack
  • Happiness Project – TBD
  • Culture Gap, Catalyst – TBD
  • Mindset Research – Courtney Chavez, Center for Women in Law
  • Collaboration – Heidi Garner, Harvard
  • Yale Law School/Harvard Business School Study – TBD
  • MCCA, Harvard Blind Spot Study/Unconscious Bias Data – TBD
  • Daniel Pink, Drive
(3) Clients Affecting Change and Other Motivating Factors – How to Start Movements in Law Firms (February 2016)
  • Clients: Walmart, Microsoft Metrics Bonus, JP Morgan and Morgan Stanley
  • Change Agents/Tipping Points: Ratings/Rankings, Competition, Values, Attrition, Management Push/Pull, Clients’ Business
  • Change Management Expert, Susan Letterman White
(4) Innovative Programs in Law and Beyond (February 2016)
  • Opt In
  • OnRamp Fellowship
  • LCLD Fellows
  • Power to Fly
  • BoardList, DirectWomen, and 30% Club
  • Pink Petro
  • Men as Allies Campaign
  • Rock the Street, Wall Street
  • Ladder Down
  • G100, Next Gen Leadership
  • Pipeline Fellowship
  • Girls in Tech, Raise Awareness Campaign

(5) Team Meetings & Brainstorming Commences (March 2016)
(6) Initial Idea Feedback from Group Advisors (April 2016)
(7) Team Meetings Continue (April – June 2016)

(8) In-Person Hackathon Event (June 23-24, 2016)
Wednesday, June 22, 2016
 6pm Cocktails & Informal Dinner (Optional)
Thursday, June 23, 2016
 9:00-10:00am Agenda Overview & TED Style Introductions by Team
10:00am-12:30pm Team Prep for Pitch to Preliminary Judges/Advisors
11:30am-12:30pm Lunch Served
12:30pm-2:30pm Preliminary Pitches to Preliminary Judges/Advisors (4 Teams)
2:30-2:45pm Break
2:45-4:45pm Preliminary Pitches to Preliminary Judges/Advisors (4 Teams)
4:45-6:15pm Team Meetings – Pitch Refinement
6:30pm Cocktails & Dinner w/ Teams, Judges & Advisors
Friday, June 24, 2016
 8:30-10:00am Team Meetings – Pitch Refinement Continued
10:00-11:00am Final Pitches to Judges (4 teams)
11:00-11:15am Break
11:15am-12:15pm Final Pitches to Judges (4 teams)
12:15-1:00pm Lunch & Bloomberg/Sponsor Presentation (Judge Deliberations)
1:00-1:30pm Announcement of Awards & Next Steps

Hackathon Itinerary:

itinerary

Hackathon Participants:

Deborah L. Rhode

"The Hackathon is an important project for a law school and legal profession center that cares about leveling the playing field for women. Although women constitute half of new entrants of the profession, they remain grossly underrepresented at leadership levels. The Hackathon is an opportunity to think outside the box about the causes of that underrepresentation and the strategies most likely to address it." —Deborah L. Rhode, Director of the Center on the Legal Profession, E.W. McFarland Professor of Law

Retaining & Advancing Women in National Law Firms


"As a 1L, I took a class on the private practice of law and was completely shocked to learn that only 18% of equity partners at law firms were women, even in 2015. I wanted to participate in the Hackathon to change this, and to help create innovative ways to retain and advance women in private law firms. From my participation in the Hackathon, I've learned that most law firms are very aware of the fact that their current systems aren't working to advance women, but just don't know how to fix the problem. There's a sense of genuine confusion about how to proceed. When I applied to law school, I heard over and over again that 50% of law school graduates were women, and really didn't think there were serious problems for women in the legal field anymore. Now, I am very aware of the fact that there is a problem, and that without some kind of intervention the problem is not going to solve itself." —Grace Chediak, JD '17

Rachel Boochever


"Coming from a family of lawyers, both male and female, I was exposed at a young age to the gender gap in the legal field. Now, as a female going into law, I would like to be able to contribute to closing that gap. Working with partners has exposed me to some of the barriers women must overcome, but it has also encouraged me that change is taking place." —Rachel Boochever, JD '18

Retaining & Advancing Women in National Law Firms 1


"I am participating in the hackathon because I am a strong believer in supporting and increasing women in leadership positions throughout society. As someone who aspires to be a partner at a law firm one day but is shocked by the startling low percentages of women (and women of color) partners at law firms, I am excited to participate in the hackathon and work on such an important initiative. Participating in the hackathon has fueled my fire to practice law to not only benefit individuals but to help shape the future of law and society." —Abigail X. Xu, JD '18

Retaining & Advancing Women in National Law Firms 3


"I decided to participate in the Hackathon because I was excited to have the opportunity to explore such an important and pervasive issue while engaging directly with legal professionals from around the country. So far, the experience has taught me that matters of gender equality are much more nuanced than I could have possibly imagined."—Courtney Sladic, JD '17

Erika Douglas


"For me, the Hackathon is an essential opportunity to help law firms achieve the social and economic benefits of diversity, given the legal industry’s preference toward tradition over change. At a personal level, it’s also about keeping my brilliant female friends happy in the profession so that we can become equity partners together!" —Erika Douglas, LL.M. '16


Participating Firms:

  • Sidley
  • Orrick
  • White & Case
  • Akin Gump
  • Neal Gerber
  • Jenner & Block
  • Weil Gotshal
  • Fish & Richardson
  • Reed Smith
  • Morrison Foerster
  • Holland & Hart
  • Akerman
  • Goodwin Procter
  • Vinson & Elkins
  • Seyfarth Shaw
  • Hogan Lovells
  • Skadden
  • Munger Tolles
  • Arnold & Porter
  • Haynes & Boone
  • Holland & Knight
  • Farella
  • Little Mendelson
  • Andrews Kurth
  • Cooley
  • Miller Canfield
  • Gibson Dunn
  • Fried Frank
  • Morgan Lewis
  • Baker Botts
  •  Kirklan
  • Bass Berry
  • Covington
  • Sullivan Cromwell
  • Dentons
  • Perkins Coie
  • Sutherland
  • Pillsbury
  • Simpson Thacher
  • Troutman Sanders
  • Wilson Sonsini
  • Fasken Martineau DuMoulin
  • WilmerHale
  • Husch Blackwell
  • O’Melveny Myers
  • DLA Piper
  • Fenwick
  • Winston & Strawn
  • FaegreBD
  • Kramer Levin
  • Cleary
  • Bank Rome
  • Paul Hastings
  • Finnegan

Pitch Event Judges

  • Tony West, General Counsel, PepsiCo
  • Deborah Gillis, President & CEO, Catalyst
  • Lucy Endel Bassil, Assistant General Counsel, Microsoft
  • Jim Sandman, President, Legal Services Corporation
  • Alexis Diaz, Managing Director, G100 & General Counsel, G100 Companies
  • Deborah Rhode, Stanford Law School, Center on the Legal Profession
  • Miriam Rivera, Venture Capitalist & Former Google VP/Deputy GC
  • David Perla, President, Bloomberg Law
  • Alan Bryan, Senior Associate General Counsel, Legal Operations – Outside Counsel Management, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc.

Team Advisors:

  • Katie Larkin-Wong, Immediate Past President, Ms. JD
  • Sang Lee, CEO, SJL Shannon
  • Ida Abbott, Hastings Women’s Leadership Academy
  • Ellen Ostrow, Leadership Coach
  • Debbie Epstein Henry, Founder, Bliss Lawyers/Law and ReOrder
  • Sandra Yamete, Executive Director, Institute for Diversity & Inclusion in the Legal Profession
  • Karen Hester, Executive Director, Center for Legal Inclusiveness
  • Pat Gillette, Opt-In Founder/Orrick Senior Counsel
  • Linda Chanow, Executive Director, Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas
  • Carol Frohlinger, Founder, Negotiating Women
  • Manar Morales, CEO, Diversity & Flexibility Alliance
  • Jennifer Zimmerman, Executive Director, Morgan Stanley
  • Amanda Packel, Deputy Director, Rock Center for Corporate Governance at Stanford University & Co-Director, Stanford Directors’ College
  • Lisa Horowitz, Principal, Talent Strategy Group
  • Jennifer Waters, Executive Director, National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL)
  • Mark Beese, Founder, Leadership for Lawyers
  • Rosalie Chamberlain, Organizational Inclusion Consultant & Executive Coach
  • Avery Blank, Women’s Advocate & Business Strategist

Organizers

Office of Career Services

Deborah L. Rhode Center on the Legal Profession