Amy M. Gardner’s Post

Recently Amy was leaving a board meeting and grabbed a sandwich on the way out the door. A block later, another female lawyer who serves on the board caught up with her. She said she just wanted to tell Amy that she admires her grace, calm, and how “together” she is. Amy said thank you and went on her way, starting to eat her sandwich as she walked home through Chicago's Loop. As she walked and ate, a piece of cheese dropped out of her sandwich. She thought, “well, a rat will be happy” and kept walking. A few minutes later, she arrived home and took off her shoes. That's when she found the cheese. In her left shoe. How often have you had those moments lately? Someone tells you they appreciate something about you, and you think they must have confused you with someone else, because you're sure they aren't describing you. Because they see the frontstage version, and the backstage version you see looks like a dozen cats chasing different laser pointers. As a female lawyer in a crazy market, with a presidential election looming, wondering what is going to come out of the Supreme Court next, and always expected to have it all together -- for your family, for your friends, for your clients, for those you supervise, and those who supervise you -- just showing up day after day can be challenging. And then you try to meet all the expectations others have for you -- and your own high standards. Oof. That's why we're hosting an informal, off-the-record discussion on what it means to be a female lawyer in 2024. It will be Wednesday, January 17 on Zoom at 11:30 a.m. CT / 12:30 p.m. ET. We'll talk about the challenges facing women lawyers, and what's worked (and not) for other female lawyers. Join us by registering at https://lnkd.in/eMJ2tGz7 #lawfirms #womeninlaw #lawyers #lawyer #apochromatik

Yesterday I had the great pleasure of facilitating a discussion with a group of women lawyers from all over the US, and even one UK-based lawyer. We talked, essentially, about how things are going. As everyone was sharing their concerns and strategies, I noticed how much commonality there was, regardless of life stage or career path. Everyone is stressed right now, with levels ranging from “this is hard” to “how am I going to get through?” Thank you to everyone who attended and participated so openly and honestly. As one attendee told me afterwards, “It was wonderful to be part of a community for that hour.” We often say that women in our attorney masterminds come for the content (building the career and life they want — even if they start off not knowing what that is) and stay for the community. If you’re at a point in your legal career where you are ready for outside support —whether 1:1 coaching or in our small group attorney masterminds — schedule a confidential conversation at aposignup.com/well And if you feel like you’re struggling with ALL. THE. THINGS., know you aren’t alone — your community is out there, and you just have to find it and then seize the chance to join it. 📷: Some of the members of the 2023 Future in Focus Accelerators group meeting in Austin in the fall: Melissa Pina, Liz Winiarski, Lydia Keaney Reynolds, Sarah Miller, Stephanie Cueman, Sarah Grimm, Julie Baker, and Katy Eldridge. (Missing Elisabeth (Bette) Muirhead, Ashleigh Stochel, and Keesha Warmsby.) #womeninlaw #lawyers #apochromatik

NOTES FROM JOY Counsel (April 15- April 19) "Integrity is an inner resource that we all have, the question is, do we exercise it? By not doing so, it atrophies." (Brian Luke Seaward, Ph.D.) Lately, we have more and more opportunities to get clarity on what we stand for. As lawyers, we are offered many opportunities to wield influence and otherwise impact others. This week think about what's driving the bus in your public capacity as a legal professional and in the myriad of roles you play outside of your work life. Is it past pain? Insecurity? Our values? A desire to help others? No one answer is better than the other as it’s just a summation of where we happen to be in this moment. However, the daily grind propelled by these unconscious factors contributes to us "being asleep at the wheel" of our lawyer lives. Being awake is a choice that we benefit from both personally and professionally. #LoveYourLawyerLife #theinnerlifeoflawyering #lawyerwellness --- Hi, I’m Idara and I work with women lawyers who struggle with prioritizing their self-care by leveraging practices and approaches they never learned in law school so they can finally enjoy the personal and professional well-being they deserve.  

Join us TONIGHT ON ZOOM for a terrific panel discussion on Considerations for Going In-House Link to register is below

I am closing out my series on Trials and Tribulations of a former BigLaw associate. Watch this week's #Driving Diversity for my top five recommendations for #MomLawyers on how to balance a demanding career with motherhood. For the other #MomLawyers out there, what top recommendations would you give to a woman lawyer just entering motherhood? Please share them below! #MomLawyer #WomenInLaw #WomenInIP

The verdict is in, and our team of incredible female legal professionals has been found guilty of empowering women and shaping the future of family law. 👩⚖️ From mentoring the next generation of female lawyers to inspiring future leaders with fearless passion, we couldn't be prouder to have such an inspiring group of women on our team. From the courtroom to the community, we can trust that the future of law is in great hands! 🙌 Ft. Olivia D'Ammizio, Jessica Santucci, and Ekroop Sekhon . . #womeninlaw #femaleattorneys #femalelawyers #womenshistorymonth #womenempowerment #lawfirm #lawfirms #familylaw #familylawyer #lawyerlife #legalprofessional #legalprofessionals #womeninleadership #womenleaders #femaleleaders

Always good to see strides in the right direction as the practice of law becomes more diverse every day.

Not always comfortable but certainly needed conversations about the state of the legal profession. Excerpt from my discussion with the ABA's Litigation Radio about women and women of color in the legal profession: Only 4% of non-equity partners are women of color including Black women, Asian women, Hispanic women, Indigenous women. …and only 3% of equity partners are women of color… 70% of women of color attorneys reported leaving or considering leaving the profession. One of the authors I cite is Dr. Tsedale M. Melaku…the title of her book is You Don't Look Like a Lawyer: Black Women and Systemic Gendered Racism. She talks about the invisible labor, the additional taxes that women of color pay for inclusion into this social professional space…when you look at the history of the legal profession…the social aspects of the legal profession, advancement within the legal profession … traditional promotion practices, training practices, just the overall social-professional culture, it was established by white men for the benefit of white men. And so when you inject women of color into that environment, and with Black women especially, we’re on the opposite end of that spectrum, and trying to navigate an environment and a system that simply was never designed for us in the first place. …until we [as a profession] start addressing and acknowledging that issue and then looking at ways to design promotion practices, design training practices, adjusting the culture of law firms in ways that are more inclusive, in ways that do take into consideration diversity of race, diversity of gender, we’re going to continue to see these abysmal numbers. https://lnkd.in/e68yxjQT

In today's episode of #DrivingDiversity, Elaine Spector discusses a sensitive topic that many women attorneys have experienced in their law practice. Watch to learn more. #WomenInLaw #WomenInIP #DiversityMatters

Proud to be sponsoring next week's International Women's Day breakfast. Queensland Young Lawyers have brought together a fantastic panel and we can't wait to hear their stories. We hope to see you there next week! #womeninlaw #internationalwomensday2024 #internationalwomensday #careersinlaw #legalcareeradvisors #jobsinlaw #legaljobs #legalcareers #careeradvice #salaryadvice #lawjobs #lawyerslife #lawyerlife #lawyer #juniorlawyers #lawyer #lawyersoflinkedin #lawyers Bianca Faulke-Tanner Ross Dakin Peter Liaw