Conferences & Symposia

Hard Facts: Retaining and Advancing Women Lawyers in Challenging Economic Times

Friday, April 24, 2009

For more than a year, the University of Maryland School of Law and the Project for Attorney Retention at the Center for WorkLife Law have engaged in a major research project to explore the decisions male and female lawyers make in shaping their careers and assess their satisfaction with those decisions. Researchers gathered data from more than 600 surveys and held focus groups with attorneys representing a diversity of ages and career paths.

Join us as we present the results of this research, discuss challenges to developing and retaining talent, and explore strategies for enhancing career satisfaction and work-life balance in the legal profession.

Agenda

8:30 a.m.
Registration and Continental Breakfast

9:00 a.m.
Welcoming Remarks
Karen H. Rothenberg
Dean and Marjorie Cook Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law

9:15 a.m.
The Evidence Is In: The Results of the University Maryland School of Law Alumni Survey
Jana Singer
Professor of Law
University of Maryland School of Law

Paula A. Monopoli
Marbury Research Professor of Law and Founding Director, Women Leadership & Equality Program
University of Maryland School of Law

9:45 a.m.
The Hidden Barrier to Developing Talent: Eliminating Gender Bias in Evaluation and Compensation Systems
Cynthia Thomas Calvert
Co-Director
Project for Attorney Retention

10:30 a.m.
Break

10:45 a.m.
Strategies That Work: Innovation and Experience from the Field
Moderator: Teresa LaMaster
Associate Dean for Institutional Advancement
University of Maryland School of Law

Karen Popp
Partner Sidley Austin LLP

Heidi Hansan
Principal
Miles & Stockbridge

Laura L. Johnson
Member
Gordon, Feinblatt, Rothman, Hoffberger & Hollander, LLC

Valerie Granfield Roush
Sodexo, Inc.

12:00 p.m.
Lunch
What Is In It for Law Firms: The Client Perspective
Keynote Speaker: Thomas L. Sager
Senior Vice President and General Counsel
DuPont

1:15 p.m.
Closing remarks
Dana Morris
Assistant Dean for Career Development
University of Maryland School of Law

Conference Faculty

• Cynthia Thomas Calvert
• Heidi Hansan
• Laura Johnson
• Teresa LaMaster
• Paula Monopoli
• Dana Morris
• Karen Popp
• Valerie Granfield Roush
• Thomas L. Sager
• Jana Singer
• Project announced to alumni
• Professor Jana Singer discusses the Project
• Women, Leadership and Equality Program
• Project for Attorney Retention
• Career Development Office
• Office of Institutional Advancement