Kramer Levin Women’s Initiative

The Women’s Initiative of Kramer Levin is committed to creating and maintaining an environment where women can flourish and become leaders in the legal community, both inside and outside the firm. Below are some of the recent initiatives and programs led by this group.

Tacos and Trivia. More than 50 women clients joined 50 of the firm’s women lawyers for Trivia Night and Taco Tuesday on Nov. 12, 2019. Big Quiz Thing provided the trivia and a game show atmosphere, as teams feasted on tacos and vied for prizes by answering questions about prominent women in the arts, sports and industry. The winners received medals and picked Toys for Tots to receive a donation from the firm.

^{Trivia Night and Taco Tuesday}

Tracking Progress. Five women attorneys from Kramer Levin will participate in Diversity Lab’s 2020 OnTrack initiative. OnTrack provides continuous support to proteges and their sponsorship teams to avoid the pitfalls of traditional sponsorship programs, including unclear goals, unconscious bias and competing demands for participants’ time.

Becoming an AGILE Leader. Alycia Sutor, the managing director of GrowthPlay, gave a presentation on developing AGILE leadership qualities — Authenticity, Generosity, Intentionality, Leadership Mindedness, Engaged and Energizing — in order to have an impact on clients, prospects and those within the firm. Alycia’s Oct. 2, 2019 breakfast presentation covered a number of topics, including an other-centric philosophy and orientation that improves communication and leadership; the primary components that impede or promote effective leadership and trust-building; specific tactics, disciplines and behaviors that elevate the effectiveness of a leadership brand, create loyalty and inspire others; and shifting the mindset of leadership and relationship-building in order to increase receptivity, relevance and reach. Alycia serves as the co-chair of the Talent Development Committee for the Legal Marketing Association (LMA) and is a past president of the LMA’s international board of directors. She speaks frequently on business development topics and is a guest instructor at the Chicago-Kent College of Law.

Addressing Imposter Syndrome. Lisa Kaplowitz, a finance professor and director of the Initiative for Women in Business at Rutgers Business School, led a session titled “Being Comfortable With Your Corporate Persona.” Her Dec. 9, 2019 lunch presentation addressed the concept of imposter syndrome and ways to overcome it.

 
^{Lisa Kaplowitz}

Girl Scout Leadership. Former Kramer Levin partner Jennifer Rochon returned on Oct. 21, 2019 to share her experiences as the first-ever general counsel of Girl Scouts of the USA (GSUSA) at a small-group networking lunch. Jennifer, who joined the GSUSA in 2013, discussed her work overseeing the legal affairs of the organization, which includes ensuring compliance with all applicable laws and regulations, protecting Girl Scout assets, and implementing appropriate risk-management processes. As a litigation partner at Kramer Levin, Jennifer was the first woman to serve on the firm’s Executive Committee. She also chaired the firm’s Women’s Initiative Committee, which focused on improving the recruitment, retention and advancement of female attorneys.