Skip Navigation

 
The Florida Bar
www.floridabar.org
The Florida Bar News
click to print this page  click to e-mail the address for this page 
November 15, 2012

Pictured from the left are Sia Baker-Barnes, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair; Adam Rabin, PBCBA president; Young; and Sarah Shullman, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair.
FLORIDA BAR PRESIDENT GWYNNE YOUNG recently spoke to a sold-out crowd of nearly 200 members of the Palm Beach County Bar Association on the topic of Women In the Law. Members who attended the program have a greater understanding of the challenges facing women lawyers who attempt to reach equity partnership while balancing family and personal obligations. Pictured from the left are Sia Baker-Barnes, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair; Adam Rabin, PBCBA president; Young; and Sarah Shullman, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair.

Palm Beach County Bar promotes diversity

The Palm Beach County Bar Association recently hosted its biennial diversity luncheon to raise awareness and discuss strategies for successfully promoting, retaining, and advancing female lawyers.

The luncheon featured a keynote address from Florida Bar President Gwynne Young, and a panel discussion featuring lawyers from the public and private sector, corporate counsel, and managing partners.

“It is important to hear how women attorneys can rise to leadership positions and why law firms should support them,” said Sarah Shullman, diversity and inclusion committee co-chair.

Adam Rabin moderated the panel discussion, which included 15th Circuit Judge Robin Rosenberg, who discussed how women can profile themselves for appointment or election to the judiciary and how women should be honest about the demands of balancing work and family. Elisa Garcia, general counsel of Office Depot, talked about why clients hire law firms that retain and promote women and other diverse attorneys and why supporting women attorneys makes good business sense.

Tracy Gerber of Greenberg Traurig discussed how women attorneys can rise to leadership positions and the importance of having a mentor and sponsor for support.

Lou Mrachek of Page, Mrachek, Fitzgerald & Rose explained how managing partners can retain women attorneys at their firms. Sia Baker-Barnes, a working mother and attorney with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart & Shipley, talked about how she successfully juggles being a mother of two young children and life as a trial lawyer. Allison Kahn of Carlton Fields said flex-time attorneys can remain effective, valuable, and profitable to firms.

Young shared ways for firms can retain talented women lawyers by offering alternative work schedules and providing support for those women who seek to become equity partners.

The program was recorded in its entirety and approved for CLE credit by The Florida Bar. Copies are available on the PBCBA website at www.palmbeachbar.org or call (561) 687-2800.

[Revised: 04-12-2013]