Grit, the secret to advancement : stories of successful women lawyers

This unique volume contains new research by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession begun two years ago on grit and growth mindset, two traits that have been shown to impact the success of women lawyers. The author of this book conducted the "first round" of research that applied these traits to women lawyers, specifically, in large law firms. In August 2013, ABA Commission on Women in the Profession launched the Grit Project, which relied upon this and earlier important research on these traits. The Grit Project struck a nerve, and it was clear that women in environments beyond BigLaw were interested in these principles. The Commission decided to expand Dr. Hogan's research to all legal work environments - and also wanted to dig deeper and go beyond these findings to hear from women for whom grit and growth mindset were important to their careers and their success. The result is the collection of 47 letters contained in this volume. These contributors represent a diverse group of women and all work environments; solo practice; small, medium, and large firms; corporations; government; and nonprofits.

• From the Chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession p. ix
• Introduction p. xi
• Chapter 1 Important Definitions, Methodology, and Key Findings p. 1
• Chapter 2 Solo Practitioners p. 33
• Helen B. Bloch p. 46
• Robin Bresky p. 50
• Brenda J. Edwards p. 54
• Leslie A. Jaluria p. 57
• Barbara N. Lyons p. 61
• Dena Silliman Nielson p. 65
• Valerie C. Randoms p. 68
• Karen Green Rosin p. 72
• Anne Thomas Sulton p. 76
• Chapter 3 Law Firm Lawyers p. 79
• Roula Allouch p. 98
• Dominica C. Anderson p. 101
• Sheryl L. Axelrod p. 103
• Helen Darras Bather p. 107
• Laurel G. Bellows p. 110
• Kelly M. Bonnevie p. 114
• Jocelyn Cara Bramble p. 117
• Paulette Brown p. 121
• Ingrid Busson-Hall p. 125
• Elizabeth J. Cabraser p. 129
• Alissa Chambers p. 132
• Antoinette M. "Toni" Jackson p. 136
• Elaine Johnson James p. 139
• Nancy E. Joerg p. 143
• Linda A. Klein, presented p. 147 Wendy Huff Ellard
• Roberta "Bobbi" Liebenberg p. 151
• Heather Macre p. 155
• Patricia Nemeth p. 158
• Susan I. Paquet p. 161
• Thomasina Real Bird p. 164
• Sandra Brown Sherman p. 168
• Elizabeth Lee Thompson p. 171
• Julie M. Walker p. 175
• Marguerite S. Willis p. 179
• Patricia Wise p. 181
• Valinda Barrett Wolfert p. 183
• Kareen Zeitounzian p. 186
• Chapter 4 In-House Lawyers p. 189
• Toni Camacho p. 205
• Stephanie Goble p. 208
• Anna M. Lozoya p. 210
• Pamela Nelson p. 212
• Evelyn Sullen Smith p. 215
• Sandra Zubik p. 219
• Chapter 5 Government and Nonprofit Lawyers p. 223
• Kathryn Pirrotta Caballero p. 236
• Juanita C. Hernández p. 240
• Noorain F. Khan p. 244
• Alice Shih LaCour p. 247
• Ginger Ehn Lew p. 250
• Conclusion p. 255
• Appendix A What Employers Can Do p. 257
• Appendix B ABA Commission on Women in the Profession Grit Project p. 261
• Appendix C Summary of the Research on Grit, Growth Mindset, and Women Lawyers p. 263
• About the Author p. 293
• About the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession p. 295
• Author Index p. 297