Gibbons Women's Initiative

Recent programs have covered legal topics such as trademark and licensing fundamentals, special education law, employee performance management and terminations, and employer concerns and responses to employee health issues, as well as business topics like corporate and nonprofit board selection and service, financial planning, and the importance of sustainability and “going green.” GWI also hosted a three-part seminar series on niche legal topics and trends in the areas of e-discovery, real estate, and employment law. In addition, the group has partnered with such organizations as the Financial Women’s Association, Rutgers University Center for Women and Work, Turnaround Management Association, Association of Corporate Counsel, and Women in E-Discovery to provide substantive programs to their members on issues relating to the advancement of women. Past social events GWI has hosted include an escape room adventure and a gala celebrating its 20th anniversary.

The firm also provides associate-to-associate mentoring and mentoring through GWI. The firm’s mentoring programs formalize the relationship between senior and junior attorneys and provide a means for the firm’s next generation to gain insight and assistance from more established attorneys. Junior attorneys develop action plans covering the areas on which they would like to focus, and mentors assist them in reaching their goals. Our director-to-associate and associate-to-associate mentoring programs provide valuable career guidance, institutional and professional knowledge, and support through careful mentor/mentee matching and monthly meetings.

The mentoring component of GWI has evolved over the years in several iterations, to reflect the most current interests and preferences of participants who meet to discuss sensitive issues, air viewpoints, learn personal and professional development strategies, and share ways of balancing family and work needs. In 2017, the Gibbons Women’s Initiative introduced a new mentoring program designed to assist women attorneys at all levels, including non-equity directors, to develop and advance in their careers through regular engagement and sharing of insight with the firm’s women equity directors and other senior women attorneys. The “Lunch-A-Month” program randomly assigns a diverse group of female attorneys to a monthly luncheon based on availability during three date and time options, so that different groups meet on different dates each month, and participants are not with the same group month after month, widening the scope of their relationships.

These monthly luncheons are generally organized by the two high-level women Directors who are required in each group. These Directors choose the location of their respective luncheons, communicate all details to their groups, guide conversations, and solicit follow-up. Personal business development and professional advancement, including advancement to the highest stages of leadership at the firm, have been regular topics across these luncheons, with those in seniority offering advice, personal case studies, and guidance.

GWI’s programming component also provides substantive legal and non-legal educational programs for an esteemed group of Gibbons attorneys and corporate women executives and leaders. In addition, Gibbons registers our women lawyers for outside training when we identify a need, including training run by the National Association of Women Lawyers, local and state bar association events, and other organizations.

GWI partners with the Gibbons Leadership Academy (GLA) for leadership training modules specialized for women attorneys, which explore and promote women’s unique leadership styles. One GLA/GWI co-production, Creating Your Personal Business Development Plan, was developed in conjunction with an external training consultant who has a particular niche working with women professionals. The program introduced the concrete, customizable action steps that women attorneys should take to develop business and otherwise advance their careers, presented in the context of client definitions of value and service. Creating Your Personal Business Development Plan was a multisession course, with extensive personal preparation assigned to each participant, along with hands-on instruction, role playing, and implementation assistance. All the firm’s women directors and counsel participated in this program.

Led by GWI’s Community Service Committee, GWI has assisted local underprivileged children by collecting backpacks, school supplies, clothing, and other critical items, and participated in the firm’s annual holiday food drive. GWI continues to help women in transition – for example, through business attire and accessories drives for the Dress for Success Campaign for women entering or re-entering the workforce.

If a member of the Women’s Initiative is made aware of a specific need by a local community organization, GWI will partner with that organization to help alleviate the crisis. For example, GWI hosted a “housewarming” donation drive benefiting women and their children being housed by the Jersey Battered Women’s Service (JBWS) center. GWI members donated hundreds of household items – from kitchen appliances to bed and bath necessities – to help these families transition out of crisis and start over in their own housing. Similarly, GWI organizes volunteer outings to the Community FoodBank of New Jersey. On one outing, the Gibbons volunteer team, which also included numerous clients and colleagues from the GWI invitation list, spent an evening sorting and packing food products for distribution to some of the 1,600 nonprofit organizations the FoodBank supports, which include emergency food pantries, shelters, and other group care settings throughout the state. GWI also led a firm-wide baby supply drive, throughout all offices, to assist four organizations that support four different communities served by Gibbons offices. Employees donated toys, baby food, bottles, pacifiers, diapers, infant and toddler clothing, and numerous other items, along with funds to supplement the donated items.

This outreach focus is a natural progression following the successful leadership roles that certain GWI members have had in other women’s groups. For example, we were long active with the New Jersey Council on Gender Parity since its inception, helping to create national and statewide programs and research projects addressing gender equity issues in various professions, and successfully fundraising for one of the largest regional studies of women lawyers in the country. The Council’s 2009 report provided a review of the current state of the legal profession for women, insight into how women lawyers perceived their careers and futures, and best practices to help firms retain women lawyers. Additional organizations with which the Gibbons Women’s Initiative has been involved include:

The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL): Gibbons attorneys are exceptionally active with NAWL, the leading national voluntary organization devoted to the interests of women lawyers, women’s legal rights, and the unique concerns of women in the legal profession. A Gibbons Director is a past President of the organization; firm Directors have served in other Executive Board capacities and as chairs of various committees and have won the organization’s Virginia S. Mueller Outstanding Member Award. Gibbons regularly sponsors NAWL events, including legal educational seminars and webinars that our attorneys plan and at which they present, and we partner with NAWL on charitable and community outreach projects, such as a recent benefit for “The Pajama Program,” which provides new pajamas to children in need.

Several Gibbons attorneys have co-chaired NAWL’s annual meeting program committee, helping to shape the comprehensive agenda for the organization’s yearly gathering, and several others have given well-received presentations at these events. Specific presentations we have helped develop include “The Pipeline to Equity Partnership: The Skills, Strategies, and Stumbling Blocks Senior Women Lawyers Encounter on Their Path to Reach Equity Status” and “Getting to Win/Win: Strategies for Employers to Overcome Unconscious Bias and Empower the Success of Women Attorneys.”

The New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA): NJWLA is engaged in statewide efforts to support and promote its members to high-level positions in law firms, government, academia, corporations, and the judiciary; foster leadership development through professional activities, mentoring, educational programs, and networking functions; and retain women of all backgrounds in the legal profession. Gibbons attorneys are active members of NJWLA and have been consistently represented on NJWLA’s board, serving the Association in a variety of leadership roles, including as directors of programming, best practices, membership, endorsements, and amicus.

Diversity & Flexibility Alliance: Gibbons is a member of this national organization, which is dedicated to advancing women lawyers and improving work/life balance for all lawyers, and participates in its benchmarking surveys and assessments designed to highlight challenges and opportunities. GWI members have served on panels at the organization’s annual meetings, covering such topics as “Innovative Ways to Implement Flexibility” and “Best Practices for Creating, Supporting, and Being a Successful Part-Time Partner.”

New Jersey State Bar Association (NJSBA): A GWI member served as At-Large Trustee of the NJSBA, a position designated for a woman by the NJSBA bylaws and Board of Trustees to advocate for the women lawyers of the state and work to increase the involvement of women in the organization. Our attorneys have also been active in the NJSBA’s Women in the Profession Section.