Morgan Lewis

Women's Summit Panel Focuses on Flextime, Staffing, The Legal Intelligencer

by: The Legal Intelligencer
  • date:

    06/23/2008
  • news source:

    Morgan Lewis In the News

Philadelphia Managing Partner Gordon Cooney's comments were prominently featured in a Legal Intelligencer article, "Women's Summit Panel Focuses on Flextime, Staffing" on June 23, which was subsequently picked up by the National Law Journal on June 25. The article summarized comments by Mr. Cooney, and those of other large firm managing partners, during the Philadelphia Bar Association's first Women in the Profession Summit. Mr. Cooney and the other panelists discussed trends in women's initiatives across firms, including flex scheduling. Mr. Cooney said that in order to support flex-time scheduling, a firm needs to have strong leadership and ensure that partners are supporting attorneys who take advantage of the program. He went on to detail the firm's upward review process, including describing upward-review questions in which associates evaluate a partner's commitment to the firm's diversity initiatives and support of associates working on a flex-time arrangement. He said the alternative work schedules have been successful at Morgan Lewis, citing that almost 20% of women who were elevated to partner [over a five year period] were on alternative schedules.