The importance of professional networking, both to advance ones own career and to further equality between the sexes at top companies, was a key theme on Monday at a panel discussion on the rise of women general counsel at Fortune 500 companies, presented by the New York City Bar Association.
The panel was led by Allstate general counsel Michele Coleman Mayes and SNR Denton partner Kara Baysinger, co-authors of a book on the topic, Courageous Counsel: Conversations with Women General Counsel in the Fortune 500. Other general counsel on the panel included Christine Rivera of the hedge fund management firm Optima, Laura Brandt of Syms/Filene’s Basement, Priscilla Hughes of Thomson Reuters, and Deborah Bello of Prudential.
The speakers offered their reflections on the rise of gender equality in both the corporate world and the legal profession. From the mid-1970s, when not a single company on the Fortune 500 list employed a woman general counsel, to today, with women holding the position at one-fifth of the Fortune 500, the progress is striking, but the GCs also warned their audience against complacency.
“Women need to extend a hand and help each other,” said Baysinger, a member of her firms leadership team who also heads its insurance regulation practice, “and that’s not to the detriment of men.”
Mayes and Baysinger launched the discussion by saying that in the process of interviewing 50 general counsel for their book, they found there was no secret recipe common to the women who had reached the top in-house legal post at Fortune 500 companies. But they noted that being canny about networking was one ingredient that no aspiring general counsel could do without, no matter how talented, industrious, and persevering she may be. Too many women make the mistake of thinking that showing dedication and producing results are all thats required to get them where they want to be, the speakers said, and they neglect to form and maintain professional relationships.
Baysinger told the audiencecomprised of a few hundred lawyers and law students, the vast majority of whom were womento seek out mentors and allies both within and outside their companies throughout their career. Reach out, “even if you don’t know them,” said Baysinger.
Mayes, who has 30 years of in-house counsel experience, is the former general counsel of Pitney Bowes and will soon leave Allstate to take up the GC post at the New York Public Library, concurred. Im a firm believer that if you dont ask, you dont get, she said.
Mayes said that when she first realized she was interested working as a general counsel, she told her boss, Andy Hendry, at Unisys. He said: Youre lacking so many things. But once he understood her goal, Hendry helped recruit Mayes to Colgate-Palmolive, where he soon became general counsel, to give her the opportunity to round out the skills she would need to fulfill her ambition.
The key, Mayes said, is to be strategic in seeking help and feedback from those whom you admireand whose jobs you aspire to. “Don’t ask for things in a way that’s threatening,” said Mayes. “Say: ‘I aspire to be like you, even if that means leaving this company, and I want feedback. “
The evening ended with an offer to the audience of free membership to the New York Bar Association for one year, driving home a central point from the evenings speakers: Seek out mentors and contacts, and remember that a successful professional networking circle shouldnt be confined to your office.
See also: “NY Public Library Law Dept is Next Step for Allstate GC,” CorpCounsel, June 2012.
