Name: Lynn J. Loacker

Category: Law Firm: Collaborative Leadership

Firm/Company: Davis Wright Tremaine

Title: Partner-in-Charge

Time in Position: Since 2014

What was your route to the top?

Since 1979, I have practiced at four firms, including my current firm, Davis Wright Tremaine, with my practice focusing broadly on corporate finance and M&A. I have served on the management committees of and held leadership positions at three of those firms. I am currently the partner in charge of the New York office of DWT and chair the firm's Diversity and Inclusion Committee. In 2016, I founded Project W, which is DWT's commitment to helping women build great companies and successful careers. Through Project W, we are developing the next generation of women leaders and partners at the firm by supporting and empowering the next ­generation of clients who are women and people of color. We are doing this around the country through our own programs, such as our daylong bootcamps for women entrepreneurs, our ­industry-focused networks led by women associates and partners, and our numerous partnerships with like-minded organizations focused on the advancement of women-led companies.

What keeps you up at night?

I have largely transitioned out of my practice and now focus on management, our various Project W programs and D&I initiatives. Through that lens, I worry most about the gender and racial disparity in law firms and how our lack of progress in correcting that imbalance will affect a profession that increasingly fails to reflect the demographics and perspectives of our clients and the communities in which we practice. Countless studies of companies—from startups to Fortune 500 companies—reveal that organizations perform better with diverse leadership teams. Law firms need to be developing and nurturing the most effective and highest-performing teams in order to meet the increasing challenges our profession faces, and this research indicates that we can do that by developing and promoting partners with a broad diversity of backgrounds and perspectives. I launched Project W out of frustration at the lack of progress toward gender parity in our partnership and on the theory that, if more women are running successful businesses, they will look to women lawyers to help them navigate their legal needs. The practice of law is, at its most basic, a people business.

What is the best leadership advice you've given, or received, and why do you think it was effective?

You become successful by investing time and human capital in the people around you and by contributing to the success of the people with whom you work. From my perspective, a key indicia of success is when a member of my team supplants me in an important role with a client or when younger lawyers or staff with whom I work are empowered to take on leadership opportunities. That's the way to build an effective and committed team. And, your ability as a leader to make a significant impact grows exponentially if you foster, through sponsorship and promotion, a network of people who share your vision and who are empowered to become leaders in their own right.

Looking back, what do you wish you had known when you started out in the legal profession?

The practice of law is a journey which may take you to different and exciting places, if you are willing to take some risks and seize new opportunities that come your way.

What is the most valuable career advice anyone has ever given you?

Chart your own course and be an agent for change. To become an excellent lawyer, takes a tremendous amount of hard work, dedication and often personal sacrifice. However, developing the skills that make a great lawyer, such as innovative problem-solving and insightful analysis, can position you to create opportunities for yourself and others and to effect change at your firm, in the profession and in your community. It is the privilege of being a lawyer to be in a position to have a positive impact on those around you and to foster the success of others.