Women looking to claim leadership of their legal departments often must advocate strongly for themselves to overcome workplace biases, panelists at a webinar last week agreed.

Sometimes, women end up with the responsibilities of running the department but without the title, the panelists said.

Beatryx Epps Washington said that's what happened to her in 2015. She was serving as associate general counsel at the supplements manufacturer LifeVantage when the company eliminated its general counsel position.