Law, Accounting Work/Life Role Models Named

Leaders Will Sit on Advisory Council for the Project for Attorney Retention

SAN FRANCISCO, CA – Outstanding leaders in the area of work/life balance for lawyers and accountants have been named today to the Project for Attorney Retention Advisory Council. The Council will advise the Project for Attorney Retention (PAR) on best practices for retaining valued professionals and assist PAR with carrying out its mission of studying and advocating for retention through the use of balanced hours schedules.

Based on more than seven years of research about retention of professionals, PAR selected the following individuals and organizational representatives as role models for effective work/life integration practices:

Amy Bess, Partner, Sonnenshein, Nath, & Rosenthal LLP

Doug Coblens, Executive Vice-President, Discovery Communications

Erik Corwin, Partner, Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP

Mary Cranston, Partner, Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

J. Cunyon Gordon, Counsel, Eimer Stahl, Klevorn & Solberg LLP

Susan Hackett, General Counsel, Corporate Counsel Association

Joan Haratani, Partner, Morgan Lewis & Bockius LLP

Alison Hooker, Transactions Advisory Services, Global People Leader, Ernst & Young, LLP

Peter Kalis, Managing Partner, K&L Gates

Gerry Lowry, Partner, Fulbright & Jaworski LLP

Anthony Lupo, Partner, Arent Fox LLP

Lisa A. Madden, Partner, KPMG LLP

Maureen McGinnity, Partner, Foley & Lardner LLP

Debra Myerson, Professor, Stanford University

Michael Nannes, Managing Partner, Dickstein Shapiro LLP

Linda Oliver, Partner, Hogan & Hartson LLP

Carter Philips, Partner, Sidley & Austin LLP

James Potter, Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary, Del Monte Foods Company

James Sandman, Partner, Arnold & Porter LLP

“I am extremely honored to have these impressive individuals on our Advisory Council,” said Joan Williams, Distinguished Professor of Law at University of California Hastings College of the Law and co-director of PAR. “The legal and accounting professions are both facing high attrition and a shrinking pool of qualified replacements, and PAR has documented how the culture of long hours in these professions has contributed to this situation. Each person selected for the Council brings a wealth of experience and knowledge about work/life issues, as well as a commitment to helping professionals and their employers find common ground where they can both benefit from balanced hours.”

"Balanced hours" programs, unlike traditional part-time programs, allow professionals to work individually-tailored, reduced schedules that are designed to meet the employer's business needs while maintaining the professional’s ability to work and to develop professionally without stigma. Balanced hours programs involve active management of workloads in proportion to reduced hours, emphasize client service, and promote the values of the employer.

PAR, an initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law at UC Hastings College of the Law, is funded by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation and other private donors. The co-directors of PAR are Joan Williams and Cynthia Thomas Calvert. Since its inception in 1999, PAR has issued several reports about work/life balance in law firms and corporate law departments, and its co-directors have written a book, Solving the Part-Time Puzzle: The Law Firm’s Guide to Balanced Hours (NALP, 2004). More information is available at the PAR web site, www.pardc.org.

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