The Women's Initiative of Holland & Knight LLP sponsored by the firm's New York office was held on Wednesday, October 27 at the Yale Club in New York City. Guest speakers at the program entitled The Case for Flexibility: Solutions to the Work/Family Conundrum were Claudia Wallis, Editor-at-Large of Time Magazine and Founding Editor ofTime for Kids, and Wendy C. Schmidt, Partner with Deloitte & Touche LLP (Forensic and Investigative Services). Holland & Knight Partner Marisa Marinelli had a lead role in planning the program.
Claudia Wallis is known for her advocacy of making the workplace more flexible in her cover story, The Case for Staying at Home, featured in the March 22, 2004 issue of Time Magazine. Wendy C. Schmidt is a spokesman for the Deloitte Touche policy allowing women in good standing to take as much as five years off and being assured of a position on return. Many law firms, such as Holland & Knight, have similar enlightened programs providing for a balanced life program.
This series of seminars, not limited to women, was started by Holland & Knight some 12 or more years ago to show that women are serious about their business careers, are instrumental in bringing in new business, and can benefit from networking as well as men can. Holland & Knight is acutely sensitive to the ongoing need to bring its women leaders together in assisting them in the dynamics of dealing with clients and in grooming younger junior partners or senior associates to become leaders of the firm by pairing them for a time with the firm's managing partner or directors' committee to get a feel for life at the top in a leadership role.
Any man or woman in the New York City area interested in attending a future seminar should send an email to [email protected] or marisa. [email protected], expressing a desire to be invited to a subsequent program.