Episode 10. 1 of 2 - Boomer Women in the Legal Profession - Retirement Options & Looking toward the Future for Women Leaders in the Law

In this first episode of Boomer Women in the Legal Profession, we introduce our panelists, (1) Attorney Stephanie A. Scharf, co-founder of Scharf Banks Marmor LLC (www.scharfbanks.com), current chair of the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession, past president of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL), founder of the NAWL Annual Survey of Retention and Advancement of Women in Law, and co-author of the recent ABA publication, “Walking Out the Door: The Facts, Figures, and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice;” (2) Attorney Michele Coleman Mayes, General Counsel for the New York Public Library (www.nypl.org), previous General Counsel for Allstate and Pitney Bowes, and immediate past chair of the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession; (iii) Attorney Gabrielle M. Buckley, Director of the Gannon Center for Women and Leadership at Loyola University Chicago (www.luc.edu/gannon); and (iv) Attorney Kelly Rittenberry Culhane, co-founder and Managing Partner of Culhane Meadows, the nation’s largest women-owned, full-service law firm (www.culhanemeadows.com). Our panel then discusses retirement options for Boomer Women in the Law, including (i) Attorney Buckley describing her transition from full-time private practice to becoming the Director of the Gannon Center; (ii) Attorney Mayes discussing how Ida Abbott’s advice about “retiring by design” offers Boomer Women in the Law opportunities to re-tool in retirement the human capital developed while practicing law; (iii) Attorney Scharf pointing out the ongoing challenge to the legal profession presented by 40% of women having already left the profession after 25 years of practicing law; and (iv) Attorney Culhane explaining the platform that Culhane Meadows offers to Boomer women attorneys structured without billable hour requirements and focusing instead on fulfilling the question: “What does retirement look like for you?”