Women's Initiatives

The Women’s Initiative Committee (WIC) works in conjunction with the Diversity Committee to review and enhance the Firm’s policies, programs and initiatives directed towards attracting, mentoring, retaining and advancing women lawyers. The WIC seeks to enhance the experience of women at the Firm in several ways: (i) by focusing on women’s professional development; (ii) in considering how work/life balance issues affect the ability of all our lawyers to meet their professional and personal responsibilities; (iii) through active community participation on issues of importance to our women; and (iv) by developing social support networks for the women at our Firm.

Professional Development

The Firm encourages our women lawyers to participate in bar association committees and other professional activities in support of women lawyers’ professional development. Examples of these professional activities include the following:

• ABA Women in Law Leadership Conference – S&C retired partner Robert MacCrate, in his role as president of the ABA, created the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, which sponsors the Women in Law Leadership Conference.
• “Trailblazers: Pioneering Women in New York Law” – The Firm sponsored the New York City Bar Association’s production of this documentary film that chronicles the legal careers of three women attorneys, including S&C alumna former New York Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye, whose lives and achievements have significantly impacted the legal profession.
• Catalyst – As a member of this leading research and advisory organization that seeks to expand opportunities for women in the fields of business and law, the Firm has access to the latest research and workplace studies. The Firm recently participated in a Catalyst study on the experience of women of color in large law firms.

Family Matters

The WIC helps the Firm continuously examine and develop its family benefits so that the Firm remains a market leader in the provision of these benefits to our lawyers. S&C offers a number of programs and policies with the goal of assisting all our lawyers balance competing professional and personal needs:

• In the summer of 2007, the WIC spearheaded a dramatic increase in S&C’s maternity and adoption benefits – in the form of paid leave and financial assistance for adoption – which positively affected the larger legal market when other firms followed suit.
• At the WIC’s initiative, S&C also added an Infant Transition Program, for its lawyers returning from parental leave, at the existing backup child care facility available at our New York office.
• S&C provides same-sex domestic partner benefits equivalent to those offered to spouses.
• S&C offers a support network to lawyers who work alternative work schedules under the Firm’s Flex-Time Policy.

Please see our Family Matters page for additional information.

Community Development

The Firm supports several charitable organizations that assist girls and women and are also run by women. Examples include the following:

• The New York Women’s Foundation (NYWF) – Through its leadership support of the NYWF, the Firm sponsors Girls for Gender Equity, Inc., which conducts a series of Gender Respect Workshops in the fourth through sixth grades of public schools in Brooklyn. In addition, S&C lawyers support NYWF by means of their Board membership, committee participation and sponsorship of the Annual Celebrating Women Breakfast, among other activities.
• The Komen New York City Race for the Cure® – A team of S&C lawyers, staff, families and friends participated in this 5K Run/Walk in Central Park for the second year in a row and, aided by the Firm’s matching contribution, contributed over $22,000 in 2008.
• Dress for Success – S&C supports Dress for Success, an international nonprofit organization that helps disadvantaged women achieve economic independence. An S&C partner is a Dress for Success Board member and the Firm was a platinum sponsor of the organization’s Something to Share Worldwide Gala in 2008.
• The Civil Support Division of the Legal Aid Society – The Firm is a proud sponsor of the Civil Support Division’s annual Thinking Out Loud Benefit Luncheon. Founded by a group of women united in their mission to ensure equal access to the courts and social justice for the disadvantaged in New York City, the Civil Support Division’s clients are often single working mothers with few resources to provide the most basic needs for their children.

Personal Development

S&C offers various programs and groups to help develop a community among women at the Firm and also support family life. Examples include:

• Working Mothers Group – Recognizing that women can concurrently be great mothers and successful lawyers, the members of the Working Mothers Group meet regularly to share the challenges and successes of balancing both roles.
• “Time-Out Thursdays” – The WIC sponsors social activities for women lawyers, such as a trivia evening, a self-defense class, a “paint-it-yourself” pottery outing and movie nights, which take place outside the Firm.
• Flex-Time Lawyers Group – S&C lawyers working flex-time, or alternative work schedules, are invited to meet periodically for lunch at the Firm to share their experiences and discuss any issues or concerns they may have. The Firm is also a corporate member of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, which provides an external forum for lawyers to meet, network and discuss issues related to working reduced-hour or flexible schedules.
• Speaker Events and Women’s Cocktail Parties – The WIC hosts guest speakers and panel discussions on relevant issues, including recent presentations by Professor Azizah Y. al-Hibri, on women and Islamic law, and by criminal defense attorney Claudia Trupp, on her book about balancing her career and family. Occasionally, the WIC also hosts informal cocktail parties.