This new book focuses the institutional impediments to women's success in the practice of law--the challenges and roadblocks women face as they struggle to succeed in law firms. The book addresses all aspects of law firm life including firm management, the assignment process, billable hour demands, business generation, compensation, mentoring, attrition, and work/family issues. It also sets forth recommendations for change, describing concrete actions which law firms can implement in order to enable women to take their rightful place as equals in the legal profession. The book is the result of two years of research and is based on the authorÂ’s interviews with hundreds of women lawyers and law firm managers from all over the country. The author also draws extensively on a wide range of research across multiple disciplines in order to shed further light on the areas covered. Although the book is about women in law firms, the issues raised could apply to any professional setting.
Lauren is the founder and Executive Director of the Bowditch Institute for Women's Success, where she combines her unique qualifications and expertise to help law firms and other business organizations create an environment for success. The author of Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law, she is currently working on a book about the Millennial generation and its impact on a multi-generational workplace.
Among her many honors, Lauren is listed in The Best Lawyers in America, Chambers USA America's Leading Business Lawyers, and Massachusetts Super Lawyers. She was also recognized as one of the 2009 Women of Justice honorees by the Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly. Lauren is the recipient of the 2007 Barbara Gray Humanitarian Award from Voices Against Violence, the Boston College 2004 Alumni Award for Excellence in Law, the Boston College Law School 75th Anniversary Alumni Award Medal, and the 2005 Lelia J. Robinson Award from the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts.
Lauren's background includes an extraordinary focus on issues relating to the advancement of women in the profession. As the former President of the Boston Bar Association, Lauren established the Task-Force on Professional Challenges and Family Needs, which produced a nationally recognized report entitled: Facing the Grail - Confronting the Costs of Work/Family Imbalance. Lauren is a member of the American Bar Association Board of Governors, and previously seved as one of twelve members of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.
As part of her commitment to the advancement of women in leadership, she serves as a member of the Board of Directors of the Massachusetts Women's Political Caucus, a founding member of the Council for Women of Boston College, and a founding member of the Massachusetts Equality Commission.
Within her community, Lauren is the first woman to have served as chair of the MetroWest Chamber of Commerce. In 1997, the Chamber named her "Business Leader of the Year" and, in 2001, granted her the Athena Award.
Lauren is a former chair and current member of the Board of Directors of the Environmental League of Massachusetts and serves on the Board of Trustees of the Boston Bar Foundation. She is also a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and serves as a Trustee of the Middlesex Savings Bank. Lauren has also served as a member of the Board of Trustees of Clark University in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Lauren is frequently requested to appear as a keynote speaker and to lead programs and workshops addressing gender and diversity, workplace issues, generational issues, and the topic of unexamined bias.
