By JODI SOKOLOWSKI
Buffalo Law Journal

There are a small but growing number of women in leadership roles at law firms nationwide.

Among the 66 law firms included on Business First's 2008 Law Firm List, there are just 10 women named as managing partners, a 6 percent share - and that number grew by one since the list was published in March with the naming of Ann Evanko as president at Hurwitz & Fine PC May 1.

Among the top 25 Western New York law firms, you'll find two women managing partners - Evanko and Susan Roney, who manages Nixon Peabody LLP's Buffalo office.

According to a 2007 survey by the National Association of Women Lawyers, that's behind the 10 percent of law firms nationwide that have women as managing partners. The survey, available at www.abanet.org/nawl, also reports that about 15 percent of the seats on law-firm governing committees nationally are filled by women.

Most women interviewed for this story said being female, and perhaps also being a mother, requires them to prove themselves to a higher degree than their male counterparts.

Lack of openness

One reason there aren't more women leaders at law firms seems to be the reluctance among both sexes to openly discuss salaries and policies on flex- and part-time schedules and how that impacts the partner and leadership track.

Kelly Philips, president of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York's Western New York chapter, is kindling a conversation that "no one wants to start."

"Everyone's thinking it, and no one's saying it," she said.

Philips is hoping the chapter's Women in the Law series, along with a soon-to-be-released joint survey with the Buffalo Law Journal, will start an "open and candid conversation" on the factors behind the too-low and slowly increasing numbers of women leaders at area law firms.

Leading ladies

Some women in leadership positions at area firms told us that their rise to the top of the ladder unfolded organically.

"It wasn't a conscious decision. It wasn't a goal," said Diane Tiveron, HoganWillig's managing attorney. "I was just a natural choice because of my longevity (at the firm)."

She became managing attorney - a different role than "managing partner" - when the firm grew and needed someone to handle administrative tasks on a daily basis. She works with owner Corey Hogan, who makes big-picture decisions, but she doesn't have equity ownership in the firm.

Similarly, Nixon Peabody's Roney "willingly accepted" when, as senior litigation partner in the local office, she was tapped to replace Charlie Jacobs, who'd moved into a national leadership role.

But others, like Hurwitz & Fine's Evanko and Damon & Morey LLP Management Committee member Barbara Schifeling, paved their own way to the top.

Schifeling helped develop her firm's health care and medical-malpractice group, was chair of its recruitment and client-development committees and served as president of the local Women's Bar chapter.

"I worked up by taking on more leadership roles," she said.

Sujata Yalamanchili, a partner at Hodgson Russ LLP and director and founder of the firm's Attorney Recruiting, Development and Diversity Committee, says she's standing on the shoulders of other current and past women partners there, including Carol Fitzsimmons, a former board of directors member, Pamela Davis Heilman, a former vice president, and Allaire Karzon, who became one of the first women partners in the area when she was named to partnership in Hodgson Russ in 1955.

"The floodgates opened from there," Yalamanchili said.

Family v. career

While it is possible for women to have both a family and a career, one or the other will inevitably suffer, sources said.

"I think it's a choice you make," said Tiveron, who believes she probably wouldn't be in the position she is now if she had children.

Women said there's an underlying stereotype of the working mother's role on the part of those who hire and manage them.

"Sexism is alive and well out there, but I think that women are dealing with it aptly," Tiveron said.

Yalamanchili said even though she achieved partner status on a part-time basis, there are still subtle assumptions that working mothers can't handle bigger cases or more important clients, so they're often not asked.

Technology has "blown past old barriers," allowing working parents, among others, to work from home or remotely, Yalamanchili noted. She's finding that clients prefer lawyers with flexibility as opposed to those who can only be reached during regular business hours.

"Our main focus is on our clients, so if you can provide service at 10 o'clock at night in your pajamas as opposed to 4 o'clock in a business suit, (it's fine) as long as you're meeting clients' needs," she said.

This way to progress

The NAWL reports that "93 percent of firms have implemented women's initiatives to assist women in sustain(ing) a long-term legal career."

That means firms are now allowing new mothers - such as Damon & Morey's Amy Flaherty, who is returning to full-time practice now that her twins are 4 years old - to go part time but stay on the partner track.

"Not every law firm will do that," said Flaherty, a partner.

That's why Philips wants to expand the Women's Bar's Women in Law series to help women lawyers negotiate with their employers and find ways to fulfill the needs of both.

"We're so used to negotiating for others but not ourselves," she said.

Women shouldn't feel guilty for asking for arrangements to have both a career and a family, and that mentality needs to change, both at firms and on the part of employees, she said.

"We need to be more proactive," she said, "but in order to be more proactive, we need to talk about it, have a plan to do it and not feel bad about it."

Evanko takes helm at Hurwitz

Ann Evanko became president of Hurwitz & Fine PC on May 1.

"Ann Evanko was chosen based on her competence as a lawyer and as a leader," said Bob Fine, the firm's former president, now CEO and board chair.

"A consensus emerged that Ann was the right person," Fine said.

Evanko, 57, became Hurwitz & Fine's first female associate when she joined the two-year-old firm in 1979. She built a practice in business and employment law, carving out a leadership path by serving on the firm's management committee and board of directors, and chairing a recent strategic-planning team.

Evanko sees her rise to president as an indication that women lawyers can stay on the partner track while raising a family.

"It was always a struggle for me to find the right balance, and I was willing to sacrifice some personal life in order to make that happen," said Evanko, who worked part time after her first child was born, then took a leave of absence after she had a second child. "That was practically unheard of in the '80s."

She said there was "an expectation" that she would eventually be promoted to president.

"It's also a wonderful feeling to know that your partners believe in you to lead the firm to the next era," she said.

The shift in leadership was part of Hurwitz & Fine's succession planning, but that doesn't mean Fine is retiring anytime soon.

"In some people's mind it may signal that I intend to slow down, but I don't plan on stepping back at all," he said.

The two will equally share administrative duties but have distinct responsibilities. Evanko will oversee implementation of a recent restructuring to nine practice areas as well as an office renovation and technological improvements, while Fine will focus on his CEO role.

"It's kind of a work in progress," said Fine, "but we look at it as a more collaborative relationship."

- By Jodi Sokolowski

Ann Evanko

President, Hurwitz & Fine PC

Age: 57

Education: University at Buffalo Law School, 1979

Practice: Business and employment law; U.S. District Court mediator

Community: Women's Bar Association of the State of New York (WBASNY) WNY chapter past president; mentor, Buffalo Niagara Partnership; director, YW-WNY Housing Development Fund; past president, YWCA of WNY; treasurer, Everywoman Opportunity Center Inc.; member, Buffalo Olmsted Parks Conservancy Institutional Advancement Committee

Awards: 2008 Athena Award, WNY Women's Fund/Buffalo Niagara Partnership; 2006 Women Who Mean Business Award, Business First; 2000 Women in Courts Award, 8th Judicial District; 1999 Outstanding Achievement Award, YWCA of WNY; 1998 Award of Excellence, Everywoman Opportunity Center; 1996 Achievement Award and 1990 Marilyn Menge Award, WBASNY; Sisterhood/Brotherhood Award, National Conference for Community and Justice; Business First/Buffalo Law Journal Who's Who in Law; New York Top 25 Female Lawyers, Super Lawyers; Best Lawyers in America