By TIFFANY MONDE
tmonde@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1655

If the results of a recent study commissioned by the American Bar Association are any indication, the glass ceiling is still intact - at least in the legal profession.

The study by the Commission on Women in the Profession looked at the disproportionate number of women holding partner positions, serving as judges and occupying equity positions in law firms nationwide. Despite the lopsided statistics (see chart on Page 16), however, some in the Western New York legal community have branched out and found success with women-owned legal practices.

As for the advantages, attorney Ginger Schröder, founding partner of Schröder Joseph & Associates LLP, said it affords her the opportunity to take a uniqie approach to marketing her firm. And that sets her, and others, apart from what she calls "the classic we will build it and they will come" technique.

"Some of our marketing methods were looked at a little cross-eyed," Schröder said.

At her previous firm, she said, she thought management was paying overhead for things that weren't really necessary, including golf outings with clients. While practicing labor law, she discovered that a big slice of business came directly from women. So in an effort to market specifically to them, management began offering spa days, dinners and family-oriented events.

According to Schröder, law firms need to be assertive yet creative when it comes to marketing themselves to women clients.

As a certified Women's Business Enterprise, for example, Schröder Joseph and Associates targets clients who seek a certain percentage of women- and minority-owned business in their supply chain.

Lindy Korn, of the Law Offices of Lindy Korn, said she always wanted to do things differently, so she eventually adopted a holistic approach at her firm.

"Part of the excitement was starting a business and marketing the business with my message, which I felt was different," she said. "This is a very specific practice. I guess I wanted to put my touch on it."

For Korn and others, work isn't just about settling a case in court; it's about helping a client emotionally, as well. She said she focuses on the client's needs and can offer training in areas such as sexual harassment, counseling and job termination.

Immigration lawyer Rosanna Berardi, meanwhile, said she concentrates her marketing efforts on her Web site rather than print ads. Like Schröder, she advertises her business as one of the few women-owned firms in Western New York.

"We do get a lot of women clients that say they selected us because they are often more comfortable working with women," Berardi said, "especially on contentious issues - if they were arrested at the border or they have to appear in immigration court."

Then there's Jennifer Stergion, a solo practitioner. In place of a marketing plan, she said she concentrates on her pro bono work and on networking at area events. Many pro bono clients eventually return with more business for her and then generate additional work through referrals to friends and family.

Stergion also said she relies on "niche" work these days to boost her firm. One example: working with inspectors and housing. She said she also works with veterans and in fact is founding chairperson of the Erie County Bar Association's Committee on Veterans and Service Members Legal Issues.

Being a partner in a larger firm is losing its luster in today's market, according to Stergion. Achieving that position typically involves a decade or more of loyalty to one firm and "insane hours," she said. As a single mother, she was more focused on her daughter, she said. And while owning and running a business may be attractive to some women, she said the financial risks aren't for everyone.

And though an increasing number of local firms are owned and operated by women, it doesn't mean they are strictly hiring women.

"I do not discriminate. I have two fine men working for me," Korn said. "I just look for people who are dedicated."

As for Schröder, she said that aside from a paralegal intern, her firm is staffed entirely by women. She attributes that, in part, to the size of the firm. Small firms tend to hire people they know.

"It's not by design," she said. "I think it just happens to be that like attracts like."

Women-owned law firms remain a minority in the profession, she added.

"I don't know why that is," Schröder said. "I think women often face issues in society that we seem to carry as a general matter more than men, and running a business is not always attractive to women."