Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Powerhouse Women Lawyers Share Tips for Successful Rainmaking
The New York City Bar Association recently held a female panel discussion called Women Who Ask: How Successful Women Rainmakers Ask for and Bring in Business, featuring two powerhouse women lawyers, Sheila Birnbaum and Nina Gussack. The discussion was moderated by Vivia Chen of The Careerist blog.
Birnbaum spoke about a critical factor that will level the playing field for women lawyers - that there are more women General Counsel than ever before. This one fact should profoundly impact our ability to attract business... but so far it hasn’t had much of an impact. So what can we do to ensure that change happens?
Here is what Birnbaum and Gussack suggest, as Vivia Chen summarized in a blog post on The Careerist:
Be nice—you never know where business will come from. Gussack: "It could be the paralegal that you paid attention to, the assistant you impressed, the expert witness you dazzled. . . . It's all of a piece."
Embrace rejection. "Fear of rejection is your worst enemy," summed up Gussack. She added that men handle rejection much better because "boys in high school know that you have to ask for dates, and they know there's a good chance they'll be rejected." Sooner or later, though, they'll get a date.
It's okay to feel depressed and drown your sorrows—for a while. Birnbaum: "I'm a terrible loser; I take it to heart." Gussack: "There's more rejection than success." Have a drink, talk it out, she advised: "Allow yourself one week of wallowing and no more."
But find out what went wrong, and keep up with the client that got away. Gussack: "Most important thing is figuring out why you didn't get [the assignment.] Call and ask." Birnbaum: "You tell [the client who didn't hire you] that if things go bad, we'll bail you out later."
Be sociable—but don't bother with people you can't stand. Birnbaum: "People want to give business to people they like." She advised that junior associates take junior people on the business side to lunch. She added, "A lot of your classmates will go in-house—don't lose track of them. . . . [But] don't bother if you don't like them."
Don't take up golf or duck hunting—unless you're into it. Don't get hung up about how men bond on the golf course or in the woods. Birnbaum: "Don't ever do something that you don't like because you think it will lead to business." Gussack: "Don't join something that you won't show up at." The key, both said, is to do extracurricular activities you actually like.
Don't be the nice girl at the firm. Nice girls often get screwed on compensation, client credit, and promotion. If male lawyers are trying to bully you out of client credit, fight them. Birnbaum: "You can't be a nice little girl. . . You have to say, 'This is mine, and I brought it in,' or you go [complain] to the person in charge." Gussack: "It boils down to you can't act like a girl. . . . Men will say, 'I'll take your lunch money or I'll take your business.' "
Remember: You got swimsuits. Gussack told a delightful story about the great Yogi Berra in which his granddaughter, a sports writer, told him about her interview with a heartthrob tennis player. The exchange went something like this: "You should date him," Yogi urged. "He dates a swimsuit model," replied his granddaughter. "You got swimsuits," Yogi said.
This is great advice from women that are rainmaking at the highest levels. In fact Nina Gussack is truly one of us, as she practices in both civil litigation and the white-collar field. Today, in an environment where internal investigations and corporate compliance work is abundant, the increase in the number of women GC’s directly affects our ability to attract business. I loved Vivia Chen’s conclusion to her post, “we’ve all got swimsuits. So, ladies, shouldn’t we just dive in?” This couldn’t be any truer for women in criminal defense… let’s face it, if anyone knows how to swim in the deep end, it’s us.