Last October, I had the privilege of speaking at the annual joint conference of the International Institute of Law Association Chief Executives (IILACE) and the Chief Executives of European Bar Associations (CEEBA) in Dublin. This event provided an opportunity for law association leaders around the world to meet, exchange ideas and best practices concerning challenges and opportunities facing the legal profession around the world. A spirited dialogue took place throughout the four-day meeting of bar executives both at formal sessions and in the hallways, on such diverse topics as the recession and the profession, admission standards for the bar, the rule of law, and more.

What struck me most profoundly, beyond the shear diversity of the attendees and the challenges and opportunities they face in their respective countries – was the value that networking played in the dissemination of new ideas and solutions in our profession.  Here were leaders of all the major bar associations around the world, hungry to meet with their counterparts to share ideas about what was working, what wasn’t and how to improve the profession, and the lives of countrymen and women touched by lawyers.  And the new ideas generated and solutions found – would cascade down to the respective bar associations and law societies – in essence flowing throughout the entire legal profession.

I was thinking along those lines, because the power of networking, more specifically, the power of online professional networking, as exemplified in Martindale-Hubbell Connected – was precisely the topic about which I had been invited to speak.  The power of the joint IILACE/CEEBA meeting was the value in collaborative networking.  The challenge for the organization, was how to keep the momentum of this collaboration going in-between annual meetings, and how to keep the beneficial networking going as these leaders returned to their countries and daily responsibilities.

Following the meeting, IILACE’s visionary CEO, John Hoyles, and I kept in touch.  In our subsequent conversations, it became clear that IILACE would benefit greatly by leveraging the power of a private, authenticated online professional network for lawyers to advance its organizational agenda.  IILACE, however, did not possess the expertise or resources to design and roll out an online community that was tailored to the organization’s strategy.  In effect, they wanted to do networking right.  This all led to today’s press release, in which Martindale announced that IILACE has joined the Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance Partner Program.  As part of that program, our team of community managers and content planners are working with IILACE as we speak to develop and implement a Connected community that works for IILACE’s members.  I personally want to welcome IILACE to the alliance and we look forward to supporting their success.

As evidenced by more than 700 groups now formed in Connected by its 27,000+ corporate counsel, private practice lawyers and other legal professionals, in more than 140 countries, it seems to me that the legal profession has warmed to the idea of online networking and collaboration – and the value this powerful new communications medium can provide.  And it’s gratifying to anticipate that as the world’s bar and law society leaders grow accustomed to collaborating online – the entire legal profession will only benefit from the faster and freer exchange of ideas and best practices.

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The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) recently released the results of their fourth annual Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. The survey tracks the progress of women lawyers at the nation’s 200 largest law firms and the results from this year’s survey show a troubling and continuing compensation gap between men and women attorneys at every stage of practice. Male lawyers continue to out-earn women lawyers, hold the vast majority of ownership shares, dominate firm governing committees and represent the overwhelming number of major rainmakers in firms despite the fact that for over 20 years women have graduated from law schools and started careers in private practice at roughly the same rate as men.

Here are a couple of sobering statistics from the study:

• Nearly half of major U.S. firms indicated that they have no women among their top ten rainmakers, while another third reported that only one of their top ten rainmakers was a woman.

• Women constitute fewer than 16% of equity partners, only 6% of firm managing partners, and barely 15% of the members of a firm’s highest governing committee – percentages which have not changed from 2008 and have barely advanced since the Survey began exploring these data in 2006.

While no single factor or cause explains the entirety of this disparity, we can say with certainty that until women reach the highest level of firm leadership in greater numbers, they are unlikely to be able to influence firm policies and corporate culture in a way that makes firms more responsive to the career needs of women lawyers.

As a Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance partner, NAWL maintains a dedicated networking community within Connected as well as a public NAWL group within the network that is open to all Connected users. “Women in the Law” was the October theme in Connected and on October 26 we held a roundtable webinar in which we discussed among other things, the extent to which men and women lawyers may have differing career goals and whether law firm policies do an adequate job of permitting a lawyer to combine personal/family responsibilities with the job. I encourage you to join Connected and join the ongoing discussion within the NAWL group regarding this important topic.

The full NAWL Survey Report can be accessed by clicking here.

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I’m very pleased to announce that the European Company Lawyers Association (ECLA) has joined the Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance Partner Program. They are the seventh such organization to join the online network for legal professionals – joining the likes of MCCA, Lex Mundi, ProBono Net, Council on Litigation Management and others.

ECLA, a confederation of national corporate counsel associations organized in 22 European countries, is committed to building recognition of the professional status of inhouse lawyers and legal professional privilege, as well as providing legal education and networking opportunities. Martindale-Hubbell Connected provides legal professionals and particularly corporate counsel, with an unmatched opportunity to connect with trusted resources and colleagues beyond one’s national borders. Launched in March with 3000 beta users, Martindale-Hubbell Connected has since grown to more than 8000 members spanning more than 110 countries.

Like other Alliance Partners, ECLA will host a dedicated online community within the network where its 34,000 plus members will network and collaborate with each other and with the larger legal community.

More information on this news is available here.

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As the Martindale-Hubbell Connected online network for legal professionals prepares to move from beta phase into full launch later this month, it’s encouraging to see that as legal organizations seek networking options for their members they are gravitating to the Martindale-Hubbell Connected online community.

As a prime example of this, I’m very pleased to announce that the legal nonprofit organization ProBono Net has joined the Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance Partnership Program. They are the fourth such organization to join the online network for legal professionals in the last six weeks – joining the likes of the Minority Corporate Counsel Association, Lex Mundi and the Council for Litigation Management.

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I’m pleased to report that today the Council on Litigation Management has joined the Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance Partnership.

As we build towards or official launch in a few weeks, we’re excited that high quality, well-respected legal organizations such as the Council are choosing to join our online network for legal professionals. In fact, the Council is the third legal association to join Martindale-Hubbell Connected in the past five weeks.

As with the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Lex Mundi who joined earlier this year, Council on Litigation Management members and fellows will have their own specific community on Martindale-Hubbell Connected where they can communicate and network. And naturally, they will be able to access and connect with the general membership of Martindale-Hubbell Connected.

• More information on the Council
• Announcement of Council on Litigation Management alliance with Martindale-Hubbell Connected
• Other legal organizations joining our network include the Minority Corporate Counsel Association and Lex Mundi

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Today we welcome Lex Mundi to the Martindale-Hubbell Connected Alliance Partnership Program.

They are the second legal association to join our alliance program since the New Year, and we’re really pleased to have them on board. A couple weeks ago, the Minority Corporate Counsel Association joined up.

My earlier post about MCCA’s joining has details about the alliance partnership program.

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Today we welcome the Minority Corporate Counsel Association as the first member of the Martindale Hubbell Connected Alliance Partner Program. As an Alliance Partner, the MCCA will host a community within the Martindale-Hubbell Connected online network specifically for its members. This will enable their nearly 20,000 constituents to better communicate and collaborate with each other and connect with other lawyer communities without having to leave the Martindale-Hubbell network.

Our new Alliance Partner Program offers legal associations and other select non-profit legal organizations secure and dedicated network communities within Martindale-Hubbell Connected. This provides a quick and easy method for their members to greatly expand their networking and collaboration activities while also integrating their group within the premier global online network for legal professionals.

While the official launch of Connected won’t happen until later this quarter, we’re excited about the rapid growth in membership we’ve already seen on the beta site and we’re delighted that the Minority Corporate Counsel Association is on board as our first Alliance Partner.

Stay tuned for future announcements about new Martindale Hubbell Connected Alliance Partners

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