Women in Business & Law

Thursday, November 21, 2019

The Warwick Hotel

New York, New York

Agenda & Speakers:


8:30-9:00 Registration and Breakfast

9:00-9:15 Welcome and Program Goals

Kristin Calve: Founder and Publisher, Corporate Counsel Business Journal

9:15-9:45 Keynote Address: Inclusive Leadership: Serving the Way to Success in High-Exposure Situations

Jon Harmon, chair of McGuireWoods, one of the world’s biggest and most successful law firms, found himself upon graduation from West Point thrust into combat as a platoon leader in Operation Desert Storm. Facing life-and-death decisions for his troops, including battle-hardened vets who were under fire in Vietnam before he was born, Jon did not pull rank and bark orders. Instead, he stopped, he listened to his men, he trusted in their wisdom, and he pulled his team together to get the job done — in the process forging one of the most successful combat units in Iraq. Jon brings the same leadership style — “servant leadership” — to his work as a trial lawyer known for parachuting into perilous venues to rescue high-stakes cases for major corporations, and to his stewardship of a complex organization facing a highly challenging and disruptive business environment. (And, yes, it is harder to lead more than 1,000 lawyers than it is to lead troops into combat.) As our keynoter, Jon, the only African-American chair of an Am Law 100 firm, provides his unique perspective on the importance of inclusive leadership — in the courtroom, the boardroom, and on the battlefield.

Jonathan P. Harmon: Chairman, McGuireWoods

9:45-10:30 Pathways to Leadership: Unique and Universal Approaches

• Know thyself – what is your brand?
• Embrace fear, take the risk and ask the question
• Identifying opportunities that arise out of crisis
• Nothing can substitute for the highest quality work product
• Work hard
• Seeking out constructive feedback to continuously improve your skill set
• Humor as an offensive and defensive tactic
• Re-invent yourself when the time is right
• Transitioning to a role in
• Corporate legal department
• Law firm
• Business unit
• Public company board of Directors
• Change is good as long as you stay true to yourself
• Understanding the demands of a leadership role: building your team, strategy, growth, innovation and driving revenue
• Anticipate future business of your company, your firm and your client

Sandra Leung: Executive Vice President & General Counsel, Bristol-Myers Squibb
Margaret Poster: Former COO, Willkie Farr & Gallagher; Member, Board of Directors,
Cowen, Inc.
Stephanie E. Parker: Partner, Jones Day


10:30-11:15 Courage and Change

• Open-mindedness and flexibility as strategic career assets
• Your next move – leveraging the power of your legal expertise
• Legal department to business unit – concerns, challenges and opportunities for growth
• Non-Linear moves
• Jumping in to a crisis feet -first
• Chart your own course – push back and re-design to meet your goals and needs
• Mentees as mentors
• The importance of sponsorship
• Priceless: The ROI of the $3 beer
• Continually curate your network
• How to gain exposure to the boardroom

Kimberly Chainey: General Counsel, Panasonic Avionics Corporation
Lucy Fato: Executive Vice President and General Counsel, AIG
Alice Kane: Counsel, Clifford Chance; Formerly – Group General Counsel, Zurich Insurance Group and New York Life Insurance Company, EVP in Charge of NY Life Asset Management, President, American General Funds


11:15-11:30 Break


11:30-12:30 How to Get on Public and Private Company Boards

• Overview of the current public company board make up
• Why are there so few women on public boards today?
• What can companies gain by having women serve on their boards?
• What are the differences and similarities in private, public and non-profit boards
• What concrete next steps you can take to prepare to be on a board
• Tips on creating a board ready biography
• What are boards looking for
• How can you be noticed in a crowded field
• Future for women on boards (CA SB 826, etc.)

Catherine Zinn: Chief Client Officer, Orrick
David Greenberg: Chair - Governance and Risk Assessment Committee; Member - Audit Committee, International Seaways (NYSE: INSW)


12:30-1:30 Luncheon Hosted by Clifford Chance


1:30-2:15 Engaging Men to Advance Women in the Profession

This interactive discussion will delve into topics related to advancing women in the legal profession through leveraging men as allies. Discussion points include:

• How men and women can work together to advance Diversity and Inclusion
• How to be an ally, sponsor and mentor while understanding the similarities and differences of those terms
• How to engage men in the conversation

Ingrid Busson-Hall: Senior Director, Head of Financial Crimes Advisory and Workplace Relations, PayPal
Carrie H. Cohen: Partner, Morrison Foerster


2:15-3:00 Talent Management - Cultivating and Keeping Your Intellectual Capital Assets

This high power panel unilaterally agrees that “one of our most important roles is developing talent.” The panel brings experience from several crucial perspectives including; in-house, law firm, foreign owned corporations, US Blue Chip Companies and the government. This session will address:

• Creating opportunities for exposure to the business
• Embedding talent in the business
• Navigating bureaucracies
• Developing, inspiring and managing your team
• Fostering diversity and inclusion
• Professional development
• The complexity of compensation: pay equity, non-cash comp, intangibles
• Top take-aways

Louise Firestone: SVP and General Counsel, LVMH Moet Hennessy Louis Vuitton Inc.
Marcy Sharon Cohen: General Counsel and Managing Director, ING Financial Holdings Corp.
Sharis A. Pozen: Partner, Clifford Chance; Formerly, Vice President of Global Competition Law and Policy, GE


3:00-3:15 Afternoon Break


3:15-4:00 Getting a Seat at the Table: Leveraging Your Personal Brand

• Comfort with self-promotion
• Showcasing business development
• Leverage your network
• Developing presence

Annbeth Eschbach: President, kindbody
Jennifer Recine: Partner, Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP


4:00-5:00 Ethical Leadership: The Currency of Trust as a Differentiator


There is a crisis of trust in business and leadership as the headlines continue to unfold on a global scale. Embedding ethical decisions and translating values into action is becoming a business imperative. This session will delve into the crucial importance of developing leaders around their responsibility to drive ethical corporate culture.

• Leadership responsibility around the Code of Conduct
• Understanding the magnitude of the impact ethical and unethical behaviors may have on your employee engagement
• Why escalation needs to start with transparency and organizational justice
• Goal setting: measuring ethics and integrity in organizational business process
• Embedding Diversity and Inclusion into how you recruit, develop and retain the next generation workforce
• Translating corporate values and respect on a global scale while incorporating local business culture nuances

Stacey Babson-Smith: Vice President, Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer, Terex Corporation
Paulette Brown: Senior Partner and Chief Diversity & Inclusion Officer, Lock Lord LLP; Past President of the American Bar Association

Marsha Ershaghi Hames: Managing Director, Strategy and Development, LRN

5:00 Cocktail Reception Hosted by McGuireWoods

This program is designed for women in:

• General Counsel

• Senior In-House Counsel

• Law Firm Leadership

• Partners

• Board Members

• Executives that made the leap from legal to line…or who would like to

• Legal Technology

• Legal Recruiting

• Advisory Services