O’Melveny Named One of “50 Best Law Firms for Women” by Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers

August 05, 2014 FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact:
Amber Burke
O’Melveny & Myers LLP
415.894.8891
aburke@omm.com

New York, NY – August 5, 2014 – Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers today announced the 2014 Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers “50 Best Law Firms for Women,” lauded for their family friendly policies and business development and career development initiatives that are helping to retain women attorneys and advance them into the leadership pipeline. O’Melveny & Myers LLP has been selected for the prestigious list for the second consecutive year, and is featured among the winning law firms in the August/September issue of the magazine as well as on workingmother.com and flextimelawyers.com.

“We are gaining ground in our efforts to retain our women attorneys and see them progress into all levels and roles at the Firm by taking a holistic approach. By looking at the entire life cycle of a women’s career at the Firm, we can pinpoint the pivotal experiences that might benefit from greater attention and involvement,” said Mary Ellen Connerty, O’Melveny’s Director of Diversity and Inclusion. “While we are pleased by our progress, we are always striving to do better. We will continue to partner with the rich community of women lawyers at O’Melveny to raise the bar.”

O’Melveny views diversity and inclusion, professional development, and flexibility as firmwide business imperatives, and has put in place an array of programs and initiatives to advance these strategic goals. They include skill-building courses in areas such as critical communications competencies for women and variety of professional coaching opportunities on topics such as business development and career advancement. “Targeted training helps female attorneys [at O’Melveny] develop clients and exert influence,” Working Mother noted.

The Firm also offers CustOMMize, a comprehensive approach to flexible work arrangements. CustOMMize is among O’Melveny’s broad array of progressive options to help all lawyers, including working mothers, manage their personal and professional responsibilities while working flexibly. As its name suggests, the program is highly customizable, allowing attorneys to select from several different flexibility options to meet their individual needs. Key components include a job share program; a sabbatical program called “Bridges” that allows lawyers to explore other interests and transition back to the Firm following their sabbatical; remote work; flex-time; reduced workload arrangements; and the Phase-Back program to help ease transitions back from a leave of absence. In the two years since the program’s launch, more than 20% of the Firm’s associates and counsel have incorporated CustOMMize into their lives.

Additional resources that promote a culture of flexibility within the Firm include individualized transition coaching for new parents; back-up child and elder care; an Internet Phone program that enables attorneys working remotely to use their O’Melveny office telephone number; and local Parents’ Employee Networks.

O’Melveny’s “50 Best Law Firms for Women” recognition is the latest in a string of honors the Firm has earned this year for excellence in creating flexibility and professional development programs designed to retain and advance women lawyers. In April, the Firm received the Work-Life Seal of Distinction from WorldatWork’s Alliance for Work-Life Progress. Euromoney Legal Media Group awarded O’Melveny “Best International Firm for Women in Business Law” and “Best International Mentoring Program” at its third annual Women in Business Law Awards in June.

Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers founded the 50 Best Law Firms for Women initiative in 2007 to celebrate the law firms that are most successful in retaining and promoting women lawyers, and also to give law firms the benchmarking tools to enable them to improve the status of women in their firms in the future.

About O’Melveny & Myers LLP
With approximately 750 lawyers in 16 offices worldwide, O’Melveny & Myers LLP helps industry leaders across a broad array of sectors manage the complex challenges of succeeding in the global economy. We are a values-driven law firm, guided by the principles of excellence, leadership, and citizenship. Our commitment to these values is reflected in our dedication to improving access to justice through pro bono work and championing initiatives that increase the diversity of the legal profession. For more information, please visit www.omm.com.

About Flex-Time Lawyers
Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is an international consulting firm founded by Deborah Epstein Henry in the late 1990s, providing advisory, training and speaking services to employers and professionals on work life balance, retaining and promoting women and new models of legal practice. It provides consulting and speaking services at law firms, corporations, professional service firms, non-profits, bar associations, law schools, conferences, and retreats. Flex-Time Lawyers hosts a membership organization, offering quarterly in-person and webcast events on timely issues with prominent speakers. Membership also provides resources, networking opportunities and education about legal industry norms. For more information, please visit http://www.flextimelawyers.com.

Flex-Time Lawyers Contact:
Deborah Epstein Henry, Esq.
dehenry@flextimelawyers.com
610.658.0836

About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute (workingmother.com/wmri), the National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com) and Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine reaches more than 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.

WM Contact:
Andrea Kaplan PR
andrea@andreakaplanpr.com
917-836-2741