Heller Ehrman Opt-In Project Takes Next Step as Firm Hosts Roundtable to Explore Successful Tactics for Retaining Women.

Law Firm and Forte Foundation to Host Leading Company Executives at Opt-In Project Roundtable on Thursday, Sept. 28 in San Francisco 

SAN FRANCISCO -- Heller Ehrman LLP's Opt-In Project is taking another step forward this week as the firm hosts a roundtable discussion about strategies and methodologies that professional services firms use to retain and advance women in the workplace. The program, "How Do You Do It? A Discussion on Women's Initiatives in the Professional Services," is scheduled to be held at Heller Ehrman's San Francisco office on Thursday, Sept. 28., beginning at 5:30 p.m. The meeting is the first in a series of roundtables that are being held as part of Heller Erhman's Opt-In Project, which the law firm launched in May 2006 to raise awareness of the obstacles that exist for women in the workforce.

Among the featured speakers at the program are Cathy Benko, principal and national managing director, Initiative for the Retention and Advancement of Women, Deloitte & Touche USA LLP, and Elissa Ellis, executive director for program co-host Forte Foundation, an organization dedicated to inspiring women business leaders. More than 75 professionals are scheduled to attend, including senior-level, men and women executives and management representatives from major companies based in the Bay Area.

"Professional services firms have promoted innovative programs for work-life balance," said Patricia K. Gillette, shareholder and co-chair of Heller Ehrman's Labor and Employment Practice Group, and a principal leader of Heller Ehrman's Opt-In Project. "For this event, we are inviting leaders from those firms, as well as companies in other industries, to meet and exchange ideas, all with an aim toward creating a structural framework of best practices that allows women to opt-in and pursue both meaningful careers and life balance. Cathy and Elissa share our commitment to improving the retention and advancement of women in the workplace, and we are pleased that they are joining us in our inaugural roundtable."

The Opt-In Project derives its name as a counterposition to the "opt-out" trend, which points to the scores of women who obtain the highest levels of education, enter the workforce in record numbers, and then choose to leave employment. The "opt-out" term is often traced to a seminal 2003 article in the New York Times entitled "The Opt Out Revolution." Although the article has been followed by others with more recent data, it referenced compelling statistics:

Look, for example, at the Stanford class of '81. Fifty-seven percent of mothers in that class spent at least a year at home caring for their infant children in the first decade after graduation. One out of four have stayed home three or more years. Look at Harvard Business School. A survey of women from the classes of 1981, 1985 and 1991 found that only 38 percent were working full time. Look at professional women in surveys across the board. Between one-quarter and one-third are out of the work force, depending on the study and the profession. Look at the United States Census, which shows that the number of children being cared for by stay-at-home moms has increased nearly 13 percent in less than a decade. At the same time, the percentage of new mothers who go back to work fell from 59 percent in 1998 to 55 percent in 2000.

While these statistics point to an exodus of women from the workforce, Fortune 1000 businesses are placing a higher priority on establishing diverse workplaces, and expect business partners, including professional services firms and smaller companies, to do the same.

"By addressing the retention and advancement challenges by implementing innovative, concrete solutions, we can achieve a dramatic improvement in workplace diversity so that all businesses benefit," added Gillette. "The ongoing and comprehensive approach we're taking with the Opt-In Project also helps proposed solutions cut across multiple industries and organizations."

The Opt-In Project's mission is to highlight viable solutions that can help overcome impediments and fill the gap that lies between the number of women entering professions and the women that are in high-level leadership positions. The Project consists of two primary initiatives: an industry-driven initiative and an industry-implementation initiative. At the conclusion of the roundtable series, the Opt-In Project plans to issue a landmark report based on the research and findings generated during the course of the Project's first year.

For more information about Heller Ehrman's Opt-In Project and Thursday's roundtable meeting, visit: http://www.hellerehrman.com/optin.

About The Forte Foundation

The Forte Foundation is a consortium of 22 major corporations, 27 top business schools, and influential non-profits including the Committee of 200 and the Graduate Management Admission Council (GMAC) that in only five years has become a powerful change agent directing women towards leadership roles in business and enabling corporations to more effectively reach and retain top female talent. It is the only organization that provides a national infrastructure for women at all stages of the career continuum to access the information, scholarship support and networking connections they need to succeed in business careers.

About Heller Ehrman LLP

Heller Ehrman LLP has more than 700 attorneys and professionals in 12 offices worldwide - Anchorage; Beijing; Hong Kong; Los Angeles; Madison, WI; New York; San Diego; San Francisco; Seattle; Silicon Valley; Singapore; and Washington, D.C. As a full-service law firm, we represent a wide range of industry leaders, from entrepreneurial, technology-driven enterprises to established, multinational conglomerates. At Heller Ehrman, we take a multidisciplinary approach to the practice of law, drawing upon our legal, scientific and industry knowledge from across the firm to build the best legal teams for our clients. Through commitment to our core values of Excellence, People, Teamwork, Innovation, Community and One Firm, we offer clients unparalleled legal service.