Partner Accelerator Academy

Women make up the majority of law firm associates, yet only 27% are promoted to partner. The Partner Accelerator Academy is a leadership training that empowers women law firm associates to successfully navigate the partner review process and enter partnership with the momentum to succeed.

 

May 14 – 15  |  Washington DC

On the path to becoming partner, norms vary greatly between firms, even between offices and practice groups. Developed with an advisory board of women in leadership roles at 20+ top law firms, the Partner Accelerator curriculum is designed to help associates identify and navigate these often invisible but critical requirements.

Led by Professor Joan C. Williams, a pioneering voice in work-family studies and workplace flexibility, the program offers a fine-tuned and action-oriented curriculum, copious CLE, and the opportunity to troubleshoot with other women navigating similar systems and challenges en route to the next stage of their career.

Agenda

The curriculum covers the essential elements for promotion to partner, including:

  • Building the relationships you need to make partner
  • Making the case for partnership
  • Successful self-promotion
  • Projecting executive presence
  • Getting feedback early
  • Women Global Managing Partners Roundtable *Live broadcast

FULL AGENDA

Pricing

Women’s Leadership Edge (WLE) member orgs receive discounted registration. Early registration rates end 3/31:

$4,500     General Registration (1st participant)
$4,000     WLE Members (1st participant)

– $750     Discount for each additional participant (max 3)

Testimonials

The Partner Accelerator is the new companion program to the Leadership Academy for Women, the celebrated training for law firm partners that has consistently been referred to as “life-changing” since 2007.

 

“Career-changing…Nobody ever teaches these things!… [The Academy] freed me up… Our job is to ensure that female associates and partners at the firm are getting the same opportunities as male associates and partners, and that they know how to recognize and make the most of those opportunities.”
– Stacey Rappaport, executive committee member – Milbank

“One of the most eye opening and rewarding experiences of my life.”

“Best professional development activity I have ever participated in. It is life changing.”

“This was a great use of my limited time.  So glad I came.”

“I have always been skeptical and resistant to formalized networking and leadership training. The academy has changed my mind.”

“I came to the Leadership Academy at a time when I was feeling that I had made the wrong career move.  I left feeling confident, equipped and focused for the next phase of my career!”

“Attending [the Leadership Academy] has been my dream for several years. I’m so thrilled to have gotten the chance to join.”

“The leadership academy was an energizing and highly educational opportunity to connect with a group of incredible women lawyers from across the country. I’m so grateful for the experience.”

“The best conference/training I have ever attended.”

“The program was excellent – among the best I have attended. I enjoyed every session and walked away from each with tangible strategies to employ, which is rare.” 

“This was one of the most valuable seminars I’ve ever been to.”

Location

Reed Smith – Washington DC offices
Reed Smith, 1301 K Street, N.W., Suite 1000 – East Tower, Washington, D.C., 20005


Who should attend?

Firms may select and send up to four (4) senior or mid-level associates with promising potential for partnership as their Academy Fellows. It is in an intimate program and space is extremely limited.

The Partner Accelerator Academy offers discounted registration for multiple participants.

What's in it for participants?

  • one-on-one training with coaches;
  • copious CLE credit;
  • access to an action-oriented, finely-tuned curriculum designed by women leaders from over 20+ top law firms and the same minds behind the highly esteemed and long-running companion program for law firm partners, the Leadership Academy for Women;
  • participation in the first-of-its-kind gathering of women global managing partners and roundtable live broadcast;
  • invaluable networking in an intimate environment with faculty and other associates navigating similar systems and challenges; 
  • a digital badge from University of California and Equality Action Center exhibiting their status as an elected Fellow and completion of the training; and
  • continual access to alumnae office hours with EAC leadership.

How will this program benefit my firm?

The majority of law students and firm associates are women, yet half of them never make it to partner and only 5% of partners are women of color. Statistics show that firms benefit when they invest in diverse talent, and that the most significant attrition for women in law is seen in the associate to partner pipeline.

The Partner Accelerator enables firms to properly support women attorneys and, in the process, retain top talent and build stronger, more diverse firms for positive business results.

FAQs

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How many people will attend?

We strictly limit the number of participants to approximately 25 associates to ensure an intimate, highly-interactive program with ample opportunities for one-on-one coaching and valuable network-building between participants. Participation is typically limited to 3 attorneys per firm, reach out to us to discuss availability if you’d like to send more.

What firms do we work with?

The following orgs have participated in the Leadership Academy for Women and/or Equality Action Center’s other women’s leadership programs:

Participating Law Firms:
Andrews Kurth
Baker McKenzie
Bartlit Beck Herman Palenchar & Scott
Brownstein Hyatt Farber Schreck
Bull, Housser & Tupper
Burnham Brown
Carroll, Burdick & McDonough
Chapman and Cutler
Coblentz, Patch, Duffy & Bass
Crowell & Moring
Davis, Polk & Wardwell
Davis Wright Tremaine
Dentons
Dewey & LeBoeuf
DLA Piper
Epstein Becker & Green
Faegre & Benson
Faegre Baker Daniels
Farella Braun & Martel
Fenwick & West
Finnegan Henderson Farabow Garrett
Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher
Goodwin Procter
Gordon & Rees
Hanson Bridgett
Heninger Garrison Davis
Kilpatrick Townsend
Kirkland & Ellis
Klein, Denatale Goldner
Latham & Watkins
Littler Mendelson
The Liu Law Firm, P.C.
Lowenstein Sandler
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
McCarter & English
Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy
Miller Brown & Dannis
Mintz Levin
Morrison & Foerster
Munger, Tolles & Olson
Murphy Pearson Bradley & Feeney
Ogletree Deakins
O’Melveny & Myers
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
Patterson Belknap Webb & Tyler
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
Reed Smith
Richards Kibbe & Orbe
Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd
Rosen, Bien & Galvan
Schiff Hardin
Sedgwick, Detert, Moran & Arnold
Severson & Werson
Seyfarth Shaw
Shearman & Sterling
Shook, Hardy & Bacon
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal
Steptoe & Johnson
Stradling Yocca Carlson Rauth
Squire, Sanders & Dempsey
Townsend and Townsend and Crew
Trucker Huss, APC
Weil Gotshal Manges
Wendel, Rosen, Black & Dean
Williams & Connolly
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati
Winston & Strawn
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice
Participating Companies:
23and Me
Activision Blizzard
Adobe Systems Inc.
AECOM
Albourne America
Allstate Insurance Co.
Altria Client Services Inc.
The American Institute of Architects
Apple Inc.
Argonne National Laboratory
AT&T
Autodesk
Banco Popular
Buchalter
Cadence Design Systems Inc.
Cerus Corporation
Chiquita Brands International
Clorox Company
Cloudera
Coupons.com Inc.
Cox Automotive
Cupertino Electric Inc.
DaVita
Del Monte Foods
Delicato Family Vineyards
Delta Dental
Dignity Health
Dropbox
eBay
Engie-GCN
Entertainment Partners
Exponential Talent
Facebook
Fdn. for CA Community Colleges
Gap Inc.
GCAssist
Gensler
GitHub
HP Inc.
Idaho National Laboratory
Imperva
Ingalls Shipbuilding
Intel Corporation
Intuit Inc.
Kimpton Hotels & Restaurants
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory
Logitech
Los Alamos National Laboratory
LVMH | Moët Hennessy Louis Vuitton
McDonald’s Corporation
Merck
MetLife
McKesson Corporation
Metropolitan Transportation Commission
Microsoft
Midpen Regional Open Space District
Morpho Detection
NERA Economic Consulting
NovaBay Pharmaceuticals
Oculus VR
Oracle
Pacific Gas & Electric Co.
Pacific Northwest National Laboratory
Pandora Media Co.
Pfizer Inc.
Planet Labs
PNC Financial Services Group
Prime Healthcare
Procter & Gamble
PubMatic
Qualcomm Incorporated
Recology
The Reutlinger Community
Salesforce
SF City Attorney’s Office
Samsung
San Francisco Giants
Santa Clara University
SAP Software Solutions
SGI
Semele
Silver Lake
Sodexo Inc.
Spectrum Equity
State Bar of California
StubHub
SVB Financial Group
Symphony Service Corp.
T-Mobile USA, Inc.
Tennant Company
Texas A&M University
TriNet
Twitter
Ultimate Software
United Airlines
UCSF Medical Center
University of California
University of California, Hastings College of the Law
University of California, San Diego
University of California, San Francisco
University of Pennsylvania
Upwork
VCE
Visa
Walmart
Warner Music Group
Wells Fargo
Williams-Sonoma
Workday
Zynga

Cancellations & Substitutions

Cancellation and Substitution Policy: All cancellation and participant substitution requests must be made in writing and may be sent via email to PA@equalityactioncenter.org. Participant substitutions may be made at any time at the election of the organization.

  • Full refunds are available for all registrants if cancelled before April 1, 2025.
  • For cancellations between April 1 and May 1, 2025, 40% of the registration fee will be refunded. The remaining 60% of the fee can be applied toward the 2025 or 2026 Partner Accelerator. Any unused credits will expire on May 30, 2026.
  • There are no refunds for cancellations after May 1, 2025. Registrants that cancel after May 1 will receive a credit for the amount paid for the cancelled participant and can use that credit toward the 2025 or 2026 Partner Accelerator. Any unused credits will expire on May 30, 2026.

Becoming a sponsor

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Interested in supporting our mission, investing in women’s leadership and connecting with our audience of successful women from top firms? Learn more about becoming a sponsor here.

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