ON DECEMBER 15, 2010, BARBARA WERTHER, THEN A PARTNER AT THE D..C PA
PANELD SCUSS NUSSIONATTHEWILLARDHOTEL IN DOWNTOWN WASHINGTON D.C., ON THE VERY TI BREA PR
DISCI AK PROFESSIONAL STE TEREOTYPES. A
C. LAW FIRM HOWREY LLP MODLP,M ERATED A BREAKFAST L DISCUSSION AT T EW LA D H
TIMELY TOPIC OF WOMEN WHO
t the event, sponsored by D.C. pub- lisher Bisnow on Business, Werther was introduced as a highly accomplished partner in construction litigation, a legal specialty dominated by men. Several associates from Howrey, a fi rm
known to be a diversity standard bearer, were in the packed crowd of 350 to listen to Werther and to follow the lively discussion that she sparked with the other panelists: D.C.’s fi rst woman police chief, Cathy Lanier, and local sports anchor Lindsay Czarniak. At that time, Howrey, once a thriving fi rm with 17
offi ces and more than 700 attorneys, had just suff ered a bad year. Much of its European practice had left the fi rm, several offi ces had closed, and more than 60 partners worldwide had shown their dissatisfaction by taking their practices elsewhere. Still, on that date the 55-year-old fi rm retained tremendous strengths in its three core areas—liti- gation, intellectual property, and antitrust. People in the audience that day had no idea that precisely
three months later Howrey would no longer be function- ing as a law fi rm; that hundreds more attorneys, including Werther, would leave the fi rm for various destinations in early 2011; and that those lawyers and staff members who remained in its downtown D.C. offi ces in mid-2011 would simply be in charge of winding up its aff airs, collecting bills, and paying creditors. Werther was one of many successful women who had
built their careers at the fi rm, which had won more than its share of awards and accolades for diversity, including the hiring and advancement of female, minority, and lesbian and gay attorneys. One prominent example: In 2003, MCCA awarded the D.C. offi ces of Howrey the T omas L.
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