Courageous Counsel:
Conversations with Women General Counsel in the FORTUNE 500
34
In 1979, Mary Ann Hynes became the fi rst-ever female general counsel of a Fortune 500 corporation. By 2010, per MCCA, the number of women chief legal offi cers in America’s top public companies reached an all-time high of 94. How were women able to rise and then fl our- ish in a role that has evolved from corporate gatekeeper to corporate leader, with a critical voice in the executive suite and boardroom? It’s a question that Michele Coleman Mayes, general counsel of Allstate Insurance Company, and Kara Sophia Baysinger, a business and insur- ance partner at international law fi rm SNR Denton—two women law- yers and friends passionate about inspiring career women everywhere ht to
to reach their fullest potential—sought to answer in writing this book.
source:
past, present, women general
Mayes and Baysinger went right to the they interviewed more than 40 and future Fortune 500500 counsel, who did not
he in American life,
aspirations, successes, and setbacks the experienced as they rose to the top. Coming of age as legal leaders at the same time that women were emerging special group
he this
of women marked a critical juncture in the quest for change and equality advanced by generations of pioneering sisters in law before them. T ey may have followed trails already blazed— but each woman became a leader in her own courageous way. Set in the context of women’s historic rise in the
merely chronicle their careers, but shared, the dreams and ey
in unexpected depth,
legal system and featuring expert insight on what determines success for women in law today, this is their book—the stories of courageous counsel. T e following is an excerpt from Mayes’ and Baysinger’s book, which will be published in September. For information about the book or to order copies, write
courageous.counsel@
snrdenton.com.
e U.S. on
at de suc ss ©2011 by SNR Denton LLP — LORI GARRETT DIVERSITY & THE BAR® JULY/AUGUST 2011
MCCA.COM
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