Fort Lauderdale Attorney Talks With GDL About Marcy Resnik’s Women Mentorship In Law Programs

Rachel Lederman, a young attorney at Kahn & Resnik, P.L., a Fort Lauderdale, Florida law firm, recently talked with GDL concerning the above issues and discussed in some detail how mentorship programs can help many young aspiring female lawyers find their feet in what is otherwise a strongly male-dominated profession.

Lederman began her discussion talking about how one of the core missions of Kahn & Resnik is to help female law graduates with mentorship opportunities. This, Lederman says, is chiefly thanks to Marcy Resnik, one of the partners of the firm. Lederman revealed that Resnik thought up these mentorship programs since she herself benefited immensely from the mentorship she received from her senior female colleagues, whom she saw as her role models, at the firm she started her career at.

Lederman herself was a direct beneficiary of Resniks mentorship programs. Asked exactly how the program had helped her in her career as a female attorney, Lederman remarked that among other things, it has helped her to be bold, to have her own voice, and to have the courage to assert herself when necessary. And all of these have ultimately meant that she can serve her clients in an efficient manner and can thrive in her career.

Resniks mentorship programs, Lederman added, in many ways follow the famous Lean In mantra advanced by Sheryl Sandberg, one of the defining figures working towards women empowerment in the global workforce. The programs teach the attendees how to cope with the many different challenges that women are exposed to in the legal profession and help these young female graduates/lawyers get rid of any inferiority complex they may feel early in their career, and find their own voice. In addition, the mentoring by Marcy Resnik is also aimed at helping women attorneys gain a proper work/life balance.

As for the obstacles facing female attorneys of today, Lederman remarked that there are many:

Demeaning remarks from colleagues, prisoners, and judges no less
Dealing with the demands of womens biological clock as well as those of the motherhood and parenthood
Sexual harassment of various nature

Finally, the young attorney capped off by naming three organizations from South Florida that help female lawyers as well as women from other professions with mentorship programs, sponsorships and scholarship opportunities. These are Million Women Mentors, 100 Women in Finance and Together.

The first is an offshoot of the STEM program for girls and women and provides valuable mentoring and leadership opportunities for both working and aspiring young female attorneys. 100 Women in Finance, on the other hand, is a global network dedicated to overall women empowerment in the global workforce. Finally, Together is an organization that strongly encourages the companies to run their own women mentorship programs and provides suitable platform for the same.