Breaking the Concrete Ceiling: Unspoken Challenges and Strategic Advocacy for Women in Law
Recorded On: 10/07/2024
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This session will delve into the often overlooked issues hindering women’s advancement in the legal profession. Explore why the so-called “glass ceiling” remains unbroken for many, presenting instead as a formidable concrete barrier. Learn about strategies for leveraging relationships and influence to ensure that more women advance with no ground lost for those coming behind them. This session will provide insights on how women can more effectively navigate hostility and minimize the risks of self-promotion. Equip yourself with the tools to advance your career while forging lasting paths to advancement for all women, fostering a more inclusive and equitable legal environment.
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LockedWendy Lawrence
General Counsel, Secretary of the Board of Governors & Chief Privacy Officer
Toronto Metropolitan University
Kristy Offitt
General Counsel, Labor & Employment
Bridgestone Americas, Inc.
Kristy Offitt is a senior employment counsel and former AmLaw 50 law firm partner with nearly 15 years advising and defending Fortune 500 companies. Since 2017, Kristy has been Senior Counsel at Bridgestone (TYO: 5108), a 10+ billion Japan-based sustainable mobility solutions company and one of the world’s best-known brands. As Senior Counsel at Bridgestone Americas, Kristy is a lead employment law adviser to key businesses within Bridgestone’s biggest regional business unit—with approximately 55,000 union and non-union employees (corporate, retail, technical, and manufacturing, and other) in nearly all 50 states, including California.
Always looking at the big picture, Kristy helps further Bridgestone’s vision of innovation and world-class products by supporting enterprise-wide strategy and policies, corporate transactions, business operations, compliance, dispute resolution, DE&I and more at Bridgestone.
Before joining Bridgestone, Kristy was a partner at the Atlanta office of Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart, P.C., an AmLaw 50 law firm. At Ogletree, Kristy ran a substantial docket—including national class and collective actions, as well as individual actions in Georgia federal and state courts—for Fortune 500 companies and market leaders like Aflac (NYSE: AFL), Deloitte, JPMorgan Chase (NYSE: JPM), Sodexo (Euronext: SW), Rite Aid (NYSE: RAD), Home Depot (NYSE: HD), and Regions Bank (NYSE: RF), as well as state-based companies.
In addition to her law practice, Kristy has been active in the legal industry as a 2017 Leadership Council for Legal Diversity (LCLD) Fellow and in her community as a nonprofit board member.
Lesley Marlin
Associate General Counsel, Labor and Employment
FINRA
I help my company creatively solve its people problems and challenges. The COVID-19 pandemic created many people issues – health and safety, workplace accommodation, and remote/hybrid work, just to name a few. I guided executives and leaders in successfully navigating through these issues without receiving any legal claims related to them. At the same time, I provided legal advice and support for their organizational transformations and strategic business initiatives. That enabled them to focus on the company’s mission and work without the distraction and worry of legal risk.
I am an experienced, senior in-house attorney with a specialty in labor and employment law. I provide practical and strategic legal advice to synthesize, optimize, and transform. I build and lead teams. I train, educate, and develop leaders to maximize compliance and manage risk. Prior to moving in-house, I worked in private practice at Venable LLP where I represented clients of various sizes across different industries in both the public and private sectors. I litigated labor and employment claims in federal and state court (at the trial and appellate court levels), administrative proceedings, and arbitration. I also counseled employers on personnel policies and decisions, labor issues, and employee benefits.
I speak frequently both internally and externally on various workplace issues, including labor and employment law topics, culture and psychological safety, diversity and inclusion, resilience, and career development. I am a Certified Wayfinder Coach. I participated in the Association of Corporate Counsel's 2020 TED Masterclass Program, and my talk on the power of resilience can be found here: .
Additionally, I am committed to giving back to my community, as reflected through my many years of service on the Board of Directors for the Wendt Center for Loss and Healing, including currently as the Board President.
