Women's Initiatives

Nossaman has excelled at cultivating and sustaining professional women.  We are proud that a full 20% of our equity partners are women (the national law firm average is 6.3%) and that women currently fill or have filled several key leadership and management positions at the Firm, including; Assistant Managing Partner, Chief Operating Officer, Chair of the Firm's Employment Practice Group, and Assistant Chair of the Firm's Corporate Practice Group.

The Firm ranked 5th in California in a survey by California Lawyer in 2005 for having the highest percentage of female partners. Nossaman was also named "Employer of the Year" in 2006 by the Los Angeles Chapter of the Women's Transportation Seminar.

While the whole legal industry still has yet to achieve a relative balance between men and women, we believe that the Firm's flexible schedules and annual women's retreats have fostered a supportive work environment that has kept women on the partner track.

Beyond the Firm, Nossaman participates in events and organizations that promote professional women as part of our larger efforts to support and promote diversity. Our actions include: co-sponsoring outside events and job fairs; serving as board members for bar associations and organizations promoting professional women; working with the larger legal community to network and promote gender equity goals and principles; and adopting firm policies allowing for more flexible schedules.

Gender Equity Policies and Goals

• Signatory – Bar Association of San Francisco's "No Glass Ceiling Commitment"

Professional Women's Organization Memberships

• Board Member – Queen's Bench (San Francisco's women's bar association)
• President – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee
• Member and Former Vice Chair of the Governing Board of Directors –  Women's Foundation of California, The Women of Color Donor Circle
• Member - Black Women Lawyers of Northern California (BWLNC)

Student Development Programs

• Sponsor (since 2005) – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee Transitional Student Scholarship

Events

• Participant – San Francisco Business Times, 2010 Most Influential Women in Business Awards (San Francisco)
• Participant – Women's Foundation of California, 2010 Momentum Awards Luncheon (Beverly Hills)
• Co-Chair and Sponsor - 2010 Legacy of Leadership Awards (San Francisco)
• Participant – Women's Foundation of California, 2010 Women's Policy Institute Legislative Reception (Sacramento)
• Participant – National Coalition of 100 Black Women, 11th Annual Madam C.J. Walker Luncheon (San Francisco)
• Speaker – Black Women Lawyers of Northern California (BWLNC) Survival Series: How to (Not Just) Survive a Law Firm (San Francisco)
• Host (since 2000) – Nossaman Women's Retreats
• Sponsor – Women's Initiative 2009 Gala (San Francisco)
• Sponsor – Queen's Bench Bar Association's 2008 Annual Judge's Dinner (San Francisco)
• Sponsor – National Association of Women Business Owners' (NAWBO) 24th Annual Women Entrepreneurs of the Year Leaders and Legends Awards Luncheon and NAWBO University (San Francisco)
• Sponsor (since 2005) – University of San Francisco School of Law's Women Lawyers Committee Spring Panel and Fundraiser

We encourage you to help us build a diverse professional community by sharing your insight, referring an attorney, or sending us your resume.

Please contact any of the Firm's Recruiting Committee members shown below:

Karla MacCary
Yuliya Oryol