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Women's Initiative

Working to everyone's benefit.

The mission of the Women’s Initiative is consistent with our firm’s diversity mission: to work towards an inclusive environment where everyone has ample and equal opportunity to contribute, grow and succeed. Through the Women’s Initiative, new attorneys receive the guidance and direction they need to develop client service strategies and attorney-client relationships that produce long-term benefits for themselves, the firm, and our clients.

We also have a strong community of more senior attorneys who have volunteered to mentor any woman either on a long-term basis or to assist with a specific issue. Our resources and culture encourage all team members to interact and work together, strengthening both internal and external relationships and providing value to our attorneys, our clients and our communities.

Impact Zones

We focus on four areas or "impact zones" — Teamwork, Support, Leadership & Transparency. Read on to learn more about what we're doing on each of these fronts to advance women's leadership and make Frost Brown Todd a great place to work and be for EVERYONE.

Teamwork

The Women’s Initiative fosters teamwork through:

  • An ever-growing network of mentors who rally behind newcomers to ensure they have the right level of guidance and support and a meaningful and manageable workload.
  • Offsite networking opportunities that connect female attorneys with female clients and a two-day Women’s Retreat that invites female attorneys from across the firm to not only share concerns, success stories, and advancement strategies but help shape new policies and change initiatives.
  • A women-focused “targeted conversations” series, open to all attorneys, that fosters dialogue around gender diversity through presentations on implicit bias, team-building, and different pathways to promotion.

Support

The Women’s Initiative empowers female professionals through:

  • Regular professional and career development programming that supplements legal training with core business and marketing strategies designed to help female professionals enhance their legal practice, build out their client and peer networks and realize their evolving career goals.
  • Alternative work schedule policies that are compatible with promotion and include remote and reduced-schedule arrangements; and a maternity/paternity leave plan for birth and adoptive parents, with additional resources for employees returning after an extended absence.
  • A web-based instant feedback tool that encourages associates to request – or supervising attorneys to offer – input after a significant assignment, ensuring that both parties work together to maintain a fluid career progression.

Leadership

The Women’s Initiative develops and recognizes female leaders through:

  • Nominations for civic awards and board appointments that raise the national profile of our women leaders and the Frost Brown Todd Champion of Women Award, which recognizes any employee who’s gone the extra mile to empower his or her female colleagues.
  • An inclusive “all levels” framework that invites non-equity attorneys to serve alongside equity members on several firm committees, ensuring that a range of voices are incorporated into the decision-making and strategic planning process.
  • Broad, hands-on support for local and national organizations that engage, educate and empower young women and advance gender equality in our offices and communities — the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF), for example, which in 2019 awarded Frost Brown Todd our seventh Gold Standard Certification.

Transparency

The Women’s Initiative is helping make Frost Brown Todd more transparent through:

  • Structured panel interviewing and a competency-based advancement process that help protect against bias, democratize our promotion pipeline and ensure female attorneys are advancing at a rate proportionate to their male counterparts.
  • A pre-evaluation process that allows associates to solicit feedback from practice group leaders before finalizing and submitting their self-assessments, thereby relieving some of the anxiety around the first-promotion experience.
  • Routine employee surveys to monitor progress towards the firm’s inclusion goals, the results of which are shared internally to ingrain accountability in our processes; and both formal and informal feedback channels that ensure all employee concerns are heard, documented and addressed.

Recognition

Kim Mauer | Women’s Initiative Committee Chair

The Women’s Initiative Committee is comprised of individuals around our firm representing a variety of ages, experiences, and positions.  In addition, we made the decision several years ago to add men to our committee because it takes all of us working together to make the changes set forth in our Impact Zones — and we all gain by doing so.

Women's Initiative Committee

  • Amrine_Kimberly_web.jpg
    Kimberly S. Amrine

    Chief Diversity Officer

    Cincinnati, OH

    513.651.6952 Email
  • Austin_Tonya_web.jpg
    Tonya J. Austin

    Member

    Nashville, TN

    Florence, KY

    615.251.5568 Email
  • Bradshaw Brittany Web
    Brittany L. Bradshaw

    Managing Associate

    Ann Arbor, MI

    734.669.1063 Email
  • Cooney_Kevin_web.jpg
    Kevin L. Cooney

    Member

    West Chester, OH

    513.870.8245 Email
  • Eaton Faith Web
    Faith E. Eaton

    Associate

    Dallas, TX

    214.580.8615 Email
  • Fischman_Katherine_web.jpg
    Katharine B. Fischman

    Senior Associate

    Nashville, TN

    615.251.5556 Email
  • Courtney Gahm-Oldham Photo
    Courtney B. Gahm-Oldham

    Member

    Houston, TX

    713.590.9396 Email
  • Hall_Adam_web.jpg
    Adam P. Hall

    Chief Executive Officer

    Cincinnati, OH

    513.651.6784 Email
  • Johnson_Christopher_web.jpg
    Christopher (Chris) G. Johnson

    Member

    Louisville, KY

    502.568.0357 Email
  • Johnston_Haley_web.jpg
    Haley A. Johnston

    Senior Associate

    Indianapolis, IN

    317.237.3854 Email
  • Kappers_Alicia_web.jpg
    Alicia S. Kappers

    Director of Professional Development and Associate Personnel

    Cincinnati, OH

    513.651.6766 Email
  • Mauer_Kimberly_web.jpg
    Kimberly K. Mauer

    Women's Initiative Committee Chair

    Cincinnati, OH

    513.651.6743 Email
  • McQuain_Elise_web.jpg
    Elise N. McQuain

    Managing Associate

    Charleston, WV

    304.348.2429 Email
  • Oliker_Ashley_web.jpg
    Ashley L. Oliker

    Member

    Columbus, OH

    614.559.7227 Email
  • Plavko_Patricia_web.jpg
    Patricia M. Plavko

    Managing Associate

    West Chester, OH

    513.870.8297 Email
  • Porter_Jacinta_web.jpg
    Jacinta F. Porter

    Member

    Lexington, KY

    859.244.7595 Email
  • Razzaghi_Ali_web.jpg
    Ali Razzaghi

    Member

    Cincinnati, OH

    513.651.6844 Email
  • Tyson_Meghan_web.jpg
    Meghan Jackson Tyson

    Managing Associate

    Louisville, KY

    859.244.7555 Email

Perspectives on Advancement

Mentoring. Professional development. Flexible working arrangements. Women-focused networking and leadership initiatives. Hear from a few of our own about how Frost Brown Todd is creating an exceptional environment for the advancement of women.

Women's Initiative Retreat

In March 2019, women lawyers from all of our offices traveled to Berea, KY, for our sixth Women’s Initiative Retreat. It was a wonderful time to mingle with old friends, meet new people and network with one another. The retreat was also a lot of work. On Friday evening and Saturday morning, the group spent roughly six hours developing initiatives and recommendations to increase the representation and advancement of women at the firm. The Women’s Initiative Retreat was established in 2011; the firm now hosts the event every 18 months.

News & Recognition