Meet an Exceptional Woman In Law: Ruth Grant

We hear from Ruth Grant, a now-retired Partner at Hogan Lovells, who tells us about how she did it. Offering some valuable insights, she speaks on how law firms can support women to become Managing Partner, and ways in which stereotyping in the legal sphere can be tackled.

Inclusion is about creating an environment where all are equally welcome, can be themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.

Diversity and inclusion: what do they mean to you?

Diversity means difference. All the recognised diversity strands: gender, race, sexual orientation, disability, age etc., but also difference in background, experience and approach.  Inclusion is about creating an environment where all are equally welcome, can be themselves and contribute to the best of their abilities.  Law firms need both.

In Washington, Hogan Lovells was voted ‘best law firm for women’, what do you think accounted towards that? / What do you think law firms should do to ensure they work towards achieving a similar status?

Being a good place for women to work is about having a culture where women can thrive without having to adjust who they are and how they behave.  It is about leaders in the organisation being inclusive and recognising that people work in different ways.  It is about having senior women and men who go out of their way to support other women.  It’s about valuing the substance of contribution, outputs and not just inputs, and it is about talking freely and honestly about what it takes to succeed in a law firm and the challenges (and great benefits) that that entails.

Not recognising the value of difference, is an issue.

You chaired Hogan Lovells’ global Diversity and Inclusion Committee; were there any common issues that you found [in the legal industry itself, not subjected solely to the firm],   blocking inclusion?

 Common issues are firms thinking that it is enough having good lawyers who recruit other clever people, assuming that they are driven by the same things as the majority, presents a problem.  Not recognising the value of difference, is an issue.  Assuming that if the firm feels like a meritocracy, and it was for you, it must be.  Partners need to understand that a strong, dominant culture can discourage some very able people from joining a firm and, even more likely, from staying.  A lot of effort is put in by firms to recruiting but it is the day to day experience of working in the organisation that determines if people feel included and stay.  There is, therefore, an important education process that firms need to engage in to understand what makes their environment feel more or less inclusive and what changes are needed in that regard.

It is therefore vital to work with a team in which you can feel confident, to hone your delegation skills and above all, to know what it is you are trying to achieve and focus on those things.

Touching on your experience as Managing Partner, what do you think are key attributes needed to lead an office of over 1,500 people? Can you offer any nuggets of advice for women who are aiming to head such a role?

 Time management is a key attribute, based on knowing what to spend time doing and what to let go.  For lawyers who are used to managing every issue and every risk in a transaction or piece of litigation, this can be a challenge as managing partner roles can easily take up 24 hours of every day.  It is therefore vital to work with a team in which you can feel confident, to hone your delegation skills and above all, to know what it is you are trying to achieve and focus on those things.  Alongside the practical management skills lawyers develop, women often have highly developed people skills and should use those to their advantage.  My advice to any woman is to first work out if a management role is something you would like – some people have no interest or aptitude.  Assuming it is, if an opportunity arises, take it, first intermediate roles (e.g. leading a practice or group), making sure you articulate your ambition to do more.  Have the confidence that you can do it and you surely will.

I did grow up as a lawyer in the 1980s and 1990s when fitting in with the dominant culture was really the only option.

What challenges did you face when you first entered the legal industry?How did you overcome this?

I have honestly never felt subject to bias or stereotyping.  That said, I did grow up as a lawyer in the 1980s and 1990s when fitting in with the dominant culture was really the only option.  That was a challenge sometimes, but frankly, I went with the flow.  Some of the behaviours from that period would not be acceptable today and there were plenty of #MeToo moments but being myself and setting my own boundaries seemed to work for me. This wasn’t the experience for everyone however.

Unconscious bias is about the shortcuts our brains make.

Today, if you experience bias or see it happening to someone else, say something or, if you feel that you can’t, get someone sympathetic to do so.  If the woman on the team is always making the notes or organising the training events or doing the legwork, or if BD always seems to revolve around sport and that is not your thing, speak up or get someone else in the team to do so.  It can be done and there is usually no malice in what is going on – just assumptions and lack of thought.  Pointing out (bad) behaviours is one of the best ways to get them changed.  Unconscious bias is about the shortcuts our brains make.  Once we start thinking about the issues, challenging our assumptions, we can change.  There are classic examples: the woman with children would rather not have the assignment which involves a lot of travel – did anyone ask her?  The last minute call to fill a spot at a client event – who gets the opportunity and what assumptions lie behind that decision?

What has been your proudest achievement so far?

 I was proud when I became a Hogan Lovells partner.  Both my parents were alive then and I felt that I had achieved what they had wanted for me.  I was also very proud to receive the Law Society’s Woman Lawyer of the Year award in 2016 for what I had done for diversity and inclusion.