‘In Pursuit of Parity: A Deeper Dive into Gender Equity and Work Life Balance in the Legal Field’

Join us for a conversation with Jennie Morawetz, ESG & Impact Partner at Kirkland & Ellis. Alaskan resident and former environmental lawyer, her work building an ESG & Impact practice has helped many funds and companies successfully navigate climate change, human rights, and other defining issues of the 21st century. As an ESG & Impact lawyer, she is helping clients invest in a more equitable and sustainable future, and as a member of The Fourth Effect, she is bringing value to business owners and women leaders in Alaska by bringing The Fourth Effect to the 49th State!

1. Less than a fourth of law firm partners in the U.S. are women- can you tell us how this landscape might have impacted your experience as an associate and now partner?

Let me start off by saying that on a personal level, I feel incredibly fortunate to have never felt like I was denied an opportunity because I was a woman. The world has always felt very open to me, which I think is quite a sea change relative to my parents’ generation and reflects well on Kirkland & Ellis, where I have spent the last eight years.

With respect to the law firm landscape more broadly, many law firms, including Kirkland, are now pretty equally balanced in terms of men vs. women at the associate level. But at more senior levels, it’s no secret that it can be challenging to balance having children with a demanding career, and even beyond kids, I think women tend to take on more caregiving and other obligations outside of work. In law firms, managing these competing obligations can be particularly hard, given that the currency is the billable hour. Figuring out a better way to allow space for outside obligations—and encouraging both men and women take advantage of this space— is, in my view, critical to achieving gender parity, especially at the top. 

2. What would you like to see more of in the legal industry in order to change these statistics and trend towards gender equality?

I would love to see more broadly-applicable and flexible leave policies, and for taking advantage of those policies to be more normalized at all levels of an organization by both men and women.

3. How do you establish a sustainable work-life balance?

That’s a very good question and something that I have struggled with for a long time. I am better at it now than I have been at past points in my career. There were times as an associate where I had no work-life balance, like none whatsoever. It felt like almost every waking hour of my day was getting to work, getting home from work, and doing work. I always found time to exercise, and I went to the grocery store and ran errands on the weekends, but that was about the extent of my life outside of work. Breaking that pattern really had to come from within, because the corporate world tends to reward that kind of work ethic. That’s not to say that I didn’t have co-workers who watched out for me, saw signs of burnout, and encouraged me to moderate—I did—but as a mentor once told me, employers will gladly take whatever they can get from good employees! So ultimately, I had to make a change, which was not easy, but very important. I’m much healthier, and frankly, with more space, much better than I used to be at managing the curveballs that work and life tend to throw from time to time.  

I live by my calendar. Because I’m on the west coast and work with colleagues on the east coast and in London, I start my workday early, usually around 5:30 a.m.  I block out a half hour mid-morning for a break, which usually is walking my dog when I’m working from home. And then I generally aim to be done by 4 or 4:30 p.m., with 5:30 p.m. a hard deadline, breakable only for a true emergency (of which there are few). Otherwise, I walk away, and leave the work that’s left to the next day. 

Getting outdoors is critical to me, as is unplugging. If I don’t take my hiking trips or my fishing trips, if I don’t set certain times as off-limits for emails and texts, it affects my attitude, and ultimately my performance, at work. Now, as someone who is more senior and supervises others, I try to model doing these things that contribute to my well-being while also fulfilling my professional obligations. 

4. You mention Hobbies. I’d love to hear more about your hobbies.

One of the ways I achieve work-life balance is by living in Alaska! I have one foot in two very different worlds. My professional world is in a big global law firm. Pretty much all of my in-person work time is in big cities, but my personal life is tied to my home here in Alaska. My husband and I go out and catch our salmon for the year. We hunt and process all our own meat. I’m a very avid berry picker and forager. I go for a long trail run at least once a week in the summer with my running partner, and in the winter, we switch to a long cross-country ski. In other words, I do all of the stereotypical outdoor things that you would expect somebody who lives in Alaska to do.

5. What would you tell your younger professional self if you could? 

Be kinder to yourself. I am somebody who is really hard on myself. This is probably very stereotypical for someone in the legal profession, but I am a perfectionist. Anytime I felt like I wasn’t living up to the impossibly high bar I set for myself, I was mean to myself. My internal thoughts were things I would never say to someone else. But for some reason, I had no trouble saying them to myself! That’s something I’m still working on, but there are ways to push yourself without beating yourself up when things don’t work out the way you wanted them to or the way you think they should have. 

6. How has working at a global law firm like Kirkland & Ellis shaped your professional experiences (in comparison to smaller firms or working for a corporation)?

One of the great things about Kirkland is that the resources are endless. We have over 3,500 lawyers here at the firm. There is so much expertise in those 3,500-plus brains—anytime I run into an issue that seems novel or new there are always people I can go to and draw knowledge from and learn from. We also have excellent training opportunities. 

The type of work I do is very reflective of being in a law firm like Kirkland.  The ESG practice that I am part of now, which focuses on advising big alternative asset managers and corporations, would be hard to achieve without the incredible platform that Kirkland provides. 

7. What is your favorite thing about working in ESG & Impact practice?

I’ve always been very interested in environmental conservation, and at some point, I became very fixated on wanting to understand how sustainability and business intersect.  The environmental law practice at Kirkland gave me the chance to observe that interaction and reflect on it. Then, when my longtime friend and fellow Kirkland Partner Alex Farmer started the ESG & Impact practice, joining her was an opportunity to help shape that interaction even more directly, by helping to build an entirely new area of law. It was also an opportunity to do something different professionally. In my current role, I focus a lot on management and ensuring the practice group runs well, which I enjoy. I also enjoy working through novel legal challenges, which there is no shortage of in the ESG world. We are inventing new precedent nearly every day.

8. Do you have any “passion projects” you’re currently working on?

Good question! I have been scheming for some time to try to figure out a way to bring The Fourth Effect to Alaska, and I am thrilled that with the help and encouragement of Breen Sullivan (who, in addition to founding The Fourth Effect, also has the distinction of having grown up in Alaska), I am co-hosting a launch event for The Fourth Effect in the 49th State at the end of January. My goal is to create a community within The Fourth Effect that allows Alaskan founders to connect with each other, as well as “outside” resources, including women investors and board candidates across the US. Stay tuned for more in The Fourth Effect platform and on LinkedIn!