Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 40

PARTNERS' PERSPECTIVE

HOW DO YOU FOSTER

COMMUNITY SPIRIT?
By Sarah Kellogg

BARRY BOSS

CRISTINA A. CARVALHO

CAROLYN GLEASON

Cozen O'Connor

Arent Fox LLP

McDermott Will & Emery LLP

We try to do a lot of community activities with our
staff. This year, we put together a team for the Dulles
Day Plane Pull. We had a team of 25 people from
our office competing against about 80 other teams
to pull the plane and raise money for the Special
Olympics. The team that pulls the plane 12 feet in
the shortest period of time wins. It was a good teambuilding exercise and a good cause, and a real family
activity. It was suggested by one of our associates in
the transportation group. One thing we do that
other firms don't do is include associates in the leadership for planning our social events. There's a generation gap, and not everyone agrees on what's fun.
We think it's really important for all our associates to
feel they're a part of the team.

We have structured programs for training and
professional development that are open to both
partners and associates. We feel it's important to
foster relationships and collegiality and create that
sense of community even within training opportunities such as leadership training and business
development. In those sessions, we tend to create
smaller groups and have people work together
outside of their practice groups. We want to mimic
the workplace experience with mock pitches and
other learning activities. I think it's how you build
loyalty and retain people when you give them a
strong sense of being part of a community.

Social events that draw people together around
food and drink are important for any entity because
they're a good way to promote bonding, as every
family knows. For many years, for example, we have
hosted a Thanksgiving feast in our office. There's
no real agenda. We just enjoy a Thanksgiving meal
a few days before Thanksgiving, and our partners
serve our entire staff. We try to host social events
tailored to each month: a Super Bowl event early
in the year, Cinco de Mayo in May, ice cream truck
visits in the heat of summer, a Fourth of July event
every year, Oktoberfest and Halloween in October,
and a formal holiday party in December.

Barry Boss, courtesy of Barry Boss; Cristina A. Carvalho, courtesy of Arent
Fox LLP; Carolyn Gleason, courtesy of McDermott, Will & Emery LLP

40 WASHINGTON LAWYER

* JANUARY 2018

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http://www.dcbar.org

Washington Lawyer - January 2018

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Washington Lawyer - January 2018

Your Voice
From Our President
Our Membership
Career & Professional Development
Practice Management
Calendar of Events
Government & Gavel
Feature: When Counsel Needs Counseling
Feature: Finding Fullment in Life & the Law
Feature: Surviving Incivility
Member Spotlight
Global & Domestic Outlook
Worth Reading
Media Bytes
Attorney Briefs
Ask the Ethics Experts
Partners' Perspective
Disciplinary Summaries
Campus Connection
The Pro Bono Effect
Community & Connections
Last Word
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Cover1
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Cover2
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 1
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 2
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 3
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 4
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Your Voice
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - From Our President
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 7
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Our Membership
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 9
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Career & Professional Development
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Practice Management
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Calendar of Events
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 13
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Government & Gavel
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 15
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Feature: When Counsel Needs Counseling
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 17
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Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Feature: Finding Fullment in Life & the Law
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Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Feature: Surviving Incivility
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Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Member Spotlight
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 33
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Global & Domestic Outlook
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 35
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Worth Reading
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Media Bytes
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Attorney Briefs
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Ask the Ethics Experts
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Partners' Perspective
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Disciplinary Summaries
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Campus Connection
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 43
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - The Pro Bono Effect
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - 45
Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Community & Connections
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Washington Lawyer - January 2018 - Last Word
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