PART 1

LEAN FORWARD into DIFFERENCES

Meet Mia and Christopher

At age thirty-five, Mia had been an associate at Farmer, French and Fowler LLP (F3) for five years. As far as Mia was concerned, her becoming partner couldn’t happen fast enough. After graduating magna cum laude from college, she had worked as an executive recruiter for four years to save as much money as she could before applying to law school. She excelled in law school and fielded offers from top law firms across the country.

Of all the firms she interviewed with, F3 offered the best opportunity to build a labor and employment (L&E) practice. Its L&E practice was indisputably among the best in the United States. She was excited by the chance to work with top-tier clients as well as the possibility that she could work in any of the firm’s twenty-three offices around the globe.

Mia had spirit and drive and boundless enthusiasm. She had success written all over her. She knew it and everyone around her knew it—including Christopher, her mentor. Mia was grateful that she had been assigned Christopher, a highly respected senior partner with a large book of business, and was looking forward to working with him. She was counting on him to help her shape her career and figure out what she needed to do to position herself to become an F3 partner when she became eligible in a few years.

Christopher grew up in Amsterdam, in the Netherlands, and had a short but successful career in international business before moving to New York in his early thirties. He’d earned his JD/MBA at Columbia University and come to F3 upon his graduation from law school. He quickly earned a reputation as a great litigator and, due to his business connections and easy nature, he moved steadily up the ladder. Now, at fifty-eight, he was confident, comfortable, and very successful.

When Christopher learned that Mia had been assigned to be his mentee, he was pleased, but he did have some reservations. He didn’t know her well, but he was aware that she was smart, a go-getter, and always dressed for success. Christopher hadn’t mentored a woman before, but his two grown daughters’ experiences and activism in the #MeToo movement had made him particularly sensitive to gender issues, and he wondered if Mia might have been better paired with one of the firm’s female partners instead.

Christopher checked in with Casey, F3’s managing partner. “Why Mia?” he asked. Casey explained that the matches had all been made based on learning fit. Mia had the grit and potential to become a superstar. The team felt that the skills, knowledge, and relationships she needed to build aligned perfectly with Christopher’s skills, knowledge, and experience. Christopher was still feeling a bit out of his element as he saw her walking toward his office for their first meeting. “Right on time—that’s a good start,” he thought, and breathed a little easier.