Grit, the Secret to Advancement: Stories of Successful Women Lawyers

This unique volume contains new research by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession begun two years ago on grit and growth mindset, two traits that have been shown to impact the success of women lawyers. The author of this book conducted the “first round” of research that applied these traits to women lawyers, specifically, in large law firms. In August 2013, ABA Commission on Women in the Profession launched the Grit Project, which relied upon this and earlier important research on these traits. The Grit Project struck a nerve, and it was clear that women in environments beyond BigLaw were interested in these principles. The Commission decided to expand Dr. Hogan's research to all legal work environments - and also wanted to dig deeper and go beyond these findings to hear from women for whom grit and growth mindset were important to their careers and their success. The result is the collection of 47 letters contained in this volume. These contributors represent a diverse group of women and all work environments; solo practice; small, medium, and large firms; corporations; government; and nonprofits.