Rafte & Company to Explore Best Practices in Retaining Female Attorneys at Partner's Breakfast Roundtable

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Mon Mar 31, 2008 1:28pm EDT 

  HOUSTON, TX, Mar 31 (MARKET WIRE) -- 
 One of the biggest challenges faced by Houston law firms is on the agenda next
month as Rafte & Company (www.rafte.com) hosts its upcoming Partner's Breakfast
Roundtable: "How to Improve Retention of Female Attorneys." Rafte & Company is a
leading provider of strategic technology solutions for law firms, corporate
legal departments and professional services firms.

    Law firm managing partners identified the subject of retaining female
attorneys
as a priority for 2008. The National Association for Law Placement's
"Directory of Legal Employers" indicates that women account for more than 43
percent of associates at law firm offices in Houston, but they comprise less
than 18 percent of equity partners.

    "The hurdles that women face in their legal careers tend to be overlooked
and
misunderstood, so we anticipate a valuable exchange of information and
ideas," said Dena Rafte, founder and president of Rafte & Company. "This
isa highly complex challenge rooted in the very way law firms operate, including
everything from compensation practices to reliance on billable hours."

    A lack of senior women can damage a law firm's recruiting efforts, result in
the
loss of prospective and existing clients, and increase associated training and
recruiting costs.

    Rafte & Company encourages law firms to utilize their resources
differentlyto help improve retention. Most firms already have the necessary
technologyinfrastructure to enable flexibility, but firm leaders often resist
the
enhancements to increase mobility, process improvements, and training. Rafte &
Company's strategic technology consultants have identified three key issues to
consider:


--  Mobility. Adopt technologies that enable easy and secure mobile access
    to law firm information.
--  Business process improvement. Agree on standards and policies,
    discontinue the law firm's reliance on paper files, and stop catering to
    the habits of individual attorneys.
--  Cultural issues. Reward teamwork and embrace flexibility, giving
    attorneys the ability to work anytime, anywhere.
    

    
The Partner's Breakfast Roundtable will be held at 7 a.m. on April 3,
2008at the Lancaster Hotel in Houston. Managing partners interested in
participating should call 713-993-9637.

    About Rafte & Company

    Rafte & Company (www.rafte.com) is a leading provider of strategic
technology
consulting services, legal software solutions, and information technology (IT)
network design, implementation and management services. To learn more about
how Rafte & Company has been delivering legal technology strategies and
solutions to
regional area law firms and corporate legal departments for more than 20 years,
visit the Rafte & Company Web site at www.rafte.com or call (713) 993-9637
or toll-free (800) 396-9390.

    

Contact:
Dan Keeney, APR
DPK Public Relations
(832) 467-2904
Email Contact

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