New York, NY 13, September 2004 LAWFUEL – Best for law news, attorney news, legal research, law marketing Organizational and social psychology scholar Jeannine M. Rupp joins Kirkpatrick & Lockhart LLP (K&L) as firmwide Director of Professional and Personal Life Integration. As Director, Rupp will lead the firm in further developing a corporate culture and policies that promote and sustain a healthy integration of professional and personal responsibilities.
Rupp’s position, as well as the Professional and Personal Life Integration (PPLI) initiative as a whole, is further evidence of K&L’s innovative achievements in law firm management. Last year, for example, K&L appointed the first-in-the-industry, Management Committee-level Chief Diversity Officer (CDO). Rupp will work closely with K&L’s CDO, the firm’s Chief Officer for Recruitment and Development, and the firm’s Management Committee to identify, understand, and improve working practices, assumptions and structures that may serve as barriers to PPLI.
Stacey J. Mobley, Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Chief Administrative Officer of E.I. du Pont de Nemours & Company, said, “The appointment of Jeannine Rupp as Director of Professional and Personal Life Integration at K&L reflects the firm’s recognition of the long-term significance of this issue to the legal profession. At a time when the demands on lawyers, both men and women are at their highest, it’s critical that law firms find new ways to support their growth, help them balance their lives and provide superior client service. We applaud K&L for taking this step and look forward to hearing more about changes and successes in this significant area.”
Peter Kalis, Chair of K&L’s Management Committee, commented: “In the legal profession, there is often a fundamental tension between dedicated client service and the myriad responsibilities we bear away from the workplace. This tension is borne by all of our lawyers, but especially by those with younger children or other family responsibilities. With Jeannine’s leadership, we aim to design a PPLI initiative that will work toward the integration of our various roles in life so that our lawyers are happier, more productive and thus better able to serve our clients notwithstanding the challenges of life in the 21st Century.”
Rupp added: “It is increasingly difficult to separate the many identities-lawyer, wife, father, baseball coach, community volunteer-that we all attempt to maintain. By developing and fostering cultures and policies that respect employees’ multiple life roles, support various commitments, and encourage participation in both paid work and personal life, we expect to improve the quality of working life for all employees and, in turn, enhance their overall productivity and satisfaction. I look forward to leading this challenging and important initiative. This is a wonderful opportunity to expand upon the firm’s already visionary thinking and apply new principles within the profession.”
Rupp earned her master’s of science in organizational and social psychology at the London School of Economics and Political Science, where she served as a Merit Scholar and focused her studies on the integration of work/life responsibilities, gender, professional development and identity.
