Sastre Featured on Progress and Challenges for Women Attorneys

Shook, Hardy & Bacon Miami Administrative Partner Hildy Sastre shares her thoughts on female lawyers achieving equality in a July 18 Daily Business Review article, “Women Pushing to Overcome Professional, Personal Obstacles in Law.” The article quotes several prominent Florida women lawyers holding leadership positions at their firms or on the bench. In addition to serving as Miami Administrative Partner, Sastre is also a member of the firm’s 11-member Executive Committee, and she is a key member of Shook’s pelvic mesh litigation team defending Boston Scientific Corporation against product liability claims.

In discussing ongoing challenges for women in the legal field, Sastre notes that, while law firms are hiring and advancing more female attorneys, “Where I feel there is still a lot of work to be done is seeing women in leadership positions.”

Sastre observes that the two key struggles women face in the legal profession are attaining leadership positions and receiving equal compensation. Acknowledging the firm’s recent election of its first woman chair, Madeleine McDonough, Sastre expresses, “To see that here at Shook is a big deal. It is very special and I’m glad to see Shook being a leader in this area.”

Believing that women need to be supported and “put in the right position” in order to continue advancing in the legal field, Sastre concludes, “There is still a lot of work firms have to do about marketing women lawyers and providing them with the opportunities that allow them to take the next step to build their practice.”