Faculty Profile: Linda Bray Chanow
Main Profile Content
Featured Work
Center for Women in Law

In April 2017, more than 340 leaders from both the public and private sectors came together with the goal of leveraging their power to advance their careers and the careers of other women. The platform was the Center for Women in Law’s fifth biennial Women’s Power Summit on Law and Leadership™.
This white paper details the themes and takeaways on making power plays that emerged from the provocative and dynamic interactions that took place between our speakers and attendees.
Biography
Linda Chanow is the Executive Director of the Center for Women in Law (CWIL) at TexasLaw, the only academic center dedicated solely to the advancement of women in the legal profession.
Linda is a nationally recognized authority on women’s leadership and diversity. She has authored or co-authored numerous reports, including Power Plays that Matter, Power for Change; Power in Law; Reduced Hours, Full Success: Part-Time Partners in U.S. Law Firms, 21 Hastings Women’s L.J. 223 (2010); Actions for Advancing Women Into Law Firm Leadership: Report of the National Association of Women Lawyers National Leadership Summit (2008); and Creating Pathways to Success: Advancing and Retaining Women in Today’s Law Firms (2006)(chaired Reporters’ Committee). Linda currently serves as a member of the Research Advisory Council for the American Bar Association (ABA) Presidential Initiative on Achieving Long-Term Careers for Women in Law. She previously co-chaired the ABA Toolkit for Gender Equity in Partner Compensation, an initiative of the ABA Presidential Task Force on Gender Equity, and is a liaison to the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. Linda served as a Team Advisor for the first Women in Law Hackathon and as a member of the advisory board for the Bexar County Women’s Bar Foundation LEAD Academy.
At CWIL, Linda convenes leaders and top academics for CWIL’s biennial Women’s Power Summit on Law and LeadershipTM, one of the most significant gatherings of women attorneys in the country. She facilitates the Consortium for Advancing Women Lawyers, a community of national thought-leaders that encourages members to work together to accelerate the advancement of women lawyers. Linda also designs and directs extensive educational programming for practitioners and students and teaches a course at Texas Law that explores the gap between the number of women law school graduates and the number of women who occupy leadership positions in the legal profession. While under her leadership, CWIL has been quoted or featured in USA Today, The Washington Post, U.S. News & World Report, The Austin-American Statesman, Dallas Morning News, The American Lawyer, The Texas Lawyer, ABA Journal, The Texas Lawbook, Bloomberg, HBR Blog Network, Forbes, ForbesWoman, Postcards (Fortune).
Prior to joining CWIL, Linda was an Assistant Director of the Project for Attorney Retention, an initiative of the Center for WorkLife Law of the University of California Hastings College of the Law. While at PAR, Linda conducted research regarding flexible work schedules, assessed law firm and law department policies on flexible work schedules, and provided implementation guidance to legal institutions. Linda has also designed and conducted training workshops for law firm leaders, supervisors, and lawyers on a variety of topics, including identifying and correcting gender bias, sustaining work-life integration, working a flexible work schedule, and managing attorneys on flexible work schedules.
The Texas Minority Counsel Program recently honored Linda with the 2016 Lifetime Achievement Award and Lawdragon named her one of the 100 Leading Legal Consultants and Strategists for 2018, 2017, and 2016. In 2013, the Travis County Women Lawyers’ Association presented her with the 2013 Advancement of Women Award and she was selected to be one of two University of Texas professors to participate in Leadership Women that year. Linda is a Fellow of the American Bar Foundation and a member of the Dell Medical School Society for Health & Women. She served on the Board of Directors of the Women’s Bar Association of the District of Columbia (Term 2007-10) and co-chaired its Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women. Linda began her legal career as a commercial litigator at WilmerHale in Washington, D.C. after graduating magna cum laude from American University’s Washington College of Law in 1999. While in law school, Linda focused on employment law and worked with Distinguished Professor of Law Joan C. Williams on the development of her book, UnBending Gender: Why Family and Work Conflict and What to Do About It.
Professional Activities
2018
2018
Invited Speaker - Getting Results for Women of Color
NALP Diversity and Inclusion Summit, Washington, D.C.
2018
Invited Panelist - RBG Documentary Panel Discussion
Austin Film Society, Austin
2018
Invited Panelist - Moving Women into Positions of Power: Men as Allies and Champions
The ABA TIPS Section Conference, Hollywood
2018
Invited Featured Speaker - Best Practices for Hiring and Retaining Women
NALP Hiring Partner Conference, Houston
2018
Invited Speaker - Grow Your Mindset
Sheppard Mullin New Lawyer Academy, Los Angeles
2018
Invited Panelist - Developing & Retaining Today's Fast Moving Talent
ALM LegalDiversity & Talent Management Forum, New York
2017
2017
Invited Panelist - Designing Equality in the Legal Profession
Harvard Law School, Cambridge
2017
Invited Guest Speaker - Women in the Profession Strategic Planning Meeting
North Carolina Bar Association, Cary
2017
Invited Moderator - Diversity and Inclusiveness in a Global Context
Shell Oil Company, Houston
2017
Invited Panelist - Closing Plenary Session
NAWL Mid-Year Meeting, Chicago
2017
Invited Opening Keynote - Women Leading in Law, Business & Philanthropy Conference
University of Nebraska College of Law, Lincoln
2017
Invited Speaker - Initiatives that Promote Structural Change to Minimize Gender Bias: The Austin Manifesto, Cultivating a Growth Mindset, and Creating Pathways to Success
The Florida Bar Gender Bias Committee Strategy Session
2017
Invited Speaker - Gender and Defender Office Management and Leadership
2017 National Conference of Chief Federal Defenders, Houston
2017
Invited Featured Speaker - Bold Strategy
Haynes and Boone Women Partners’ Retreat, Dallas