Masterplan fear the silence

Survey data is at its most useful when it shines a light on the daily challenges that play out in the workplace. Recently, the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) released findings from its survey of behaviors in law offices. The report, Survey of Workplace Conduct and Behaviors in Law Firms, reveals how the combination of silence and the imbalance of power perpetuate negative behaviors at work. The survey results reinforce the need to break the link between the fear-fueled silence of individuals victimized by people in positions of power, and workplace cultures that lack clear systems for reporting and for supporting those who do come forward. The survey collected data on a range of behaviors, including actions that likely meet the definition of sexual harassment, as well as conduct that may not be legally actionable but can drain the energy and confidence of those who are exposed to or are the recipient of such negative conduct. The survey demonstrated that sexual … [Read more...] about Fear-fueled silence, power imbalance perpetuate bad behavior at law firms

Editor's Note:This article is an edited excerpt from Hear With Your Heart: Mastering the Art and Skill of Listening.Learning concepts and principles to become a better negotiator is not enough. When I was a young attorney, I had to drive about an hour to attend a negotiation that was going to take place at another attorney's office. The other attorney was a very well-known and successful lawyer many years my senior.As I drove to my destination, I became increasingly anxious. I knew with certainty that the itchy neck indicated anxiety, and probably the sweaty palms did, too. It was psychological; I needed to overcome some fear."What am I afraid of?" I repeated to myself, out loud. "What is making me anxious?"I repeated these questions until the answer dawned on me: I was afraid of the unknown. I was simply afraid of the other attorney. He was older than I and much more experienced. He might embarrass me, I thought, in front of my client!As it turned out, that thought process was the … [Read more...] about Negotiating Away The Fears

Breaking News Emails Get breaking news alerts and special reports. The news and stories that matter, delivered weekday mornings. SUBSCRIBE Christine “Cricket” Keating had a close-knit circle of friends growing up in Montgomery County, Maryland, in the 1980s — but there were some things they never discussed. Keating and her friends — classmates at Georgetown Visitation Preparatory School and other all-girls Roman Catholic schools in the area — were part of the same privileged set as Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh and Christine Blasey Ford, though Keating was not friends with them. At that time, alcohol-fueled parties and drunken carousing were the norm, Keating and her schoolmates said. But it was not until this month — after Ford alleged publicly that Kavanaugh assaulted her at one of those high school parties more than three decades ago, an allegation he vehemently denies — that women who attended the parties as teenagers began … [Read more...] about Keg-parties and assaults: Women from Catholic high schools in Washington area break ‘culture of silence’

The victim was 12 when child sex offender Nechemya Weberman first assaulted her. Last January, at age 18, she dabbed at tears in her eyes as she spoke in a Brooklyn courtroom.For years during and after the abuse, the woman said she would look in the mirror and see “a girl who didn’t want to live in her own skin,” the New York Times reported. “I would cry until the tears ran dry,” she told the court. But now, she said, she can see someone “who finally stood up and spoke out,” on behalf of both herself and “the other silent victims.”Weberman, an unlicensed therapist, was found guilty in December 2012 of 59 counts of sexual abuse, which carry a maximum combined sentence of 117 years. He was convicted of engaging in sexual misdeeds that included oral sex, groping and acting out pornographic videos, all during the therapy sessions that were meant to help the girl become more religious. The abuse lasted three years.But as painful as the … [Read more...] about Prosecutors battle the wall of silence around sex assault in religious communities

ISTANBUL -- Omar Abdulaziz hit record on his phone and slipped it into the breast pocket of his jacket, he recalled, taking a seat in a Montreal cafe to wait for two men who said they were carrying a personal message from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. When they arrived, Abdulaziz, 27, a Saudi opposition activist, asked why they had come all the way to Canada to see him. "There are two scenarios," one emissary said, speaking of Abdulaziz in the third person. In the first, he can go back home to Saudi Arabia, to his friends and family. In the second: "Omar goes to prison."Which will Omar choose? they asked.To drive home what was at stake, the visitors brought one of Abdulaziz's younger brothers from Saudi Arabia to the meeting. Abdulaziz appealed to his brother to keep calm.The clandestine recordings -- more than 10 hours of conversation -- were provided to The Washington Post by Abdulaziz, a close associate of the missing Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi. They offer a … [Read more...] about Secret recordings offer insight into Saudi attempt to silence critics