Robert L. McKenna III Talks Equality for Women: How His Firm Is Stepping Things Up
Robert L. McKenna III, founding attorney of Kjar, McKenna & Stockalper LLP (KMS), has thought a lot about equality in the legal industry. As the father of a daughter and son, he didn’t want one of his children to feel as though they had more opportunities than the other, and he certainly didn’t want anyone else’s children to feel that way either.
This has led to a proactive approach at his firm, one where women are set up for success from the moment they’re hired. See how he’s managed to navigate his position of power and why KMS has been instrumental in offering women the chance to move up.
Incongruent Statistics
When you look at who’s coming into the legal world, the numbers look very promising. In 2022, 38.3% of all lawyers were women, compared to 3% in 1970. That huge jump is even more encouraging when you consider the statistics of women in law school. As of now, they outnumber men, meaning they have the chance to dominate the legal world in the not-so-distant future.
Yet, if you study the numbers of people in management, female lawyers are constantly pushed to the side in favor of their male counterparts. Less than a quarter of all women have a significant financial stake at the partner level. Some of this has to do with women being passed over at the last minute, but it’s not as simple as a man being chosen over a woman. Because women aren’t put on the management track from the beginning of their tenure at a firm, they end up having less experience than men who are.
Robert L. Mckenna III has seen first-hand that it’s not always easy to make headway as an attorney. In fact, he described the most male environment as toxic. He’s seen lawyers quit before they’re even given a chance to make a difference in their field. Despite some of the clear signals that women should keep out, they’ve managed to keep gaining ground year after year. It’s encouraging to people like McKenna and anyone else who wants to champion the incredibly talented lawyers they see every day.
Equality in the Real World
Robert L. McKenna III is a single father and, as such, he had a few extra hurdles to clear when it came to spending time with his daughter. Despite ever-changing expectations for both sexes, mothers were still expected to take part in certain activities while fathers would take part in others.
Because he wanted both of his children to be leaders, he sought leadership positions in the Girl Scouts and the Boy Scouts. As one might imagine, there were very few fathers signing up to work with the Girl Scouts. Even though going on camping trips with his daughter meant staying a certain distance away from the girls, he stuck with it. As the only dad on the trips, he showed his daughter just how special she was to him. This small example is a big illustration of McKenna’s larger values. He wanted to show his child that her voice was powerful enough to be heard. He wanted to show her from a young age what it means to be a leader wherever and however you can.
Equality can be a tricky topic for people to really address, as few people are likely to admit to being part of the problem. However, Robert L. McKenna has enjoyed privileges thanks to both his gender and his background. He comes from the ‘right’ school, he looks a certain way, and he acts a certain way: he knows that not everyone gets the same kind of consideration that he does based on these superficial features. When he got into a position of power, he pledged to give women the same opportunity that he had to move on and move up.
His ‘lead by example’ theory is thankfully one that many women at the top subscribe to as well. Britta Stanton, a partner at a law firm in Dallas, has said that she sees her role to implement policies that should have always been present. Her maternity leave policy helped give partners a chance to have children without compromising their space and stake at the firm.
Stanton has commented about the hesitancy that’s out there when it comes to changing the world to meet the needs of all professionals. It’s not that people don’t want these things or even that they think they’re not possible. Change is rarely ever as straightforward as it seems, and the effort may not always seem like it’s worth the rewards. Robert McKenna knows that making over the rules in favor of a different kind of work culture comes with strings attached. However, it’s exactly this kind of aftermath that helps us all see that just because something looked a certain way in the past, it doesn’t have to look that way in the future.
McKenna on Inclusion
McKenna’s firm has chosen to be proactive when it comes to hiring attorneys. “The overall culture is creating a place where people who are young and ambitious and want to be trial lawyers can come and succeed, where they will have access to our clients and our carriers. If they have the desire to go in a courtroom and try a case, we’ll take them with us to train them, and then we’ll give them opportunities to go try those cases.”
What he’s saying is that the bias against women doesn’t always come up at the time they apply for partner. By the time they’re at that point in their career, the decision-makers could reasonably say that their experience doesn’t match with what they need from a leader at that level. What they’re not saying is that the applicant likely had tried several times for a much more rigorous career path, and she’d been denied again and again until she either quit or settled into the role that her superiors saw her in.
Women are known not just for bringing a different perspective to the table, but for introducing a balance that most groups in power likely didn’t even realize they needed. At KMS, the power dynamic is very much centered on how they can bring people up, regardless of their gender. While not everyone can be at the very top of the hierarchy, the larger tenet is that those with merit should be given an equal playing field to climb.
One thing that Robert L. McKenna III is big on is ensuring that all workers have the right to a personal life. In other words, it’s not a choice between having a family and having a career. If McKenna has both, he wants everyone to have the same opportunity. His firm, which has built a stunning reputation in Southern California, has shown its commitment to employees and clients alike.
As an attorney and a partner, he’s played a major role in the accomplishments and accolades that Kjar, McKenna & Stockalper LLP have received over the years. This is a team that goes above and beyond, and their commitment to the work and the people they serve is second to none. The unique culture of empowerment is one made possible by attorneys at the top looking out for the professional goals of every member of their staff.
About Robert L. McKenna
Robert L. McKenna III has a degree from Loyola Law School and is licensed to practice in California and Nevada. He became a partner early on in his career before founding KMS. In addition to his professional involvement, he’s also involved with numerous counsels and committees, including St. Mary Medical Center, Long Beach Community Medical Center Foundation, and the Jr. Chamber of Commerce.
