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 NAME:
Martha Fay Africa
EMPLOYER: Major Hagen & Africa
Global (world’s largest legal search firm)
TITLE: Co-Founder & Managing Director
LOCATION: San Francisco, CA
WHY DID YOU START WOMEN RAINMAKERS?
I was frustrated hearing talented women lawyers say
they couldn’t make rain without role models. Most
felt they could not learn from men. So I decided to
find successful women role models, and start an educational
group to help train rainmakers.
ADVICE TO YOUNG WOMEN LAWYERS:
Don’t be afraid of rainmaking – it’s
a learnable art.
RECOMMENDED FIRST STEPS?
Show more interest in others than you show in yourself.
Believe in your ability to succeed. Why should someone
else succeed and not you?
RAINMAKING STRATEGIES:
(1) Look for the vacuum, the under-served, what isn’t
getting done by others and go claim it as your own.
(2) Attach yourself to a rainmaker you respect.
MOST IMPORTANT RAINMAKING ADVICE?
YOU WON’T GET BUSINESS UNLESS YOU ASK FOR IT!
ANY CHANGES SINCE YOU STARTED WOMEN RAINMAKERS
IN 1990?
Women can have a seat at the table now – the question
is still whether they choose to take it.
BEST ADVICE YOU EVER GOT:
From Frank Press, my mentor, former two-term President
of National Academy of Sciences and my boss at MIT:
“You can help someone else make money or you can
help me make history” – “and I’ve
been a sucker for making history ever since.”
WHAT WOULD YOU LIKE YOUR LEGACY TO BE?
That women lawyers associated with Women Rainmakers
pass on that learning to others.
BUSINESS PHILOSOPHY:
Do unto others, but make sure you retain the competitive
edge.
BEST WAY TO KEEP A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE?
Reading business publications like the Wall Street Journal
for insights on what business trends mean to your clients.
That’s how you add real value.
YARDSTICK OF SUCCESS:
Wanting to go to work everyday and loving being there.
PROUNDEST PROFESSIONAL ACCOMPLISHMENTS?
(1) Founding Women Rainmakers and (2) being the first
law school placement director in the country to charge
employers for the privilege of interviewing law students.
CHARACTERISTICS OF HAPPIEST, MOST SATISFIED
LAWYERS?
Believing in themselves and believing they are making
a difference.
WORDS THAT DESCRIBE YOU:
Intuitive, creative.
FAVORITE PASTIMES:
Listening to jazz, entertaining, buying and renovating
properties
ANY OTHER ADVICE?
Don’t hold yourself back or let anyone else hold
you back: “I will not be less so that you can
be more.” Take chances, take risks to succeed,
and if you let yourself, you will have a great time
on your path to success!
Interview by Rachelle J. Canter, Ph.D.
Note to readers: Marty Africa is the
founder of, and inspiration behind, Women Rainmakers.
Though not a lawyer by training, she has had a profound
influence on Women Rainmakers and the legal profession,
as rainmaker, industry leader and innovator, leading
search consultant, activist for creating more opportunities
for women and minorities in the legal profession, coach,
and a person who embodies more than anyone the spirit
and ideals of Women Rainmakers.
LPM Women Rainmakers is a national forum enabling women
to network and develop business opportunities. By understanding
how to develop business, women can exert greater control
over their careers and integrate their personal lives
successfully with the practice of law. For more information
on LPM Women Rainmakers, visit www.womenrainmakers.org.
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