Retention, Advancement, and Training

Dunn Carney’s RAT Patrol (Retention, Advancement, and Training) supports the retention, advancement, and training of attorneys.  RAT Patrol began as a task force with the mission of exploring and implementing practical solutions for improved retention and advancement of women lawyers at Dunn Carney.  These goals included:

• Advancing women to leadership roles at every level in the firm.
• Building camaraderie among women lawyers and, more generally, within the firm.
• Providing training opportunities on business skills and rainmaking.
• Assessing and recommending other paths to advancement within the firm, including creating and maintaining a robust mentorship program.

RAT Patrol’s mission has since evolved to encompass all attorneys at Dunn Carney, with the continued goals of fostering relationships between attorneys through RAT Patrol sponsored initiatives, evaluating opportunities for training on workplace issues like gender pay equity, and providing an open forum for discussions of attorney advancement and practice building.  In 2019, RAT Patrol partnered with Dunn Carney’s IDEA Squad to help carry forward the firm-wide diversity and inclusion initiatives.

Initiatives launched by RAT Patrol include:

• Training: Formal expert-led trainings on workplace conduct, pay equity, marketing, leadership occur periodically throughout the year.
• Coffee Talks: Every month, attorneys are paired at random and encouraged to leave the office and enjoy a cup of coffee (or beverage of choice) together.
• Third Thursday: On the third Thursday of every month, attorneys are invited to attend a happy hour with their colleagues to catch up outside the office.
• Multiple yearly events: RAT Patrol hosts events like bowling, pub trivia, and ping pong tournaments to build camaraderie among the attorneys, in which costumes and team competitiveness are encouraged!