Grit, the Secret to Advancemen

Milana L. Hogan is the chief legal recruiting and professional development officer at Sullivan & Cromwell LLP.  In this role, Dr. Hogan runs the firm’s professional development and legal recruiting functions.  She has responsibility for the firm's formal assignment systems, partner-led associate mentoring programs, upward and downward lawyer performance evaluations, and formal training and CLE programs.  In addition, she works with firm leadership to oversee the firm's worldwide recruiting efforts across 13 offices around the globe.  Dr. Hogan is an active member of the National Association for Law Placement and is the vice chair of the Professional Development Consortium.  She also serves as a liaison to the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession and is the co-chair of the Commission's Grit Project. Dr. Hogan received her B.A. in political science from Brown University, and she holds a doctor of education (Ed.D.) from the University of Pennsylvania.  While at the University of Pennsylvania, Dr. Hogan had the good fortune to learn about grit from Dr. Angela Duckworth.  She then learned of Dr. Carol Dweck and her exciting work on growth mindset.  Dr. Hogan eventually went on to write her dissertation on the ways in which these two traits impact female success in the nation' largest law firms, and it was this "frst round" of research that ultimately inspired the present research effort. Dr. Hogan lives in New Canaan, Connecticut, with her husband, Phil, and their four young children (ages six and under).  She remains committed to using a gritty, growth mindset–oriented approach to find practical, solution-driven ways to advance women in the practice of law.  She is thrilled to share these findings with others in the legal profession.