AttorneysEd Center

Alton B. Harris was a founding partner of the Chicago law firm Ungaretti & Harris, now part of Nixon Peabody LLP. At Ungaretti and Harris, Mr. Harris served at various times as managing partner, executive and compensation committee member, and head of the Corporate and Securities Practice Group. He is an adjunct professor of law at Northwestern University School of Law, and he sits on the board of directors of a billion-dollar technology corporation. He has served as mentor, coach, and counselor to many businesswomen and persons of color, recently wrote with Ms. Kramer, “Taking Control: Women, Gender Stereotypes, and Impression Management” and their book, Breaking Through Bias.

Mr. Harris and Andrea S. Kramer have been working together for more than 30 years to promote gender equality in the workplace. Married to each other, they are highly successful lawyers who have mentored thousands of women over the course of their careers. They have collaborated on more than 100 articles, blog posts, and webcasts, given numerous workshops, speeches, and panel discussion across the country, and co-authored the groundbreaking book, BREAKING THROUGH BIAS: Communication Techniques for Women to Succeed at Work. Their writing, speaking, and mentoring all have as their objective helping women, men, and organizations to recognize and eliminate the discriminatory consequences of stereotype bias of all sorts, including gender, racial, and age. Their presentations—and BREAKING THROUGH BIAS—offer unique, balanced advice to employ communication techniques and to adopt policies and practices to reduce the difficulties women and minorities face in advancing in their careers and assure their career opportunities are comparable to white men’s.

Andrea S. Kramer is a partner in the international law firm McDermott Will & Emery LLP. She has mentored thousands of women and written many articles on implicit bias and affective communication techniques, including co-authoring the American Bar Association’s guide, “What You Need to Know About Negotiating Compensation.” She co-founded the Women’s Leadership and Mentoring Alliance (WLMA) and currently serves as the organization’s board chair. She was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women Lawyers in America by the National Law Journal and received the prestigious Gender Diversity Lawyer of 2014 award from Chambers USA. She is Chair Emerita of the Chicago Foundation for Women.

Ms. Kramer and Alton B. Harris have been working together for more than 30 years to promote gender equality in the workplace. Married to each other, they are highly successful lawyers who have mentored thousands of women over the course of their careers. They have collaborated on more than 100 articles, blog posts, and webcasts, given numerous workshops, speeches, and panel discussion across the country, and co-authored the groundbreaking book, BREAKING THROUGH BIAS: Communication Techniques for Women to Succeed at Work. Their writing, speaking, and mentoring all have as their objective helping women, men, and organizations to recognize and eliminate the discriminatory consequences of stereotype bias of all sorts, including gender, racial, and age. Their presentations—and BREAKING THROUGH BIAS—offer unique, balanced advice to employ communication techniques and to adopt policies and practices to reduce the difficulties women and minorities face in advancing in their careers and assure their career opportunities are comparable to white men’s.