Nemeth Law founder featured in new ABA book about successful women lawyers

How many times have you asked, “What separates successful individuals from those who are not?” Patricia Nemeth may know the secret. The founder of Nemeth Law, P.C., a Detroit-based labor and employment law firm, was one of 47 female attorneys selected for inclusion in an American Bar Association book entitled, “Grit, the Secret to Advancement: Stories of Successful Women Lawyers.”

 Through a collection of 47 letters written by a diverse group of women, the book digs deeper into findings of earlier research done by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession that discovered ‘grit’ and ‘a growth mindset’ were two traits shared by highly successful women lawyers. Initial research, conducted by Milana L. Hogan, Ed.D., served as the inspiration for the Grit Project, one of the Commission’s key initiatives since 2013. In 2015, the Commission, led by Chair Michele Coleman Mayes, worked with Hogan to embark on an expanded second study that covered all legal work environments: solo practice; small, medium, and large firms; corporations; government; and nonprofit. The women highlighted in the book discuss how both traits were instrumental to their careers and their success in the legal profession.

 “Without grit and a growth mindset, I doubt that I would have ever opened my own firm,” Nemeth writes in the book. “When I decided to do so, I had no delusions about it being easy. Being persistent and having the goal of running a successful law business was somehow not overwhelming to me. Whatever I did, I did with that goal and the goal of serving clients in the best way possible. I knew it would be hard work—very hard work—but I was used to working hard,” she recounted.

 Nemeth founded Nemeth Law as a solo practitioner in 1992. The firm, celebrating its 25th anniversary in 2017, is the largest woman-owned law firm in Michigan to exclusively represent management in the prevention, resolution and litigation of labor and employment disputes. In September, Nemeth was named among the Top 25 Women Business Michigan Super Lawyers and Top 50 Women Michigan Super Lawyers, a listing of women lawyers who ranked top of the list in the 2017 Michigan Super Lawyers nomination, research and blue ribbon review process. She was named to the same list in 2016. Additionally, Nemeth was selected by her peers for inclusion in The Best Lawyers in America© 2018, her sixth year on the list, and will appear on DBusiness magazine’s Top Lawyers’ list in November. In 2016, Nemeth was honored with the Distinguished Alumni award by Wayne State University School of Law, where she received both a Juris Doctor and Master’s degree in Labor Law (L.L.M.).