Ida Abbott has been helping professional service firms, professional associations and corporations develop, manage and retain legal talent since 1995. She is an internationally recognized leader in the fields of mentoring, leadership and professional development, and is a Fellow of the College of Law Practice Management.

Ida has long been at the forefront of efforts to promote women in the legal profession. She is co-founder and Director of the Hastings Leadership Academy for Women at the University of California Hastings College of the Law, where she is also a Faculty Fellow. Ida is co-Chair of the Women in Law Empowerment Forum, serves on the Advisory Board of the New York Women’s Bar Association Foundation and is on the Editorial Board of www.WomeninLaw.com. She is a member of the National Association of Women Lawyers’ committee investigating efforts to promote the retention and advancement of women in the legal profession globally. Her new book on women and law firm leadership will be published in the spring, 2010.

Ida is a founder and former board member of the Professional Development Consortium, and recently completed a term as Vice-Chair of the Academic and Professional Development Committee of the International Bar Association. She has held many leadership positions in professional organizations and bar associations.

Ida’s clients are located throughout the world. They include firms and companies of varying size and complexity, from small and mid-size local offices to global accounting firms and half of the AmLaw 100 law firms.
Before starting her consulting firm, Ida practiced law for 20 years. She specialized in complex litigation at a large international law firm, where she also ran the firm's professional development and pro bono programs. She often served as a judge pro tempore in the San Francisco Superior Court and as a private and court-appointed mediator and arbitrator.

Ida is a prolific writer and a frequent speaker at local, national, and international conferences. You can see her books, articles and all issues of her newsletter, Management Solutions, on this website. 

Ida received her J.D. from Hastings College of the Law, M.A. from the University of Miami, and A.B. from Smith College.