DirectWomen is an organization founded by the American Bar Association and Catalyst. Its ultimate purpose is better board governance, but is particularly focused on board composition and women attorneys. The centerpiece of the initiative is the Board Institute, an annual two-day program providing an update on key issues facing current and future directors. The program covers topics such as the role and work of nominating and corporate governance committees, the evolving nature of shareholder relations, the strategic role of audit committees and board search approaches used by executive search firms. Institute faculty include leading experts on corporate governance and experienced directors. Participation in the DirectWomen Board Institute is limited to women who have law degrees and are - or soon will be - available for service. Class members, for the most part, are general counsels of major companies who have been in the board room frequently, or they are business lawyers or commercial litigators who have counseled boards on numerous occasions on a wide variety of business, governance or litigation matters. Approximately 20 women attorneys are selected each year. Additional information is available on the web site, www.directwomen.org. The deadline for the 2012 application is January 17, 2012. I am an alum of the program and can attest to thevaluable training and networking! apply now.