Forums

[Tyrone Slothrop]

New story in The American Lawyer about law firms' efforts to make more women partners.

From the article:

Despite the promising statistics and progressive policies, a vastly disproportionate percentage of women still aren't sticking around to compete for the ultimate firm prize: partnership. The reality is that almost all associates bail out of firms, but women lawyers, who more often seem charged with trying to balance work and home, bail out of the game far more often than men. "There are certain things about the practice of law on the cutting edge that puts pressure on people," says Cravath, Swaine & Moore's managing partner Robert Joffe, "and people have to make choices." When push comes to shove, women tend to choose family over competition for big-time partnerships.

Does the choice have to be that stark? After reviewing statistics and talking to women at major firms, we see a variety of experiences. Some leading firms, such as New York's Davis Polk & Wardwell, seem to have done exceptionally well in addressing the work-home dilemma while advancing women; others -- such as Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy -- have stagnated or fallen behind. What can we learn from the successes and failures? One lesson is clear: The easy part is putting those progressive policies on the books; the hard part is convincing all parties -- both the institution and the women -- that they can work.

edited to add:

My posting of this link is in no way an endorsement of Heather Smith's lousy reporting -- or the American Lawyer's lousy editing, whichever it may be -- in the piece about this board in the same issue.