Best Firms for Women

The results are in. Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers have released their second annual report on the top 50 best law firms for women. As I've written in the past, I do believe that rankings should be kept in perspective. Large law firms are complex institutions that offer many different realities to individual attorneys (i.e. depending on which office you work in, which department you work for, what deals or litigation matters you get staffed on, how busy your practice area may be, the personalities of the partners you report to, etc.)

Over time, look for the firms that appear on these lists year after year. Appearing once means something. Appearing consistently is worth noting.

One partner's thoughts on balancing motherhood with law firm life

I first stumbled across Kathleen J. Wu's article in the Texas Lawyer almost two months ago. In the article, Wu, a partner with large law firm Andrews & Kurth, was curious as to the effect that now larger law firm salaries would have on practicing attorney mothers in Texas. As she notes, female attorneys understand that there will be have to be some kind of sacrifice to earn their new higher salaries.

What was so striking to me was that Wu, herself a partner with many professional accolades to her name, had no easy answers for women "trying to have it all." She acknowledges that she has no better answers for female attorneys striving to strike a professional balance with motherhood than she did twenty years ago.

But she is trying. And she wants to have answers.

She notes the increasing proliferation of women's initiatives in law firms and speculates that the market will demand reconciliation between these two competing interests. Like Wu, I hear a lot of about women's initiatives, but I have yet to hear much about its practical execution.

Returning to the work-force after being a stay-at-home mom?

Continuing my discussion of working mothers from a couple of weeks ago (which incidentally resulted in an interesting discussion on law.com's Legal Blog Watch), I am mentioning here an article I saw in the WSJ Career Journal on what to do with your resume after staying at home with a child.

The article advocated being very forthcoming on your resume when you have stayed at home for a period of time raising a child. In fact, instead of leaving a gap, which could give a firm or company pause, the idea is to include your experiences as a stay-at-home parent. The article mentions Carol Fishman Cohen's advice, co-author of the book, "Back on the Career Track," which is to say, "I made the decision to stay home, and now I can't wait to get back."

I constantly tell my candidates that the purpose of a resume is to answer a potential employer's questions and of course, to sell yourself. The more questions an employer has, the more likely a resume is to end up in a trash basket. Employers read resumes in seconds, not minutes, and gaps are bad, even if there are reasonable explanations for the gaps. "Gap Moms" (or Gap Dads) shouldn't apologize for their commitment to their families, but rather make a notation in their resume that explains the time that they took off for their family's sake. I am eager to hear opinions on this advice.

How to get a family-friendly position at a large firm

In the years that I have been engaged in legal recruiting, I have worked with several really top-notch female candidates that wanted to return to an exciting practice within a large firm after having a baby, but did NOT want the hours associated with a full-time partnership track position. I relate to these women who "want it all," for I myself want a rigorous and stimulating job, but also want to spend quality time with my child. It is a delicate balancing act.

For all of the media attention that the firms try to gain for proclaiming their family-friendly atmospheres, they rarely advertise part-time or reduced billable hour positions. These positions are usually found through back door methods (for example, a friend at a firm) and my experiences in placing these women have only confirmed my suspicions that female-friendly (i.e., family-friendly) large law firms are difficult to come by.

I have, in fact, placed and gotten offers for women with reduced work schedules. But the interview process is tricky. In order to successfully negotiate, these women had to interview as if they wanted a full-time position, then sit back and wait for an offer. Then once the offer was in hand, they negotiated their hours. Simply put, they had to make the firms believe they were indispensable before they showed all their cards.

Hillary Mantis at vault.com has some interesting thoughts on family-friendly options. I am also curious to hear from women who have successfully found family-friendly attorney positions after having a baby. Feel free to add your comments.

Sobering Stats for Women in the Law

The National Association for Women Laywers has released a study documenting that women continue to lag in the partnership ranks at top U.S. firms. They also lag in compensation when they do make equity partner. No big surprises but the data sets a benchmark for future comparisons.

Minority Women Face Challenges in the Law

The ABA has just released a study documenting high rates of attrition for minority women in large law firms. You would think that law firms would have figured out by now how to address this problem. But then again, law firms are slow to change.

Ending the Gauntlet--Book Review

The Boston Globe gives a positive review to Lauren Rikleen's book on the challenges that women face in trying to advance in the practice of law. But the reviewer seems to think that the author holds no hope for the practice of law. IMHO, the reviewer overstates the case. Rikleen does paint a somewhat bleak picture of the state of affairs for women in the legal profession; but I don't think her message is one of defeat.

More on Women and the Lack of Advancement

Here is a nice summary of some of the recent articles on women and the challenges they face in trying to advance at top law firms. Here the author emphasizes the problem of billable hours as a measure of one's contribution to a firm.

Lauren Rikleen on Internet Radio

If you missed Lauren Rikleen the other night at the Boston Bar Association, you can catch her on the Legal Talk Network over the internet. Lauren, who just published Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law, has a lot to say about why women are not advancing at the same rate that they are graduating from law schools.

Barriers to Female Success in Law Firms

Lauren Rikleen, a Partner at Bowditch & Dewey, has published a new book on women and the law. (Ending the Gauntlet: Removing Barriers to Women's Success in the Law.) In it, Rikleen documents institutional barriers that women face in advancing in law firms. She offers practical suggestions to help law firms deal with the lack of female advancement in the legal profession. While I have not had the chance to read the book yet, I am expecting a great read. When Rikleen was President of the Boston Bar Association (19898-1999) she spearheaded a major research project on work/life balance in the law which resulted in a terrific report entitled “Facing the Grail – Confronting the Costs of Work/Family Imbalance” .

Rikleen's book was mentioned in this past Sunday's New York Times in an article on the same subject.

Women Internalize Stereotypes of Themselves as Weaker Leaders

An article appeared in the WSJ on why 50.3% of all managers and professionals are female but women still comprise fewer than 2% of Fortune 1000 CEOs and just 7.9% of Fortune 500 top earners.

Carol Hymowitz of the WSJ reports that Catalyst (a women's leadership organization) analyzed more than 40 studies of men and women leaders, and found no real difference in leadership styles. Despite this reality, many women perceive themselves to be weaker leaders than men.