- Diversity has become an increasingly large part of law and law firms.
- Female attorneys have begun to benefit through law firms that offer more of a life-friendly balance.
- These firms also take into account that some women attorneys want to start families.
- This reveals that the evolution of law is real and happening for everyone in the legal industry.
While law schools and law firms strive to be more diverse in an overall effort to equal the practice of law for all genders and ethnic backgrounds, there remains much to be done toward leveling out playing field of law.
Recently, Working Mother, a leading website that highlights and offers support to women in the professional workplace, provided this year’s list of the 50 best law firms that in the words of the Working Mother website that recognized, “U.S. law firms that create and use best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers.”
As Working Mother explains, among this year's winning firms, women make up an average of 20 percent of all equity partners, and they hold over a quarter of the seats on both the executive and the finance committees.
The following profiles of the Best Law Firms for Women detail how well women are represented in the partnership of each firm and highlight benefits offered for parents.
The website explains that one key takeaway of this list were these firms lead the industry in offering generous parental leave benefits and support flexible work arrangements. All this, along with flexible hours, reduced hours and the option to work from home, would invariably make life far easier for moms and dads who seek to remain in the profession, despite having children.
Below is Working Mother’s list of the top 50 law firms for Women
| Firm Name | Location | Equity Partners | Nonequity Partners |
| Arnold & Porter Kaye Scholer | Washington, DC | 20% | N/A |
| Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz | National | 18% | 36% |
| Baker McKenzie | National | 21% | 34% |
| Blank Rome | National | 9% | 30% |
| Chapman and Cutler | Chicago, IL | 20% | 37% |
| Cooley | Chicago, IL | 22% | N/A |
| Crowell & Moring | Washington, DC | 20% | 27% |
| Davis Wright Tremaine | Seattle, WA | 24% | 25% |
| Dentons US | National | 18% | 25% |
| DLA Piper | National | 20% | N/A |
| Dorsey & Whitney | Minneapolis, MN | 21% | 31% |
| Drinker Biddle & Reath | National | 22% | 20% |
| Faegre Baker Daniels | National | 20% | 38% |
| Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner | Washington, DC | 21% | 34% |
| Fisher Phillips | National | 18% | 36% |
| Foley & Lardner | National | 13% | 24% |
| Fox Rothschild | National | 20% | 31% |
| Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz | New York, NY | 38% | 33% |
| Fredrikson & Byron | Minneapolis, MN | 35% | N/A |
| Goodwin | National | 17% | 35% |
| Gray Plant Mooty | Minneapolis, MN | 29% | N/A |
| Hanson Bridgett | San Francisco, CA | 37% | 26% |
| Hogan Lovells | Washington, DC | 23% | 27% |
| Holland & Hart | Denver, CO | 27% | 47% |
| Hunton & Williams | National | 18% | N/A |
| Husch Blackwell | National | 14% | 27% |
| Ice Miller | Indianapolis, IN | 23% | 31% |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman | Chicago, IL | 21% | 26% |
| King & Spalding | National | 16% | 29% |
| Kirkland & Ellis | Chicago, IL | 15% | 28% |
| Latham & Watkins | National | 15% | 42% |
| Lindquist & Vennum | Minneapolis, MN | 26% | 38% |
| Littler Mendelson | National | 28% | 56% |
| Manatt, Phelps & Phillips | Los Angeles, CA | 20% | 26% |
| McDermott Will & Emery | National | 20% | 37% |
| McGuireWoods | National | 15% | 23% |
| Morrison & Foerster | San Francisco, CA | 23% | N/A |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | Houston, TX | 21% | 16% |
| O'Melveny & Myers | National | 18% | 40% |
| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | National | 17% | 23% |
| Perkins Coie | Seattle, WA | 18% | 36% |
| Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | New York, NY | 18% | 23% |
| Quarles & Brady | Milwaukee, WI | 21% | 46% |
| Reed Smith | National | 21% | 23% |
| Schiff Hardin | Chicago, IL | 24% | 30% |
| Seyfarth Shaw | Chicago, IL | 18% | 27% |
| Shook, Hardy & Bacon | Kansas City, MO | 23% | 40% |
| Sidley Austin | National | 24% | N/A |
| WilmerHale | National | 25% | N/A |
| Winston & Strawn | National | 14% | 32% |
In Conclusion
These 50 law firms demonstrate a commitment to change within the BigLaw system that has been a long time coming. For women to know there are law firms that are accepting of real-life situations beyond law, give hope for not just the diversity that many inside and out of the legal practice system should come to expect, but that the legal practice system needs to survive the changing world around it.
See the following articles for more information:
- Family Law Attorneys: In Your Experience, Who Pays More For Divorce - Men Or Women?
- Common Obstacles For Women Lawyers
- 5 Steps To Fighting Sexual Harassment Within Law Firms
