WOMEN IN LAWWOMEN IN LAWThere is no doubt that women have come a long way in creating an equal standard of living as men, particularly in the �eld of law, but

this progress is ongoing and there is still a lot of room for improvement and reform to narrow the disparities gap.

1869187018721879

1963

19931999

ARABELLA MANSFIELDFirst woman lawyer admitted to the bar.1

ADA KEPLEYFirst woman to graduate from law school.2

CHARLOTTE E. RAYFirst African American woman lawyer.3

BELVA A. LOCKWOOD First woman lawyer admitted to U.S. Supreme Court.3

LORNA LOCKWOODFirst woman chief justice of a State Supreme Court.4

JANET RENOFirst woman U.S. attorney general.4

CHRISTINE LAGARDEFirst woman chairperson of a law �rm (Baker & McKenzie).5

2012

33%

of U.S. lawyersare women6

SINCE 2000

of women earned law degrees in the past 12 years6

45%+

It is estimated that it will take more than a lifetime for a woman lawyer to achieve full equality, according to the Catalyst website.14

CURRENT PERCENTAGE OF WOMEN LAWYERS

Associates6

Staff Attorneys in law �rms6

Equity Partners6

Active District Court judges6

Active U.S. Courts of Appeals judges6

Deans of law schools6

of the 6% total part-time

lawyers are women6

CURRENT PERCENTAGE OF INDUSTRIES WHERE ALL LAWYERS PRACTICE7

Women Men

Business/Industry 12.3%

14.6%

Government13.5%

13.2%

Judicial Clerkship11.3%

9.9%

Public Interest 7.8%

4.2%

Academics2.3%

1.8%

Private Practice51.9% 55.4%

GENDER PAY GAP

On average, women lawyers earn 87% of wages earned by men.6

87%

100%

WOMEN’S SALARIES AS A PERCENTAGE OF MEN’S7

Equity Partners

86%

Of-Counsels

92%

Non-Equity Partners

95%

of the largest U.S. law �rms have no women on governing committees.7

Women are

more likely to work in lower-paid public interest jobs.6

50% 11%

LEADERSHIP

Survey for 50 Best Law Firms for Women: Promotion of Women Lawyers7

According to latest Vault Rankings8

1 2 3 4 59.2%

Carlton Fields

Schiff Hardin LLP

Littler Mendelson PC

Debevoise and Plimpton LLP

Ropes & Gray LLP

Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC

Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

Jenner & Block LLP, Reed Smith LLP

Alston & Bird LLP

Hughes Hubbard & Reed LLP

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

43%

75%

6Years

of all entry-level male and female associates departed their �rms within one year of hire.9

of all male and female associates departed within three years of hire.9

of all male and female associates left their original �rms within six years of hire.9

REASONS FOR LEAVING

7.7%

4.7%vs.

left due to billable hour pressures.9

2,065hours

1,850hours

Average Total Hours Worked in 2005 (reported from 690 law �rms)10

Average Billable Hours Worked in 2005 (reported from 799 law �rms)10

Women were almost 10 times more likely to attribute leaving to dependent care responsibilities.9

CLOSING THE GAP

The American Bar Association’s (ABA) Presidential Task Force on Gender Equity and its

Commission on Women in the Profession, released a report called “Closing the Gap: A Road

Map for Achieving Gender Pay Equity in Law Firm Partner Compensation,”12 which details

how to eliminate disparity.

4 RECOMMENDATIONS TO HELP ELIMINATE DISPARITY12

The Lean In Foundation: a book written by Sheryl Sanders focused on empowering

women to reach their goals and go beyond gender bias, which is now a foundation

many law �rms have joined to support women.13

THE FOUNDATION SUPPORTS WOMEN BY13

1COMMUNITY

2EDUCATION

3CIRCLES

encouraging open exchange of personal

experiences, information and ideas to learn and

feel inspired

providing access to free online lectures partnered

by the Clayman Institute for Gender Studies at Stanford University to offer practical

skills to women for everyday life

offering small online groups that meet monthly, to create an atmosphere of trust and con�dence

for support

1 http://www.women.iowa.gov/about_women/HOF/iafame-mans�eld.html2 http://uudb.org/articles/adamiserkepley.html3 http://www.nawl.org/p/cm/ld/�d=204 http://www.cawp.rutgers.edu/fast_facts/resources/Firsts.php5 http://blog-imfdirect.imf.org/bloggers/christine-lagarde/6 http://crgp.ucsd.edu/documents/GenderinLegalProfessionsCaseStudy.pdf7 http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-law-us8 http://abovethelaw.com/2013/08/the-best-law-�rms-for-diversity-2014/9 http://scholarship.law.wm.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article10 http://www.nalp.org/2007aprassociaateswork11 http://ms-jd.org/has-women-lawyers-progress-stalled12 http://thecareerist.typepad.com/thecareerist/2013/08/how-law-�rms-can-help-close-the-gender-pay-gap.html 13 http://leanin.org/about/14 http://www.catalyst.org/knowledge/women-law-us

Sources

created by

created for

It is not uncommon for women to receive worse evaluations after having children.11

A 2003 study shows that women are leaving before the third year of employment, right before they are likely to reach a level of pro�tability.9

There is a tendency for women with children to receive less signi�cant and challenging assignments, which makes it more dif�cult to advance in their �rms.11

The "maternal wall" bias is a negative assumption about a mother’s commitment and competence.11

TIMELINE

LEGAL CAREER STATISTICS

3%

of U.S. lawyerswere women6

1951

10 BEST LAW FIRMS FOR DIVERSITY FOR WOMEN IN 2014

55%

15%

30%

31%21%

70%+

45%

10%

of �rm chairpersons are women

12%

had women as managing partners

19%

of equity partners are

women

28%

of non-equity partners are women

41%

of counsels are women

Firms should put all compensation factors in writing. This allows women

to know where they stand on the �nancial spectrum and whether their

income is being shortchanged.

Firms should keep records of men and women at every level—keeping track of stats about compensation, involvement and inclusion.

Firms should create clear-cut legacy plans, so in�ghting over credit

allocation doesn’t occur and the most quali�ed lawyer gets the client, regardless of gender. Oversight

committees should be created to ensure women are equally

included in legacy plans.

More women should be part of compensation committees to prevent future discrepancies.

1 2

3 4

BE TRANSPARENT

CREATE A SUCCESSION PLAN DIVERSIFY YOUR COMPENSATION COMMITTEE

JUMP ON THE METRICS BANDWAGON

RETENTION AND ATTRITION

MEN

WOMEN