Women in the Law

50 best law firms for women are named

  •  
  •  
  •  
  • Print

Deborah Epstein Henry

Deborah Epstein Henry is founder and president of Flex-Time Lawyers. (Photo from Flex-Time Lawyers’ site.)

Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers have named this year’s 50 best law firms for women.

Law firms on the list had more female equity partners (20 percent on average) than the national average of 17 percent. Sixteen percent had at least three women among their top 10 rainmakers, up from 11 percent last year. And women held 27 percent of the seats on equity partner promotion committees, the highest in five years.

Best law firms in which women make up 25 percent or more of equity partners are: Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz (35 percent); Fredrikson & Byron (35 percent); Hanson Bridgett (31 percent); Holland & Hart (28 percent); Ice Miller (25 percent); and WilmerHale (25 percent).

Best law firms understand the value of both retaining and promoting women lawyers, Flex-Time Lawyers president Deborah Epstein Henry said in a press release (PDF). “They are cultivating female talent to facilitate that they get the good work, the skills and the flexibility they may need,” she said. “Yet they are also investing in women with business development and leadership opportunities.”

Other statistics, contained in an executive summary (PDF):

—At law firms with a one-tier partnership structure, 33 percent of partner promotions went to women, up from 31 percent last year. At two-tier firms, 30 percent of equity partner promotions went to women, up from 25 percent last year. Thirty-five percent of nonequity partner promotions went to women, down from 38 percent last year.

—All the best law firms offer reduced hours, and 96 percent allow reduced-hour lawyers to be eligible for promotion to equity partnership. However, no lawyers at the best law firms were promoted to equity partner while working a reduced schedule last year.

—The flexible work arrangement most used by lawyers at the best law firms is remote work, used by 51 percent of staff attorneys, 41 percent of associates, 52 percent of counsel, 49 percent of nonequity partners, and 47 percent of equity partners.

—Twenty-three percent of lawyers at the best law firms use flex-time, up from 20 percent last year. The option is most popular among staff attorneys, 32 percent of whom use it.

—Nine percent of lawyers at the best law firms opt for reduced hours, down from 10 percent last year. The option is most popular among counsel, 31 percent of whom have reduced hours.

—Eighty-eight percent of the law firms have backup child care, up from 86 percent last year.

The 50 best law firms are:

Baker & McKenzie

Blank Rome

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings

Chapman and Cutler

Cooley

Crowell & Moring

Davis Wright Tremaine

Debevoise & Plimpton

DLA Piper

Dorsey & Whitney

Drinker Biddle & Reath

Duane Morris

Epstein Becker Green

Faegre Baker Daniels

Farella Braun + Martel

Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner

Foley & Lardner

Frankfurt Kurnit Klein & Selz

Fredrikson & Byron

Gibbons

Goodwin Procter

Hanson Bridgett

Hogan Lovells US

Holland & Hart

Hunton & Williams

Ice Miller

Katten Muchin Rosenman

Kaye Scholer

King & Spalding

Kirkland & Ellis

Latham & Watkins

Lindquist & Vennum

Lowenstein Sandler

Manatt, Phelps & Phillips

McDermott Will & Emery

Morrison & Foerster

Munger, Tolles & Olson

Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg

Norton Rose Fulbright

O’Melveny & Myers

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe

Perkins Coie

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman

Quarles & Brady

Reed Smith

Schiff Hardin

Seyfarth Shaw

Sidley Austin

Vinson & Elkins

WilmerHale

Details on each firm are available here (PDF). The firms, which must have 50 or more lawyers, are chosen based on applications that answer more than 300 questions reflecting 2014 data.

Give us feedback, share a story tip or update, or report an error.