Is Your Firm on Working Mother's Best of 2008 List?
Noting that the legal profession is in a “work/life crisis” with 78 percent of associates leaving firms by year five and nearly half of women lawyers leaving the profession altogether, Working Mother magazine has released its 2nd annual list of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women.
The August/September issue explores these work/life balance issues and whether law firms are rising to the challenge to meet female workforce demands, according to a release promoting the forthcoming issue.
“Women should not be denied the right to become partners, but the ‘billable hour’ system is not allowing them to advance in their careers and raise a family. The 100-hour work week model is just not effective,” Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media, says in the release. “Today, with nearly half of law school graduates women, law firms will have to make a fundamental shift in their policies regarding partnership in order to remain competitive.”
Evans says she hopes that by recognizing firms that are addressing workplace needs, needed changes will be made.
Recognized firms—ranging from Houston’s Andrews Kurth to Silicon Valley’s Wilson Sonsini—maintain programs that Working Mother and its top 50 list partner Flex-Time Lawyers believes will make a difference.
Namely, of those on the list, 98 percent host networking groups for female lawyers, 68 percent offer mentoring for senior female associates, and 62 percent offer management training for women.
Here’s the 2008 list:
Andrews Kurth, Houston, TX
Arent Fox, Washington, D.C.
Arnold & Porter, Washington, D.C.
Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, IL
Bass, Berry & Sims, Nashville, TN
Bingham McCutchen, Boston, MA
Bricker & Eckler, Columbus, OH
Chapman and Cutler, Chicago, IL
Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton, New York, NY
Covington & Burling, Washington, D.C.
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, NY
Davis Polk & Wardwell, New York, NY
Debevoise & Plimpton, New York, NY
Dorsey & Whitney, Minneapolis, MN
Farella Braun + Martel, San Francisco, CA
Fenwick & West, Mountain View, CA
Foley Hoag, Boston, MA
Folger Levin & Kahn, San Francisco, CA
Fox Rothschild, Philadelphia, PA
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson, New York, NY
Gibbons P.C., Newark, NJ
Gray Plant Mooty Law Firm, Minneapolis, MN
Heller Ehrman, San Francisco, CA
Hogan & Hartson, Washington, D.C.
Honigman Miller Schwartz and Cohn, Detroit, MI
Hunton & William, Richmond, VA
Ice Miller, Indianapolis, IN
Jenner & Block, Chicago, IL
Katten Muchin Rosenman, Chicago, IL
Kutak Rock, Omaha, NE
Latham & Watkins, Global
Lindquist & Vennum, Minneapolis, MN
Littler Mendelson, San Francisco, CA
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Los Angeles, CA
Miller & Chevalier Chartered, Washington, D.C.
Morgan, Lewis & Bockius, Philadelphia, PA
Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco, CA
Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg, Chicago, IL
Patton Boggs, Washington, D.C.
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York, NY
Perkins Coie, Seattle, WA
Shearman & Sterling, New York, NY
Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, MO
Sidley Austin, Chicago, IL
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, NY
Steptoe & Johnson, Washington, D.C.
Sullivan & Cromwell, New York, NY
Vinson & Elkins, Houston, TX
WilmerHale, Washington, D.C. and Boston, MA
Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, Palo Alto, CA
Alston & Bird, Atlanta, GA
Armstrong Teasdale, St. Louis, MO
Arnold & Porter, Washington, DC
Baker & Daniels, Indianapolis, IN
Baker & McKenzie, Chicago, IL
Bingham McCutchen, Boston, MA
Blackwell Sanders, Kansas City, MO
Bryan Cave, St. Louis, MO
Chapman and Cutler, Chicago, IL
Covington & Burling, Washington, DC
Cravath, Swaine & Moore, New York, NY
Debevoise & Plimpton, New York, NY
Dickstein Shapiro, Washington, DC
DLA Piper US, New York, NY
Dorsey & Whitney, Minneapolis, MN
Duane Morris, Philadelphia, PA
Eckert Seamans Cherin & Mellott, Pittsburgh, PA
Farella Braun + Martel, San Francisco, CA
Foley & Lardner, Milwaukee, WI
Folger Levin & Kahn, San Francisco, CA
Gibbons P.C., Newark, NJ
Heller Ehrman, San Francisco, CA
Hogan & Hartson, Washington, DC
Holland & Knight, New York, NY
Howrey, Washington, DC
Hunton & Williams, Richmond, VA
Ice Miller, Indianapolis, IN
Katten Muchin Rosenman, Chicago, IL
King & Spalding, Atlanta, GA
Kirkland & Ellis, Chicago, IL
Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, Pittsburgh, PA
Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel, New York, NY
Manatt, Phelps & Phillips, Los Angeles, CA
Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw, Chicago, IL
McDermott Will & Emery, Chicago, IL
McGuireWoods, Richmond, VA
Miller & Chevalier Chartered, Washington, DC
Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo, Boston, MA
Morrison & Foerster, San Francisco, CA
Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, New York, NY
Patton Boggs, Washington, DC
Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison, New York, NY
Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, New York, NY
Reed Smith, Pittsburgh, PA
Sidley Austin, Chicago, IL
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, New York, NY
Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Chicago, IL
White & Case, New York, NY
WilmerHale, Washington, DC
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice, Winston-Salem, NC
