For years, women have been graduating from law school in equal numbers with men, and law firms’ hiring has generally reflected this balance. At some point between being hired and becoming an equity partner, though, women leave. Based on statistics released by the American Bar Association, women comprise only 34 percent of the legal profession. Numbers of women at the highest levels are even more dismal: only 17 percent of equity partners and 4 percent of the 200 largest firms’ managing partners are women.
Why does this matter? One reason is clients and juries alike are increasingly demanding a diverse team of lawyers. In order to retain current clients, and land new ones, firms must do more to retain their women lawyers. Women are natural collaborators, listeners, and multi-taskers and provide a different viewpoint for arriving at the best solution or creating the best strategy. The plan to retain women in your law firm should not only recognize these traits, but also assign them a value when evaluating job performance and compensation.
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