My family has an 80-plus year history of women in the law. It started with my mother, Mildred Reynolds Statuta, who became one of Massachusetts' first hundred female lawyers in 1934, when she received an LlB from Northeastern School of Law and joined the Massachusetts Bar. I followed my mother into the profession, graduating from the University of Maryland with a JD and joined the Maryland Bar in 1973. In 1978, I moved to Florida with my husband and one child and joined the Florida Bar. I have practiced family law for 45 years, in solo practice, small firms and three large law firms.

However, neither of my daughters is a lawyer. They observed their mother and grandmother. They concluded that lawyers work too hard. Their decision has made me reflect about what we can do not only to encourage women to join the legal profession, but also help them achieve long and successful careers as lawyers. That was the subject of a recent ABA panel in Chicago.

My mother Mildred worked briefly in a law office with classmates until she married and began to have children. Then she moved her office to her home in Worcester, Massachusetts, and raised four children. She was a transactional lawyer with a solo practice well into her 80s. (She was her own typist, first working on a Royal manual and graduating to an IBM Selectric.)

Following my move to Florida, I continued to work as a poverty lawyer until my second child was born and I opened a solo office in shared space. From 1981 to 1992 I ran a law practice which employed as many as two associates, one law clerk, a bookkeeper and two secretaries/paralegals. A cold call after Hurricane Andrew led to my first big firm employment with Shea and Gould. My first day in the office I was greeted by 30 bouquets of flowers from women lawyers around the city.

Like my mother, I have contributed to the support of my family, owned a nice home, sent my children to college and graduate school, and enjoyed a financially rewarding profession which has given me a lot of personal and professional satisfaction.

At the ABA annual meeting in Chicago meeting this August, an ABA panel discussed data compiled by an initiative led by Miami's own Hilarie Bass as ABA president. The initiative title is “Achieving Long-Term Careers for Women in Law.”

Four pieces of research were undertaken:

  • A survey by ALM Intelligence of managing partners and lawyers with 20 or more years of experience at 350 firms;
  • A survey by the ABA of law school alumni 20 or more years after graduation;
  • Focus groups conducted by the ABA and the American Bar Foundation in Boston, New York, Washington, D.C., Miami, Chicago, San Francisco and Houston. The focus groups were made up of women lawyers still practicing after 15 years and women who dropped out of the practice of law after 15 years; and
  • Two national summits at Harvard Law School and Northwestern Pritzker School of Law.

The ALM survey and the focus groups were discussed in the August ABA meeting, and a final report is due by the end of September.

Here is what we know so far from the survey:

  • Women make up half of all law school students and half of incoming associates at law firms, but there are fewer than 20 percent of women lawyers in leadership positions at firms and about 20 percent of equity partners.
  • There is a disproportionately higher rate of attrition among women lawyers in practice for 20 years, according to News/ABA News/ABA News Archives/2018/07.
  • Women lawyers are disproportionately affected by ageism.
  • Women lawyers experience more sexual harassment, are denied more raises, experience more demeaning communications and are mistaken for lower level employees much more than male lawyers.

What can be done? These problems are not new and are well known to law firms. At Hinshaw & Culbertson, we have a diversity committee to report and make recommendations about policies affecting women, minorities and LGBT lawyers. We also have affinity groups, and I co-chair WAN, the Women Attorneys Network. The WAN meets monthly by video conference and consists of women in Miami; Chicago; San Francisco; Rockford, Illinois; Boston and most of our offices.

Locally in Miami, the women lawyers schedule monthly meetings or activities that support or assist women lawyers. We have had purely social events, but we have also had a local bank vice president talk to the group about becoming an indispensable employee. We have had a local public relations expert talk to us about shaping your reputation. We watched “Notorious RBG” as a group and discussed Ruth Bader Ginsburg. We held a panel discussion with a former Florida Bar president, a past president of NOW, and a young lawyer with a perfect AVVO rating, to discuss business generation and overcoming problems of work-life balance. We read a book about implicit bias and invited the author to speak about solutions. We had a local mediator address successful mediations and important ethical considerations. We try to use women speakers.

Our local efforts at education mirror firmwide initiatives to support and encourage women lawyers to have successful careers at our firm. In Miami, when we all get together, there are 11 of us, four with more than 20 years of practice experience. We try to make sure that younger lawyers know that success in the practice of law is possible, and that we are here to help them succeed for the long term.

Initiatives like “Achieving Long-Term Careers for Women in Law” are extremely important to ensure that women lawyers have the opportunity to enjoy long and successful careers, like my mother and myself. Equally important is that law firms commit to working with women lawyers to ensure they are provided with the career, mentorship and leadership opportunities they need to be successful.

Elizabeth S. Baker is of counsel in the Miami office of the national law firm of Hinshaw & Culbertson. She focuses her practice on family law at the trial and appellate levels. She may be reached at [email protected].