For the last 20 years, approximately half of all law school graduates have been women. Yet, as has been widely reported, women only make up slightly more than 20 percent of the partnership at major law firms, with even fewer women becoming equity partners.

Female lawyers have also struggled to break into the ranks of trial lawyers. In 2015, the American Bar Foundation conducted a study looking at the participation of women lawyers as lead and trial counsel in litigation. They found that men are three times more likely than women to appear as trial attorneys in civil cases and, in class actions, nearly 90 percent of lead counsel are men.

While these numbers paint a bleak picture for women, there are reasons to be optimistic that women will gain greater representation at counsel table. Clients, especially large public companies, are pushing to have more diverse legal teams, including in the courtroom. For example, Facebook recently announced that it would require that women and ethnic minorities account for at least 33 percent of the law firm teams working on its matters. Facebook also will require that these firms create measurable leadership opportunities for women and minorities, including by appearing on behalf of the company in court. Moreover, research into juror perceptions has found that jurors have more favorable perceptions of female trial attorneys as compared to men overall. Importantly, both male and female jurors view women lawyers as more likeable and honest than their male counterparts, both of which are critical attributes for any successful trial lawyer.