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    Categories: Lawyers

50 Best Law Firms for Women

Photo courtesy of Law Sarasota.

Summary: Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers have released a comprehensive list of the top 50 law firms for women.

This month, Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers released their list of the top 50 law firms for women. The list, which has been around for a decade, recognizes U.S. law firms that “create and use best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers.” This includes offering flexible arrangements and generous paid parental leave.

For instance, Arnold & Porter was included on this year’s list because it offers 18 full paid weeks of birth or adoption leave, flexible schedules, $10,000 in adoption aid, and “excellent subsidized childcare.”

Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers said that, “Female representation is lower at partner levels than in less senior roles; however, Best Law Firms, on average, employ more female equity partners (20%) than the national average (18%).” They added that women represent 30% of lawyers of the firms on the list, and this is the highest percentage in the past ten years.

O’Melveny & Meyers earned a spot on this year’s list, and they stated that in 2016, 45% of their partner promotions were women.

“Our former chair Warren Christopher once said, ‘the most effective teams are comprised of talented people with divergent backgrounds and experiences,” O’Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin said. “They do not look like the products of a cookie cutter.’ That commitment to diversity and inclusion impacts everything we do at O’Melveny, from developing our talent to building client and trial teams.”

Colorado-based Holland & Hart was listed because of its initiatives to promote work-life balance. According to Working Mother, “This firm eliminated billable-hours requirements for partners in 2015 and began basing compensation for mid- to senior-level associates on revenues, not in-office time. Its Women’s Forum promotes new telecommuting and on- and off-ramping policies.”

Working Mother’s mission is to champion a culture of change, and it has a readership of 2 million. Flex Time Lawyers is a consulting firm founded by Deborah Epstein Henry, and it focuses on promoting work-life balance in the legal profession. To create this list, firms applied by answering 300 questions about aspects such as representation, compensation, time off, and childcare.

2016 Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women

  1. Arnold & Porter
  2. Baker & McKenzie
  3. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
  4. Cooley
  5. Crowell & Moring
  6. Davis Wright Tremaine
  7. Debevoise & Plimpton
  8. DLA Piper
  9. Dorsey & Whitney
  10. Duane Morris
  11. Faegre Baker Daniels
  12. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
  13. Foley & Lardner
  14. Fox Rothschild
  15. Fredrikson & Byron
  16. Gibbons
  17. Goodwin Procter
  18. Gray Plant Mooty
  19. Hanson Bridgett
  20. Hogan Lovells
  21. Holland & Hart
  22. Holland & Knight
  23. Ice Miller
  24. Katten Muchin Rosenman
  25. Kaye Scholer
  26. King & Spalding
  27. Kirkland & Ellis
  28. Latham & Watkins
  29. Littler
  30. Lowenstein Sandler
  31. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
  32. McDermott Will & Emery
  33. McGuireWoods
  34. Morrison & Foerster
  35. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg
  36. Norton Rose Fulbright
  37. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
  38. O’Melveny & Meyers
  39. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
  40. Perkins Coie
  41. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
  42. Quarles & Brady
  43. Reed Smith
  44. Schiff Hardin
  45. Seyfarth Shaw
  46. Shook, Hardy & Bacon
  47. Sidley Austin
  48. Troutman Sanders
  49. Vinson & Elkins
  50. WilmerHale

For the full study, click here.

What do you think about the firms listed? Let us know in the comments below.

Teresa Lo: