Reaching the Top

When The New York Times decides a topic should be covered on the front page of the Sunday Business section, you know it’s an important one. In this case, it’s one that nearly all of our law firm clients have so far been stymied by: Why do so few women reach the top at big law firms?

Author Timothy O’Brien tackled the subject this past Sunday in “Up the Down Staircase” (New York Times, 03/19/06, Section 3, p. 1). He notes that despite a decade of effort, in which many firms focused on retention of women lawyers, relatively few became partners. Recent data from NALP (the National Association of Law Placement) indicates that only 17% of partners were women in major law firms in 2005, a very slight rise from the 14% of partners who were women in 1995.

Why does this issue persist? Clearly, one factor is the different styles men and women bring to work. Over the past year, we’ve conducted several programs about gender styles in the workplace. Each of these programs has tackled several key issues, including: 1) The genders possess different work styles; 2) Not all men possess the traditional male style and not all women possess the traditional female style; 3) No one style is better; and most importantly, 4) If our workplaces are to prosper, both genders darn well better recognize the differences and learn how to accommodate them.

O’Brien suggests two other factors that may contribute to the dearth of women partners. He notes that law firms’ intense focus on the bottom line has increased pressure on all lawyers to be maximally billable. While we find this discourages both genders, women lawyers, more frequently than their male counterparts, take a break from the workplace to start and raise a family. Then the second factor kicks in: Few law firms make it easy for women lawyers to transition out of and back into the workplace.

What remains unclear is how many women lawyers genuinely want to become a partner in a major law firm.  I often think of middle-aged male managing partner I met years ago who readily told me that if he had do it all over he’d choose a profession other than practicing law.  Perhaps, it’s time for us all to assess what the legal profession has become and challenge ourselves to improve it for the sake of female and male lawyers alike.

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