Although it has been some 40 years since women started entering the practice of law in large numbers, and even though women make up as many as half of incoming associates each year, they still account for just 20% of equity partners at larger firms. Part of the reason for this is there is a particularly high rate of attrition for women in law even at advanced stages of their career — women are far more likely than men to leave the practice of law.
Why is this and what can law firms do to counter it? To get to the bottom of this, the American Bar Association and ALM Intelligence collaborated on a survey of women and men at NLJ 500 law firms. They recently published the findings of that survey in the report, Walking Out the Door: The Facts, Figures, and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice.
This week, I return as guest host to my former podcast, Lawyer2Lawyer, to take a deep dive into the report, its findings and its recommendations. My guests for the show are ABA President Judy Perry Martinez and the two authors of the report, Stephanie A. Scharf, partner with Scharf Banks Marmor in Chicago, and Roberta D. Liebenberg, senior partner at Fine Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia.
