Baker and Hostetler issued the following announcement on July 16.
BakerHostetler is pleased to announce that the firm was honored in Working Mother’s 12th annual “Best Law Firms for Women” list today, recognizing firms that utilize best practices in recruiting, retaining, promoting and developing women lawyers. The firm was among the 60 firms that earned spots on this year’s list. For the third year, Working Mother collaborated with the ABA Journalas a knowledge partner.
“We are thrilled to be recognized again by Working Mother as one of the best law firms for women,” said partner Emily Crosby, chair of the firmwide Women’s Committee. “We are very proud of our programs to promote and support women attorneys at BakerHostetler and look forward to building on these programs across the firm.”
“It’s heartening to see the progress women lawyers are making at firms committed to fully utilizing these attorneys’ abilities,” said Meredith Bodgas, editor-in-chief of Working Mother. “The war for talent is increasing incentives for law firms to invest in retaining women lawyers, which is why we’re seeing more women’s initiatives and parental-support groups. By highlighting what our top firms are doing, we hope others in the legal community will follow.”
The full list, available here, highlights law firms that averaged 37 percent women among new equity partners, compared with only 27 percent five years ago. The percentage of women lawyers in the ranks of the Best Law Firms’ most highly compensated partners also jumped from 11 percent to 15 percent in five years. These firms additionally offer more extended parental-leave benefits, encourage more lawyers to work remotely and use flexible hours, and are increasingly offering reimbursements for egg freezing and other fertility procedures.
A few key parental-leave, work-life and career-advancement initiatives taking place at firms featured on the list:
15 weeks of paid parental leave is the average minimum;
One firm on the list, which strives to set reduced schedules that enable both professional growth and work-life balance, reported that attorneys on reduced schedules comprised 33 percent of those promoted to partnerships as of the start of 2019;
Several firms offer parent-resource groups, which offer support to moms and dads;
Many firms have expanded their women’s initiatives and programs dedicated to the mentoring, sponsorship and promotion of female lawyers, as well as diversity and inclusion programs.
Original source can be found here.