Reuters Legal’s Post

Share with your members: According to the NALP - National Association for Law Placement, women now make up more than 50% of law firm associates. Women currently make up nearly 40% of all attorneys at law firms, which is the highest percentage on record since NALP started tracking this type of data over 30 years ago. Bloomberg Law provides more information and insights on the report here: https://lnkd.in/gwpSFVe3 #ShareWithYourMembers #LawFirmDEI

Women made up 50.31% of associates in 2023, the first time that they were a majority in the 30-plus years that the NALP has been tracking firm diversity data, according to a Jan. 9 press release and the 2023 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms released Jan. 9. The percentage of associates of color increased 1.8 percentage points in 2023 to 30.15%. That is the largest year-over-year increase for this group measured by the NALP. It is also a big jump since 2010, when the percentage of associates of color was 19.53%.

Reason for optimism?! After a trio of law professors analyzed the composition of the legal teams that handled the transactions at more than 10,000 deals at six firms over the past 10 years, I spoke with Reuters.   In 2013, 42% of the deals the professors reviewed included at least one woman among the top five lawyers at the table.   By 2023, that number had jumped to 78% at the sample firms.   The sharp increase in the number of women on deal teams in the last decade is “reason for optimism,” according to Tracey George of Vanderbilt University Law School, who co-authored the paper with Mitu Gulati (University of Virginia School of Law) and Albert Yoon (University of Toronto Faculty of Law). “Women are moving up.”   “It’s mostly still men at the top of deals,” Gulati said. In 80% of the transactions that he and his co-authors reviewed, the teams were led by men, with women lawyers in secondary roles – though the professors posit (and I agree) that such experience can also serve as stepping stones to landing the top spot down the road.   “Frankly, representation matters,” I said. When up-and-coming lawyers see women in senior positions, they “see what’s possible.” (And, we rock better shoes). Be well. Winston & Strawn LLP

Walsworth once again received a Top 25 ranking in the Orange County Business Journal’s list of Women-Owned Businesses. The firm is ranked 23rd, up two spots from last year. We are also the only law firm ranked in the Top 30. Companies on the list are majority-owned by women and ranked on 2023 revenue. Women lawyers, including Managing Partner Dee C., compose 84 percent of the firm’s equity partners and own 80 percent of the firm.   Our ranking further validates the recognition Walsworth has received nationally in recent years, including Top 5 rankings in Law360’s 2023 Women in Law Report, which ranks U.S. law firms based on female representation at all attorney levels and Law360’s “Ceiling Smashers” report, which ranks U.S. law firms based on female representation at the equity partner level.   Learn more about what makes us different: https://lnkd.in/g5EeNGDd

The good news is that most UK law firms can boast 50% or more female associates this year according to LAW.COM here. Well done to Gateley Legal (71%), Gibson Dunn (70%), and Freeths (68%). Dentons, CMS UK, and Eversheds Sutherland make it onto the top 15 rankings for females at both associate and partner level too- double the prize! Noted that Dentons has put in place several targeted initiatives to combat the inequality including a three-year partnership potential pipeline and Eversheds Sutherland chief people officer Lorraine Kilborn, talks of the necessity to break down “subconscious industry biases”. We know all about the industry biases. With more female associates who will in time reach partnership, there will be more role models and more trailblazers at the top but there needs to be more. At Reignite Academy we have proved with the placement of nearly 90 lawyers after a break that there is no correlation between the length of a career break and your success at returning. Five of our successful returners have also made partner too. We are "the other initiative" that firms can use. We look at a candidate’s background and experience and their motivation and potential. With training and support from us and technical support from the firm, it's possible to get smart and ambitious women back to the law. Thank you to DLA Piper; CMS UK; Travers Smith; Stevens & Bolton LLP who are member firms and to all the other firms that recruit through us. Want to add anything Lisa Unwin? Please help increase the number of females at the top! #femalelawyers #careerbreak #femalepartner #genderequality #unconscious bias

As women and minorities posted their biggest gains in law office representation last year, diversity advocates said firm worries about lawsuits after last year’s US Supreme Court decision threaten progress. “Too often the conversation seems to be shifting from ‘We need to do better,’ to ‘How do we keep from getting sued?’” said Lauren Stiller Rikleen president of Strategic Leadership, which consults law firms on diversity issues. “The Harvard case cannot be an excuse for results that should have been vastly improved years ago.” Read more on how we can battle this threat: https://lnkd.in/grw5KQaJ #hiring #recruiting #DEI #diversityequityinclusionbelonging #artificialintelligence #diversityrecruiting #hersishiring #HERSadvisors #recruitmentredefined

Women, Minority Law Firm Gains Dampened by Litigation Threat While women and people of color achieved significant strides in associate representation last year, with women constituting over 50% of law firm associates for the first time, concerns loom over potential lawsuits following the U.S. Supreme Court's Harvard decision on race-based admissions, notes a report from the National Association of Law Placement. Advocates fear a chilling effect on diversity efforts. The report highlights another noteworthy aspect—despite increased diversity in associate classes, Black and Latina women still represent only 1% of all partners. Tatyana Monnay at Bloomberg Law delves into the progress and potential challenges facing diversity efforts. https://lnkd.in/gihMD-3G #diversitymatters #legalindustry

Newly released figures show that 2023 was a groundbreaking year for diversity in the legal field! 🎉 Data released this week shows that more than 50% of U.S associates hired last year were women - this is the first time women outnumbered men! 🥂 Racial diversity at law firms also increased to 30.15% in 2023 which was another record increase! 🎊 These figures look incredibly promising and will hopefully start to be reflected more at the Partner level over the next couple of years (although there was a slight increase in the amount of non-white and female partners last year which is also amazing but still more work to be done!) Vault's 2024 Best Law Firms for Diversity are as followed (Top 10): 1. Clifford Chance 2. O'Melveny & Myers 3. Morgan Lewis 4. BakerHostetler 5. Orrick 6. McDermott Will & Emery 7. Littler 8. Proskauer Rose 9. Ropes & Gray 10. Robinson & Cole #diversityandinclusion #legalrecruitment #law #unitedstates https://lnkd.in/e_GT-JfS

Four Willkie partners have been shortlisted by Euromoney Legal Media Group in its annual Women in Business Law Americas Awards, which recognize the top women attorneys across the legal profession. The following Willkie lawyers have been named finalists for their leadership and achievements in their respective fields: Simona Agnolucci - “Litigator of the Year” Barbara Grayson - “Wealth Management Lawyer of the Year” Sara Horton - “Patent Lawyer of the Year” Rachel Strickland - “Restructuring & Insolvency Lawyer of the Year” Learn more below. #womeninlaw

Baker Donelson has been recognized by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance as a law firm that is "Tipping the Scales" toward gender parity by having 50% or more women in its 2023 new partner class. Baker Donelson was among 78 law firms recognized at the Alliance's annual conference. These firms were honored in conjunction with the results of the Alliance's 2023 New Partner Report, a compilation of public data related to the gender breakdown of attorneys promoted to partner in U.S. and global law firms. The report revealed that 43.7% of new partners from 196 major U.S. law firms in 2023 were women, representing a substantial increase of 3.5% from last year's 40.2%. Christy Tosh Crider, Baker Donelson's Baker Women's chair, Health Care Litigation Group chair, and member of the Firm's Board of Directors, said, "Baker Donelson is proud to be among the law firms recognized for their impact in ensuring gender parity in the legal profession. To advance all deserving lawyers, a firm must have vision, intentionality, and most importantly, prioritization of the goal by firm leadership. At Baker Donelson, we have achieved gender parity in several recent classes of shareholder promotions because we are committed to providing our women attorneys with the resources and support that they need to advance and thrive." Read more: https://lnkd.in/eQ7EZAX6