Improvement in Partnership Ranks?

The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance released a report that found 78 law firms had “tipped the scales” towards gender parity by having 50% or more women in their 2023 partnership classes. The report found that in 2023 43.7% of new partners from 196 major law firms were women, which the report called a “substantial increase” of 3.5% from last year’s 40.2%. The share of law firms with 50% or more women in their new partner class increased from 27.6% to 38.3%. While I’d rather see good news than bad on this subject, these numbers aren’t exactly earth-shattering. And they say nothing about whether these law firms are able to maintain women lawyers in their ranks.

Along these lines, all associates should check out Karen Vladeck’s great LinkedIn post about what you should take away from your firm’s picture showing this year’s partnership class. (And, if your firm doesn’t post such an announcement, that’s another red flag. Partnership is a milestone—likely the only one you’ll ever get from your law firm itself. If your firm doesn’t care enough to celebrate its future, look elsewhere.)

Native American Women Lawyers

The ABA and the National Native American Bar Association have published a dire report based on a qualitative research study of 74 Native American women that finds that Native American women lawyers often feel isolated and exhausted, and endure pervasive bias and harassment.

A Law Firm That Does It Right?

Above the Law did a profile on California law firm Greenberg Glusker which suggests that the law firm supports its attorneys and staff—including generous parental leave (7 months), baby showers, recognition of personal achievements outside work, and genuinely caring about the people who work for them. The descriptions seem too good to be true—suggesting either the article is a marketing piece or my expectations of legal employers are quite low.

What Women Really Want

Gallup released a study purporting to explain what women “really” want in the workplace. It found some differences in what men and women want in their next jobs.

Importantly, the study found that “work-life balance and better personal wellbeing” didn’t necessarily mean more work flexibility or lifestyle benefits. Instead, “unfairness at work, unmanageable workloads, and unclear communication” were the primary drivers of burnout driving women to seek new employment. These findings are consistent with what readers of this newsletter know about burnout.

The press about this study linked its findings to the TikTok trend of “lazy girl jobs,” in which younger generations of women tout switching their job in order to find greater work-life balance. I have no idea what about needing fairness, a manageable workload, and clear communication is “lazy,” but I suppose such phrases drive clicks these days.

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