Women Lawyers At Risk During Recession
New Survey Shows 2009 Partner Classes Stagnant for Women Lawyers
By Anna Collins, Esq. (Portland, Maine)
As if the news of recent layoffs at major firms is not enough bad news for the legal profession, there is more bad news according to a new survey from the San Francisco-based Project for Attorney Retention. The bad news is that out of 100 firms studied by the organization, only about a quarter ended up with gender-balanced partner classes. In 23 firms surveyed, women make up 40% or more of the new 2009 partner classes. Yet, such progress for less than a quarter of the firms studied is overshadowed by the majority of those surveyed, including the 14 where no women were promoted or another 12 where women make up less than 20% of new partners. Continue
