New Report on How Firms Can Retain Women

The Georgia Association for Women Lawyers released a report on retaining women attorneys entitled: IT'S ABOUT TIME II: Examining Flexible Work Arrangements from the Attorney's and the Firm's Perspectives -- A Study of Part-time Policies in Georgia Law Firms.The study surveys 84 law firms in Georgia and finds that only 30% of firms have "formal, written policies regarding reduced time and flexible work arrangements." The report also looks at informal flexible work arrangements, citing "responses from 386 female attorneys to an online survey [which] suggest that informal arrangements make monitoring, scheduling, and other work-related responsibilities very difficult" for those who use them. Why should firms care about having effective part-time or flexible policies? According to the report, "it costs a firm $200,000 to replace a second-year associate." Since most firms attempt to hire diverse associate classes, losing women can be expensive. The report goes on to state that 58% of professional women "describe their careers as 'non-linear' and rely on a variety of work options such as flexible work schedules and part-time work arrangements either as a way to take some time out or as a way to transition back to full-time work." In addition, "only 5% of women who have taken some time off from work return to their original employer."

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How Men and Women Can Work Together at Law Firms [Clippings]

Jennifer Bluestein, director of professional development for the Chicago office of Baker & McKenzie, observes that most training to remedy gender inequalities at firms is geared toward women. Presentations teach female associates how to climb upward. Bluestein argues that male partners also need to learn how to reach downward. There are three ways that senior men can offer a hand up:

Managing partners, practice group chairs and senior partners can help women have the same chance of succeeding as the men do. First, women need mentors, just as men do. Second, women need flexibility and career choices, just as men do. Third, women need to be involved in building client relationships as part of succession-planning, just as men do. These three necessities are important for all attorneys; however, when these needs go unmet for women, it has a more negative impact.

In the body of the article, Bluestein explains obstacles and solutions to improve women's access to mentoring, flexibility, client development and succession planning. It's worth a read. It's worth an email to your firm's senior partners--or, if that's too direct, to your firm's professional development director.

Does your firm offer in-house career counseling?

Recently I wrote about lawyer development, urging firms to invest as much in the success of their existing attorneys as they do in hooking new hires. Here's one way: some firms are retaining in-house career counselors for associates. Niraj Chokshi reports that a few firms are staffing these formal, permanent positions.

The position, say firm development managers, offers associates a neutral and confidential third party to go to with questions: How do I stay on track to make partner? How do I better build my practice? How can I switch practices? How do I get out of here?

There are a couple of business reasons for in-house career counseling...

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Should we pay lawyers to mentor their successors?

Woke up this morning to an article claiming that "Senior Partners Press Firms to Pay Them to Train Their Successors." Details in the article suggest that this is mainly an issue of client retention (about the time it takes to smoothly hand over ongoing work). If it is an issue at all, that is--the report cites not a single specific firm or partner as evidence of the trend. Setting that aside, the headline got me thinking: should we pay lawyers to mentor their successors? Do any employers do this already? To what could such compensation be pegged?

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