Reminder: Register for free NYC networking event by MAY 15 (the event will be on June 4th)

If you'll be in New York next month and you haven't yet registered, consider attending the free networking reception & presentation at White & Case on June 4th with Debbie Epstein Henry talking about the Best Law Firms for Women ranking she undertook with Working Mother Magazine last year. (We covered her survey here and here.) The deadline to RSVP is TOMORROW, May 15th. Hope to see you there! More details after the jump...

Number 63 and Abandoned: A Rant From the Forgotten Eighty Percent

I’m not in the top twenty of my class. I’m not even in the top twenty percent of my class. In fact, by definition, the majority of my law school class is not in the top twenty percent of my class. Yet, we keep being forgotten by our professors, our deans, and perhaps most noticeably, our career services offices.

Open invitation to Debbie Epstein Henry talk & networking reception in NYC @ White and Case (RSVP required)

Catherine Gratton and Kelly Hoey at the White & Case Women's Network have extended an invitation to Ms. JD readers in the NYC area to attend a free networking reception & presentation on June 4th with Debbie Epstein Henry (one of our favorite women in law) talking about the Best Law Firms for Women ranking she undertook with Working Mother Magazine last year. (We analyzed her survey results here and here.) You can RSVP online until May 15th. See the flyer after the jump for more details...

Five Big Law firms ranked in Fortune's 100 best companies to work for

Five of the biggest Big Law firms are ranked in Fortune magazine's 2008 ranking of the 100 best companies to work for. The issue hits newsstands today, February 4th. Arnold & Porter comes in at #19, Alston & Bird at #31, Bingham McCutchen at #41, Perkins Coie at #55, and Nixon Peabody at #66. [The full list of companies is here--I tripled-checked, but tell me in the comments if I missed mentioning any legal employers on the list!]

To compile the ranking, Fortune and the Great Place to Work Institute surveyed just over 400 companies that are at least 7 years old and have more than 1,000 U.S. employees. So only the biggest of Big Law were eligible to be ranked. Writing up yet another Big Law ranking, I feel compelled to link to some of the best solo and small practice blogs at the same time--just to keep another option on the horizon for readers. Because for some lawyers, the answer to "where's the best place to work?" is surely "for yourself!" No matter what Fortune magazine says.

More on methods and highlights of the ranking, after the jump...

Open invitation to Debbie Epstein Henry talk & networking reception in DC @ White and Case (RSVP required)

Kelly Hoey (White and Case) & Anna MacCormack (NYU Law School) have very nicely extended an invitation to Ms. JD readers in the DC area to attend a free networking reception & presentation on Feb. 4th with Debbie Epstein Henry (another of our favorite women in law) talking about the Best Law Firms for Women ranking she undertook with Working Mother Magazine last year. (We analyzed her survey results here and here.) You can RSVP until January 31st. See the flyer after the jump for more details...

NAWL’s National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, Part II

In a previous post, I talked about some of the results recently reported by NAWL for their annual national survey. For the first time, NAWL asked firms questions about the retention policies and efforts to retain women lawyers. The survey focused on three structural issues: large minimum hour requirements, poor part-time policies, and the existence (or not) of a women’s initiative within the firm.

NAWL’s National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms, Part I

NAWL released the results of their survey two weeks ago, albeit to less fanfare that other less-involved reports. While those of us who are familiar with the topic may find that much of what the survey reports is old news, there were some things reported that were surprising to me.

First, I was surprised to learn that the drop off in the number of women attorneys at firms happens between the senior associate level and the partner level. I was previously aware that women comprise somewhere between 45-50% of junior associates (actually 49% according to this survey) and somewhere around 17% of equity partners (actually 16%). I assumed that the lower representation of women was gradual with the percentages getting less and less with each year of associate-ship. However, the survey shows something much more striking. NAWL found that women make up 43% of 7th year associates, 30% of of-counsels, 26% of non-equity partners, and 16% of equity partners. Here’s what the report says about these numbers...

The revolution of falling expectations

In the 1960s, social critics spoke about the "revolution of rising expectations," describing the phenomenon in which succeeding generations of Americans expected to do better than their parents and the conflicts that resulted when they did not.

If the latest issue of Working Mother magazine trumpeting the "50 Best Law Firms for Women" is any indication, we are now in the midst of "the revolution of falling expectations," which will have its own serious consequences.

Ten Family-Friendly Firms (new ranking by law students)

The women's student group at my school has just release its second annual ranking of "the top ten family-friendly firms." I did not have any part in preparing these rankings... just passing them along. The press release is here.

According to Yale Law Women and co-sponsoring women's law groups at Stanford, Harvard, Columbia, Chicago, Boalt, Northwestern, and Virginia, the top ten family-friendly firms of 2007 are...

[More after the jump]

The Firms Where You Are Most Likely to Make Partner

Working Mother Magazine didn't rank firms by how many of their partners are female, but I'll do it (using their data)! Of the fifty firms named "best for women" by WMM and Flex-Time Lawyers, which firms have the highest proportions of equity (profit-sharing) and nonequity partners?

The standouts are Folger Levin & Kahn (San Francisco), Ice Miller (Indianapolis), Armstrong Teasdale (St. Louis), and Katten Muchin Rosenman (Chicago).

[More after the jump]