Where Are All the (Asian American) Female Lawyers?
By Kim Tran • October 01, 2019
In my ongoing discussion about why women lawyers leave law firms, I want to take a look at why one subset in particular leaves at higher rates than all others: Asian American women. So why are Asian American women leaving law firms? My personal answer: Statistical Probability. Google this question, and you’ll see article after article about Asian Americans and the practice of law. And in my very unscientific survey of these articles I note the following: (1) for the last two decades Asian Americans make up the largest minority group within big law firms; (2) Asian Americans have one…
Why Can’t Law Firms Retain Their Female and Minority Lawyers? Because Conformity is Exhausting.
By Kim Tran • August 30, 2019 •Writers in Residence
A common topic of conversation among my female professional friends is how much of our work lives are controlled by gender and racial stereotypes. The most common one is being told to smile. I can’t tell you how many times in my working life that a male partner or associate has walked into my office while I was deep in thought working on a brief or an important client memo and looked at me and said, “is there something wrong?” or “are you ok?” When I say that everything is fine, they often say something like, “you’re not smiling, you…
Pay and Power Disparities and the Retention of Female Lawyers
By Kim Tran • August 01, 2019 •Writers in Residence
Women lawyers leaving big or established firms are not always leaving law firm life. Many are leaving to start solo or small law firms. The reason may come down to the numbers. According to the December 2018 report by Major Lindsey & Africa, male partners earn 53 percent more than female partners at top U.S. law firms. The reasons for this disparity include originations and billing rate discrepancies. Add to that the issue that the amount of originations is often a key factor in making equity partner versus non-equity partner at many law firms. Equity partnership means more voting power and…
The Limiting Effect of Biology on a Legal Career
By Kim Tran • July 01, 2019 •Writers in Residence
In private practice a lawyer’s reputation is built on the number of times they have done something: the number of times they have gone to trial, successfully settled a case, argued in a specific court, or argued before a certain judge. Getting as many opportunities as you can early in your career shapes the opportunities and the clients you will have in your later years. But for some female lawyers, this requirement does not coincide well with their own biology – the choice to have children and to prioritize the needs of their family. While this is not true for all,…
The Double Glass Ceiling: A barrier to female and minority retention
By Kim Tran • May 31, 2019 •Writers in Residence
One reason for the inability of law firms to keep their female and minority lawyers may come down to two words: business development. Or more accurately, business generation and the lack thereof. I met a female in house counsel at a conference last fall. She had gone in house after 8 years in a law firm. I asked her what made her go in house and her answer was that she had been practicing in a very niche practice at her firm that wasn’t easy for her to develop her own business. I asked other female in house counsel at the…
Chicken or the Egg: The issue of retention starts with perspective.
By Kim Tran • April 30, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Issues, Balancing Private and Professional Life, Other Issues
Why can't we retain our female and minority lawyers? Last month I told you I would share my story first. The story of why I choose to stay, when a disproportionate number of lawyers like me choose to leave the traditional practice of law. I am a female minority lawyer practicing in BigLaw. I have been in practice for 12 years. I started in a smaller firm and made my way steadily through bigger more established firms. In my city, there are few lawyers like me practicing in the larger law firms. There are plenty, however, that opened up their…
Chicken or the Egg: Why Can’t We Retain Our Female and Minority Lawyers?
By Kim Tran • March 31, 2019 •Writers in Residence, Careers, Firms and the Private Sector
I went to a conference recently and sat at a table with a group of male partners, and the topic of our conversation turned to this question. They lamented the loss of diverse talent in their firms, and they simply could not understand why. Their firms have internal networks for female and/or minority lawyers. They host diversity workshops. Some of them even have an in-house diversity and inclusion specialist. They told me they personally assign female and minority lawyers in their offices to their cases and actively mentor and sponsor them when they can. They sounded genuine. They sounded like…