Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Law Firms Taking Steps to Support Women Lawyers
Some of the country’s biggest law firms are putting their money where their mouth is when it comes to supporting women lawyers. Just last week Holland & Knight announced a new initiative aimed at attracting and retaining more women lawyers. The firm expanded their maternity leave benefits to 16 weeks and adoption leave benefits to 10 weeks. They also implemented ramp-up and ramp-down periods, which allow for a grace period to return to normal work levels. The policy is considered the most progressive in Florida and is a strong statement of Holland & Knight’s support of women in the field.
Holland & Knight is not the only law firm that is starting to focus on strategies to retain women lawyers. The ABA reports that a number of firms and attorneys are beginning to see the benefits of supporting women’s business goals. Firms including Mayer Brown and Kirkland & Ellis have utilized Sheryl Sandberg’s book, Lean In, along with the Lean-in Platform Partners Project as a tool to facilitate conversations among women associates and partners within the firm aimed at retention of women lawyers.
Joanna Harsnall, chair of Mayer Brown’s women leadership committee, noted that “attrition is expensive…and attorneys making it through the first five years are running cases and doing hard-core case work; that’s a valuable segment. The cost of implementing lean-in groups is relatively nothing by comparison of what can be gained by firms retaining attorneys.”
The bottom line is that this is good business and, as Linda Myers points out it, it is good business development. She stated, “Lean-in partnering is also natural for client development. Firms have increasing client pressure to deliver more diverse staffing on their matters.”
The takeaway for me is that the conversation regarding women in law and in business is continuing to develop. The conversation does matter. It is and will continue to affect change for women in the field. Let’s face it -- the alternative silent approach wasn’t working. I for one am grateful to see the cause of women in law being embraced by a growing number of law firms, and I hope to see the trend continue.