ATLANTA, GA / ACCESSWIRE / August 6, 2019 / Working Mother, a leading advocacy for mothers across the nation who balance commitments to both family and careers, released its annual recognition of the best U.S. law firms for women lawyers. The 2019 list acknowledged 60 law firms that have been proven to implement practices to not only recruit and retain women lawyers, but also invest in their career development and growth. While being named to this list was a new achievement for some firms, Ogletree Deakins, one of the largest labor and employment law firms, was selected for the third year.
To qualify, firms answered 300 questions regarding staff retention, benefits such as parental-leave and paid time off, and staff composition-resulting in an analysis of the number of U.S. lawyers versus the percentage of female layers; the percentage of female associates, counsel, equity partners, and non-equity partners; percentage of women lawyers hired; women lawyers in top management; and firms’ offerings for sponsorship programs dedicated to women. Following this evaluation, Ogletree Deakins’ efforts to advance women were again selected among the industry’s best.
To date, twenty-one percent of Ogletree Deakins’ equity partners are women, with women making up 41 percent of its non-equity partners. Further highlighted in the rationale for this honor was Ogletree Deakins’ inaugural ODWIN sponsorship program to support its top-performing non-equity shareholders. The program partnered nine participants with sponsors and resulted in seven non-equity shareholders being elected as equity shareholders.
In addition to its sponsorship initiatives, Ogletree Deakins works to spotlight the talent of its 420 female attorneys with the firm’s comprehensive platform ODWIN: Ogletree Deakins Women’s Initiative. To best serve women in the industry, ODWIN focuses on three areas: power with a focus on leadership, access to internal and external opportunities, and results by means of professional fulfillment. Kerri Reisdorff, the current Chair of ODWIN, is committed to continuously raising the standards of the firm and establishing ongoing resources for the firm’s women lawyers. With these programs, Ogletree Deakins aims to make an impact on not only its staff, but the legal industry at large.
“We’re honored to be acknowledged by Working Mother for the work we’re doing within our firm and inspired to see so many law firms working to advance their talented women lawyers,” said Reisdorff. “The significance of this list goes beyond accolades and most importantly speaks to the progression happening within the industry.”
Data captured from the 2019 Working Mother “Best Law Firms for Women” survey highlights the impact women-focused programs can have on law firms and their lawyers. The findings show that among the 60 law firms recognized by Working Mother, the average percentage of women equity partners increased from 27 percent to 37 percent and that the average percentage of women partners ranked as “the most highly paid” increased from 11 percent to 15 percent. Additionally, while on average women makeup 39 percent of the lawyers at the top 60 firms selected, 44 percent of these firms’ new hires and 23 percent of its equity partners were women.
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SOURCE: Ogletree Deakins