National Association of Women Lawyers Releases Fourth Annual Survey

Provocative Data Show Women Disproportionately Affected by Dismissals of
Part-Time Attorneys; Confirm Few Women Among Top Firm Rainmakers
CHICAGO--(Business Wire)--
Today, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) and the NAWL Foundation
released the results of the fourth annual Survey on Retention and Promotion of
Women in Law Firms. The Survey is the only national study of the nation`s 200
largest law firms which annually tracks the progress of women lawyers at all
levels of private practice, including the most senior positions, and collects
data on firms as a whole rather than from a subset of individual lawyers.

"The 2009 NAWL Survey explores new territory, including the impact on women of
the unprecedented downsizing of major U.S. law firms, and the frequency with
which women are represented in the top ranks of "rainmakers," those lawyers who
generate the most new business for their firms," said NAWL President Lisa
Gilford, Partner with Alston & Bird LLP. "Each year`s Survey helps us drill down
further into the data, with the goal of learning why women`s advancement in law
has been stalled and what can be done to enable more women to succeed."

NAWL Foundation President Stephanie Scharf, Partner at Schoeman Updike Kaufman &
Scharf in Chicago, stated: "The NAWL Survey continues to break new ground in
identifying both the opportunities and obstacles facing women attorneys seeking
to advance in private practice. In these challenging economic times it may be
unrealistic to expect women to make significant headway; however, it is
particularly disappointing to see the dearth of women rainmakers, a role that is
essential for success in private practice. It was also disconcerting to see
major firms terminating a disproportionate number of women who were practicing
part-time. Part-time practice for women attorneys, as for other women
professionals, typically lasts only a few years. Terminating these women can
only further thin the ranks of talented women who could become equity partners
and law firm leaders in the future."

The 2009 Survey underscores that women are significantly under-represented in
the upper levels of law firms. The large majority of women who start as
associates in firms do not advance to equity partnership and even fewer become
law firm leaders. Male lawyers are the most powerful and best compensated
members of firms. Men hold the vast majority of ownership shares, dominate firm
governing committees and represent the overwhelming number of major rainmakers
in firms.

Highlights of the Survey include the following findings:

* The travails of the current economic downturn have disproportionately affected
women lawyers. Although men and women lawyers generally lost their jobs in
numbers commensurate to their percentages as associates, counsel and income
partners, women constituted almost all of the terminated attorneys who practiced
on a part-time basis.
* Women attorneys` success in generating business lags significantly behind that
of their male counterparts. Nearly half of major U.S. firms indicated that they
have no women among their top ten rainmakers, while another third reported that
only one of their top ten rainmakers was a woman. Interestingly, there is a
correlation between the number of top female rainmakers and the compensation
difference between male and female lawyers: the more women rainmakers a firm
has, the less of a compensation differential exists.

* At every stage of practice, men continue to out-earn women lawyers, although
the magnitude of the difference has declined in the last year. Male equity
partners earn on average almost $66,000 per year more than female equity
partners.
* The market for lateral partners, already an important avenue for advancement
for both men and women, has continued to be robust in spite of the faltering
economy. In general, making a lateral move is advantageous for both women and
men, although the data show that men are far more likely than women to change
firms. Firm structure may affect the calculus of whether a lateral move is
warranted, since one-tier firms are more likely to promote both men and women
from within.
* For over 20 years women have graduated from law schools and started careers in
private practice at roughly the same rate as men, yet women continue to be
markedly under-represented in the leadership ranks of firms. Women constitute
fewer than 16% of equity partners, only 6% of firm managing partners, and barely
15% of the members of a firm`s highest governing committee - percentages which
have not changed from 2008 and have barely advanced since the Survey began
exploring these data in 2006.
* 70% of large law firms employ someone who has the primary responsibility to
oversee the firm`s diversity program and implement its goals. There is wide
variation in both staffing and approach. Only about half of the positions are
staffed by persons possessing a law degree (whether or not they practice law).
Nearly two-thirds of the firms report having one or more full-time diversity
positions, while one-quarter report staffing these positions on a part-time
basis, and 12% of the firms indicate that the responsibility for implementing
diversity goals is overseen by a committee.

The full NAWL Survey Report can be accessed by visiting:
http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Documents/2009+Survey.pdf. In addition, NAWL`s 2008
report from its National Leadership Summit, Actions for Advancing Women Into Law
Firm Leadership, http://www.nawl.org/Assets/Summit+Report+2008.pdf, provides an
excellent list of recommended actions for law firms committed to advancing women
into leadership positions.

Since 1899, the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) has been committed
to fostering diversity and advancing women in the legal profession.NAWL is the
only national women`s bar association with individual and organizational members
nationwide, including law firms, law firm attorneys, corporations, in-house
counsel, government attorneys, law schools, and law school professors.Please
visit www.nawl.org.

Kendall Bram
Hellerman Baretz Communications
202-274-1836
kbram@hellermanbaretz.com

Copyright Business Wire 2009