Legally Ambitious

Much of the discussion about work/life balance focuses on flexible schedules, parental leave policies, equal pay and career compromises. But it's not as politically correct to tackle how women -- and men -- can parent effectively without abandoning their ambitions. Since its founding in 1979, one voice has consistently insisted women can have it all: Working Mother magazine.

Now, for the first time Working Mother, which also publishes the well-known Top 100 Companies for Women list, tackled one of the most competitive fields for men and women: law. Last week, the magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers banded together to announce the top law firms for women looking to strike a better work/life balance -- and climb to the top.

Almost half of law school graduates over the past 15 years have been women, but we make up only 16 percent of equity partners (those who share in a firm's profits) in large law firms nationwide. To highlight the advantages to top law firms that accomodate women's ambitions and their kids, Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers, a New York organization committed to improving work/life balance and career success for female attorneys, selected 50 firms that have a significant percentage of female equity partners, penalty-free flex schedules, and mentoring programs.

"It's a funny thing about prestigious lists," says Jamie Gorelick, 57, a former Justice Department official and now a partner at one of Top 50 law firms, WilmerHale, and the mother of two teenagers. "Employers want to get on them. This list will lead to efforts to make the workplace more amenable to lawyers looking for better work/life balance."

See the August/September issue of Working Mother to view all 50 winners,* who include (in unbiased, alphabetical order):

Arnold & Porter (Washington, D.C.)
Baker & McKenzie (Chicago)
Bryan Cave (St. Louis, Miss.)
Covington & Burling (Washington, D.C.)
Dorsey & Whitney (Minneapolis, Minn.)
Duane Morris (Philadelphia)
Hogan & Hartson (Washington, D.C.)
Heller Ehrman (San Francisco)
King & Spaulding (Atlanta)
Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom (New York)
WilmerHale (Washington, D.C.)
Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice (Winston-Salem, N.C.)

Lawyers wield great power in our society. It is in every woman's best interest to have more (and more successful) female lawyers. So let's hear from lawyers out there -- especially ones working for these Top 50 firms (or bottom 50 if that's your opinion). Tell us what really matters in your life as you balance law and your life. And for the rest of you: What ambitions have you held on to -- and let go of -- since becoming a parent?

*To qualify, a firm must have at least 50 or more lawyers.

By Leslie Morgan Steiner |  August 20, 2007; 7:00 AM ET  | Category:  You Go Girl!
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