Working Mother – August 2019

34 Workingmother.com | august/september 2019

Best

Wo m e n 2019

Law Firms

for

Littler HALL OF FAME

San Francisco, CA

Co-presidents and Managing

Directors Tom Bender and

Jeremy Roth

Co-chairs, Women’s Leadership

Initiative Jennifer Youpa and

Margaret Parnell Hogan

The Career Advocacy Program

pairs women and other

underrepresented groups as

protégés with shareholder

advocates. They also meet with

an external general counsel,

who serves as their champion.

Protégés have represented 18 to

40 percent of each new share-

holder class since 2015, with

women attorneys representing

47 to 61 percent of each class.

Lockridge Grindal

Nauen FIRST-TIMER

Minneapolis, MN

Managing Partner

Harry Gallaher

Partner Heidi Silton

The firm submitted female-

leadership slates in multidistrict

litigation cases, providing its

female attorneys with high-

profile assignments, allowing

them to build leadership skills,

a national profile and co-counsel

relationships. This facilitates

future business generation and

advancement opportunities.

It also organized and hosted

women-only seminars and

networking events.

Lowenstein Sandler

Roseland, NJ

Chairman and Managing

Partner Gary Wingens

Litigation Partner

Lynda Bennett

The Women’s Initiative Network

developed its Safe Space

Discussion Series, a forum for

women attorneys to explore

sensitive and professionally

impactful topics, reducing

stigmas that can impact

professional growth.

Manatt, Phelps &

Phillips HALL OF FAME

Los Angeles, CA

CEO and Managing Partner

Donna Wilson

Women’s Initiative Chair

Timi Hallern

Modifications to income

partner and associate

compensation were made

to add a ramp-down and

ramp-up period before and

after leaves to smooth the

transition, eliminating the

impact this previously had

on billable-hours review.

Marshall, Gerstein &

Borun Chicago, IL

Managing Partner

Jeffrey Sharp

Partner and Chair, Diversity &

Inclusion Committee

Lynn Janulis

The firm strives to set reduced

schedules that enable both

professional growth and work-

life balance. Attorneys on

reduced schedules comprised

33 percent of those promoted

to partnerships as of January 1,

2019, up from 25 percent the

previous year.

Mintz Boston, MA

Managing Partner

Robert Bodian

Chair, Women’s Initiative

Meredith Leary

The firm started offering a

service that ships breast milk

home for mothers who are

traveling. Also, if requested,

returning mothers are provided

a mini fridge and privacy

setup (with door locks and

privacy shades) in their

personal offices.

Morrison & Foerster

HALL OF FAME Boston, MA

Managing Partner

Tessa Schwartz

Director, Attorney

Development and Women’s

Initiative Janet Herman

The Parents’ Resource List

offers attorneys the chance to

speak about their experiences

as working parents at the firm.

Attorneys becoming parents

can be paired with a mentor

who can be a resource before,

during and after leave.

Ogletree, Deakins,

Nash, Smoak & Stewart

Greenville, SC

Managing Shareholder

C. Matthew Keen

Shareholder Kerri Reisdorff

As a result of the inaugural

women’s sponsorship program

for top-performing non-equity

shareholders, nine sponsees

were partnered with sponsors,

and seven were elected

equity shareholders.

O’Melveny & Myers

New York, NY

Chairman Bradley Butwin

Director, Diversity and

Engagement Mary Ellen

Connerty

Women are 33 percent of

the members of the partner-

compensation committee and

36 percent of the partner-

admissions committee.

Women also are 43 percent of

U.S. office-managing partners.

Orrick, Herrington &

Sutcliffe HALL OF FAME

New York, NY

Chairman Mitch Zuklie

Partner, Chair Women’s

Initiative Leah Sanzari

The firm has created a

Women’s Advisory Board

composed of general counsels

from important clients and

diversity thought leaders.

The board meets quarterly

with firm senior attorneys to

provide feedback and discuss

best practices. Also, senior

leaders of corporate legal

departments are participating

on a Diversity Advisory Board.

Perkins Coie HALL OF FAME

Seattle, WA

Managing Partner

William (Bill) Malley

Partners Lucy Park and

Jennifer Understahl

A two-year pilot sponsorship

program is designed to

increase retention, develop-

ment and advancement of

high-potential diverse

attorneys, including women.

Nine attorney pairs are

participating; six of those being

sponsored are women. Each

pair has clear goals and

metrics, including increasing

client opportunities and devel-

oping subject-matter expertise.

Pillsbury Winthrop

Shaw Pittman

HALL OF FAME New York, NY

Firm Chair David Dekker

Partner Brooke Daniels

The firm started sending a

leader of its Women Attorneys

Network (WAN) to the

Hastings Leadership Academy

for Women at the University of

California, Hastings College of

the Law, a course for women

law-firm partners and in-house

counsel. Feedback from the

participant helps WAN deter-

mine internal and public events.

15

The average minimum

number of paid weeks of

gender-neutral parental leave