50 Best Law Firms for Women

Summary: Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers have released a comprehensive list of the top 50 law firms for women.

This month, Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers released their list of the top 50 law firms for women. The list, which has been around for a decade, recognizes U.S. law firms that “create and use best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers.” This includes offering flexible arrangements and generous paid parental leave.

• Related: Yale Law Women Announces 2015 Top Ten Family-Friendly Firms

For instance, Arnold & Porter was included on this year’s list because it offers 18 full paid weeks of birth or adoption leave, flexible schedules, $10,000 in adoption aid, and “excellent subsidized childcare.”

Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers said that, “Female representation is lower at partner levels than in less senior roles; however, Best Law Firms, on average, employ more female equity partners (20%) than the national average (18%).” They added that women represent 30% of lawyers of the firms on the list, and this is the highest percentage in the past ten years.

O’Melveny & Meyers earned a spot on this year’s list, and they stated that in 2016, 45% of their partner promotions were women.

• Related: Top Law Firms with Best Quality of Life

“Our former chair Warren Christopher once said, ‘the most effective teams are comprised of talented people with divergent backgrounds and experiences,” O’Melveny chair Bradley J. Butwin said. “They do not look like the products of a cookie cutter.’ That commitment to diversity and inclusion impacts everything we do at O’Melveny, from developing our talent to building client and trial teams.”

Colorado-based Holland & Hart was listed because of its initiatives to promote work-life balance. According to Working Mother, “This firm eliminated billable-hours requirements for partners in 2015 and began basing compensation for mid- to senior-level associates on revenues, not in-office time. Its Women’s Forum promotes new telecommuting and on- and off-ramping policies.”

Working Mother’s mission is to champion a culture of change, and it has a readership of 2 million. Flex Time Lawyers is a consulting firm founded by Deborah Epstein Henry, and it focuses on promoting work-life balance in the legal profession. To create this list, firms applied by answering 300 questions about aspects such as representation, compensation, time off, and childcare.

2016 Working Mother and Flex Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women

1. Arnold & Porter
2. Baker & McKenzie
3. Bradley Arant Boult Cummings
4. Cooley
5. Crowell & Moring
6. Davis Wright Tremaine
7. Debevoise & Plimpton
8. DLA Piper
9. Dorsey & Whitney
10. Duane Morris
11. Faegre Baker Daniels
12. Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner
13. Foley & Lardner
14. Fox Rothschild
15. Fredrikson & Byron
16. Gibbons
17. Goodwin Procter
18. Gray Plant Mooty
19. Hanson Bridgett
20. Hogan Lovells
21. Holland & Hart
22. Holland & Knight
23. Ice Miller
24. Katten Muchin Rosenman
25. Kaye Scholer
26. King & Spalding
27. Kirkland & Ellis
28. Latham & Watkins
29. Littler
30. Lowenstein Sandler
31. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips
32. McDermott Will & Emery
33. McGuireWoods
34. Morrison & Foerster
35. Neal, Gerber & Eisenberg
36. Norton Rose Fulbright
37. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
38. O’Melveny & Meyers
39. Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe
40. Perkins Coie
41. Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman
42. Quarles & Brady
43. Reed Smith
44. Schiff Hardin
45. Seyfarth Shaw
46. Shook, Hardy & Bacon
47. Sidley Austin
48. Troutman Sanders
49. Vinson & Elkins
50. WilmerHale

For the full study, click here.

What do you think about the firms listed? Let us know in the comments below.