Only 58% of women lawyers in BigLaw would recommend legal careers for their daughters, survey says

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Women in the Law Only 58% of women lawyers in BigLaw would recommend legal careers for their daughters, survey says

By Debra Cassens Weiss

May 9, 2023, 11:21 am CDT

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Work-life balance is still an issue for women lawyers working in BigLaw, according to a survey of nearly 200 women attorneys by legal intelligence provider Leopard Solutions.

More than 80% of surveyed women lawyers said the most compelling reason to leave their BigLaw firm would be for better work-life balance.

“For those who left BigLaw, their responses were thoroughly depressing,” an executive summary says. “Most cited the lack of firm support in providing maternity leave or child care and the stress of making the high billable-hour targets. … For those still working in BigLaw, their answers were split, showing that policies and firms can vary greatly in their treatment of women.”

Law.com covered the survey results in a story noted by Above the Law. A May 3 press release is here.

Only 58% of the women lawyers said they would recommend a legal career for their daughters, according to Law.com.

Women lawyers who wouldn’t recommend a legal career said “they did not like what they were still experiencing—sexism. The same experiences their mothers had in the ’80s,” according to the survey report, titled The Challenges of Women in BigLaw.

The survey sought responses from women lawyers nearing partnership who worked in the nation’s top 200 grossing law firms. Seventy-eight percent of the respondents were between ages 25 and 35, while 21% were between 35 and 44.

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