News In Focus
9 February 2010
Women still failing to make partner in top firms
A survey to be published this week shows the continuing dominance of men in partner appointments in leading legal firms, particularly the "magic circle" - the biggest firms in the City of London.
The research, by Legal Week magazine, finds that although comprising over 60% of the current graduate intake at many leading firms, women took only 28% of new partner appointments at the top 30 firms over the last three years. Over the three biggest City firms - Clifford Chance, Linklaters and Freshfields - the figure was only 15%.
It is believed that many leave in their early 30s, at the point when they might begin to be considered for partnership, because they find the demands of practice at that level incompatible with starting a family.
Clifford Chance say they have measures in place to double their global proportion of female partners to 30%. Linklaters claims its female proportion in London is now up to 24%, partly through mentoring programmes and better maternity leave, measures also adopted at Freshfields.
Allen & Overy, which promoted the highest proportion of women in the magic circle last year at eight out of 20, said recently that from May this year it would allow partners at any level to work part time (four days a week) for up to eight years.