Cravath Names New Partners -- And All Three Are Women
This elite firm's announcement shows there's no trade-off between equality and excellence.
Worldwide Plaza, where the magic happens — or, at least, where Biglaw compensation levels are set.
Biglaw has big problems when it comes to gender equality. While juicy lawsuits generate headlines, one need not rely on those cases — which at this point involve just allegations, after all — to make the diagnosis. Focus instead on the fundamentals — like the fact that women represent just 18 percent of equity partners in large law firms.
One possible response: that statistic covers partners at all levels of seniority, so there’s a lag time here, and the problem will naturally go away as the years pass. If women make up about 50 percent of law school students, they’ll eventually make up 50 percent of equity partners, right?
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Alas, that might be a bit optimistic, at least if firms don’t make an effort to improve the retention and promotion of women lawyers. As reflected in recent partner promotion announcements, this remains a live issue. For example, just last week Cleary Gottlieb named eight new partners, and only one was a woman. Commenting to Above the Law, managing partner Mark Leddy said, “There are no excuses; we must do better. We have undertaken a number of initiatives and are firmly committed to making the investments necessary to ensure that our culture is one in which all lawyers can thrive.”
Now, one shouldn’t put too much stock in any one firm’s new partner class. It’s more important to look at the big picture, which does seem to be improving. According to a new report by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, of those lawyers promoted to partnership at 134 large U.S. law firms over the last year, 37 percent are women.
Thirty-seven percent, well above the overall representation of women in Biglaw partnership, is nice. But you know what’s even nicer? One hundred percent. From a tipster:
Partner election night at Cravath: Mungovan, Leraris, D’Amico. All women.
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Yes, that’s right. Say hello to the three new partners at the firm that once again took the #1 spot in our ATL Power 100 Law Firm Rankings, a place you might have heard of — Cravath, Swaine & Moore:
- Margaret D’Amico: An antitrust litigator, D’Amico joined Cravath in 2008, after finishing law school at Harvard (where she also obtained her undergraduate degree).
- Rory Leraris: Also a litigator (but focused on general commercial matters), Leraris arrived at Cravath in 2008, after graduating from the University of Chicago Law School. She earned her undergraduate degree from Amherst.
- Kara Mungovan: Like D’Amico, Mungovan is a graduate of Harvard College and Harvard Law School. She is a tax lawyer.
Margaret D’Amico
Two litigators, one tax lawyer, and six degrees from top-flight schools. The trio will join the partnership on January 1, 2017.
What’s especially noteworthy (and heartening) about this news is that the Cravath partnership is one of the most meritocratic in Biglaw. It’s a small partnership, with fewer than 100 members, and when picking partners, the firm emphasizes excellence in lawyering above all else. Unlike most firms, Cravath doesn’t pay much attention to the vicissitudes of the economic cycle or the trendiness or power of particular practice groups (which makes the absence of general corporate lawyers from this list less surprising). The Cravath partnership process is also less political than at many other places (although it’s impossible to remove politics entirely from partnership decisions).
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Rory A. Leraris
This is not the first good news on gender equity to come out of Cravath this year. In July, the firm announced that M&A maven Faiza Saeed will take over from Allen Parker as presiding partner next year. As we noted at the time, “it’s fair to say that as of January, Cravath will be the most prestigious, profitable, and white-shoe firm to boast a woman leader.”
Congratulations to these three outstanding lawyers on joining one of the most exclusive clubs in the legal profession — and congratulations and thanks to Cravath for setting an excellent example for its fellow firms. May they follow Cravath’s lead on gender equality as surely as they do on base salaries and bonuses.
Kara L. Mungovan
Has your firm recently announced its new partners? If so, what do the selections — in terms of number, practice areas, diversity, or other considerations — say about the state of your firm? Feel free to email us (subject line “[Firm Name] New Partners”) or text us (646-820-8477). Thanks.
P.S. If you’re interested in gender diversity in the legal profession, please check out our Law Firm Gender Diversity Index.
(Flip to the next page to see Cravath’s new partner announcement.)
Earlier: Law Firm Gender Diversity Index
Cleary Gottlieb’s New Partner Class: Where Are The Women?
Tracking 10 Years Of Women’s Progress In The Legal Profession
Cravath Elects Its Next Presiding Partner, M&A Star Faiza Saeed
David Lat is the founder and managing editor of Above the Law and the author of Supreme Ambitions: A Novel. He previously worked as a federal prosecutor in Newark, New Jersey; a litigation associate at Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz; and a law clerk to Judge Diarmuid F. O’Scannlain of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. You can connect with David on Twitter (@DavidLat), LinkedIn, and Facebook, and you can reach him by email at dlat@abovethelaw.com.
