Men who think they are being sympathetic by lightening the load of pregnant women and new moms are doing them a huge disservice. I have extraordinarily talented and productive female partners who have never married and have no kids and are not rewarded to the same extent as men with similarly situated practices.
— An anonymous female partner at an Am Law 100 firm, commenting on the myth that women lag behind men in Biglaw due to their commitments to motherhood, family, and work/life balance. Instead, we ought to look to law firm leadership to see where the problem lies. According to Kirkland & Ellis partner Michael Williams, “Leadership fails [women]. Leadership needs to do more to recognize and invest in their trajectories.”
Learning After Law School
Once you’ve got your law degree, how do you keep your professional skills up to date? Share your perspective in this brief survey, and you may be eligible to win a $250 gift card.
Staci Zaretsky has been an editor at Above the Law since 2011. She’d love to hear from you, so please feel free to email her with any tips, questions, comments, or critiques. You can follow her on Twitter or connect with her on LinkedIn.