New Partner Report 2018
Summary of Findings
Attorneys Promoted to Partnership in the U.S. by Gender – 2018
Roughly 39% of attorneys promoted to partnership in 2018 in the U.S. offices of many of the nation’s largest and top-grossing law firms were women, while 61.1% were men.
Among the 134 firms for which data was collected, 42 firms (31.3%) reported a 50/50 split or greater in favor of women. This is a decrease from the 2017 figure of 33.1% but still represents a significant increase over previous years. Six firms (4.5%) reported having no women promoted to partnership. This figure represents a significant decrease from 2017 (10 firms or 7.5%) and is the smallest number of firms historically included in this report with no women in their new partner classes. None of these six were among the firms with no women in the 2017 New Partner Report, and women made up half or more of the 2017 new partner classes for four of the six firms.
The average number of attorneys promoted to partnership was 11, which represents an increase from last year’s figure of 10.5. Firms reporting a 50/50 split or greater in favor of women promoted an average of 8.3 attorneys to partner, which represents an increase from last year’s figure of 7.7. The six firms that did not promote any women to partner also have smaller than average new partner classes – 4.3 attorneys.
The Bigger Picture of Women in Law Firms
When included in an overall snapshot of women within the legal profession, the percentage of women promoted to partnership shows some promise as it outpaces the total percentage of women partners (22.7%) as reported by the National Association for Legal Placement (NALP) in 2017[1]. However, the percentage of new women partners trails the percentages of women associates (45.48%)1 and women summer associates (49.87%) [1] in 2017 by roughly 6.8 and 11.2 percentage points respectively.
[1] See “2017 Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms” NALP, December 2017. https://www.nalp.org/uploads/2017NALPReportonDiversityinUSLawFirms.pdf
Share of Women Among New Partners: A Six-Year Look
When the Alliance began collecting data in 2012, the share of women among new partner classes was roughly 33%. Although the percentage of women among new partners in the U.S. has remained relatively stable, this year’s figure of 38.9% represents a slight increase and surpasses the previous mark of 38.1% from last year.
Individual Firm Results – 2018
| Law Firm | Men | Women | Total | % Women |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld | 11 | 2 | 13 | 15.4% |
| Alston & Bird | 13 | 7 | 20 | 35% |
| Arent Fox | 4 | 6 | 10 | 60% |
| Arnold & Porter | 3 | 4 | 7 | 57.1% |
| Baker McKenzie | 8 | 5 | 13 | 38.5% |
| Baker Botts | 7 | 3 | 10 | 30% |
| Baker Donelson | 5 | 6 | 11 | 54.5% |
| BakerHostetler | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Ballard Spahr | 7 | 4 | 11 | 36.4% |
| Barnes & Thornburg | 7 | 5 | 12 | 41.7% |
| Blank Rome | 7 | 4 | 11 | 36.4% |
| Boies, Schiller & Flexner | 2 | 3 | 5 | 60% |
| Brown Rudnick | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| Bryan Cave Leighton Paisner* | 6 | 6 | 12 | 50% |
| Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| Cahill Gordon & Reindel | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| Cleary Gottlieb Steen & Hamilton | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| Cooley | 12 | 6 | 18 | 33.3% |
| Covington & Burling | 7 | 6 | 13 | 46.2% |
| Cozen O'Connor | 9 | 10 | 19 | 52.6% |
| Cravath, Swaine & Moore | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Crowell & Moring | 5 | 2 | 7 | 28.6% |
| Davis Polk & Wardwell | 6 | 0 | 6 | 0% |
| Davis Wright Tremaine | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16.7% |
| Debevoise & Plimpton | 1 | 2 | 3 | 66.7% |
| Dechert | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
| Dentons | 2 | 7 | 9 | 77.8% |
| Dickinson Wright | 11 | 4 | 15 | 26.7% |
| DLA Piper | 13 | 6 | 19 | 31.6% |
| Dorsey & Whitney | 9 | 4 | 13 | 30.8% |
| Drinker Biddle & Reath | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20% |
| Duane Morris | 7 | 2 | 9 | 22.2% |
| Epstein Becker & Green | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| Eversheds Sutherland | 12 | 5 | 17 | 29.4% |
| Faegre Baker Daniels | 14 | 6 | 20 | 30% |
| Farella Braun + Martel | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| Fenwick & West | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.3% |
| Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner | 6 | 4 | 10 | 40% |
| Fish & Richardson | 11 | 9 | 20 | 45% |
| Fitzpatrick, Cella, Harper & Scinto | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Foley & Lardner | 10 | 9 | 19 | 47.4% |
| Foley Hoag | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| Fox Rothschild | 10 | 13 | 23 | 56.5% |
| Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy | 3 | 4 | 7 | 57.1% |
| Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson | 6 | 1 | 7 | 14.3% |
| Gibbons | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher | 7 | 6 | 13 | 46.2% |
| Goldberg Kohn | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| Goodwin Procter | 10 | 2 | 12 | 16.7% |
| Greenberg Traurig | 11 | 9 | 20 | 45% |
| Haynes and Boone | 6 | 3 | 9 | 33.3% |
| Hogan Lovells | 7 | 5 | 12 | 41.7% |
| Holland & Hart | 4 | 4 | 8 | 50% |
| Holland & Knight | 16 | 13 | 29 | 44.8% |
| Hughes Hubbard & Reed | 2 | 1 | 3 | 33.3% |
| Hunton Andrews Kurth* | 9 | 4 | 13 | 30.8% |
| Husch Blackwell | 12 | 6 | 18 | 33.3% |
| Jackson Lewis | 9 | 5 | 14 | 35.7% |
| Jenner & Block | 4 | 8 | 12 | 66.67% |
| Jones Day | 18 | 14 | 32 | 43.8% |
| K&L Gates | 11 | 6 | 17 | 35.3% |
| Katten Muchin Rosenman | 6 | 3 | 9 | 33.3% |
| Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton | 9 | 3 | 12 | 25% |
| King & Spalding | 13 | 3 | 16 | 18.8% |
| Kirkland & Ellis | 45 | 33 | 78 | 42.3% |
| Kramer Levin Naftalis & Frankel | 2 | 3 | 5 | 60% |
| Kutak Rock | 6 | 1 | 7 | 14.3% |
| Latham & Watkins | 16 | 8 | 24 | 33.3% |
| Lathrop & Gage | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20% |
| LeClairRyan | 1 | 1 | 2 | 50% |
| Littler Mendelson | 13 | 15 | 28 | 53.6% |
| Locke Lord | 6 | 4 | 10 | 40% |
| Loeb & Loeb | 3 | 2 | 5 | 40% |
| Lowenstein Sandler | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Mayer Brown | 13 | 6 | 19 | 31.6% |
| McCarter & English | 6 | 2 | 8 | 25% |
| McDermott Will & Emery | 4 | 10 | 14 | 71.4% |
| McGuireWoods | 11 | 9 | 20 | 45% |
| Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16.7% |
| Miles & Stockbridge | 4 | 7 | 11 | 63.6% |
| Miller & Chevalier | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Morgan, Lewis & Bockius | 13 | 15 | 28 | 53.6% |
| Morrison & Foerster | 3 | 4 | 7 | 57.1% |
| Munger, Tolles & Olson | 4 | 2 | 6 | 33.3% |
| Nelson Mullins | 10 | 3 | 13 | 23.1% |
| Nixon Peabody | 7 | 4 | 11 | 36.4% |
| Norton Rose Fulbright | 5 | 5 | 10 | 50% |
| Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart | 3 | 8 | 11 | 72.7% |
| O'Melveny & Myers | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
| Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe | 10 | 4 | 14 | 28.6% |
| Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| Paul Hastings | 7 | 5 | 12 | 41.7% |
| Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison | 3 | 1 | 4 | 25% |
| Pepper Hamilton | 6 | 2 | 8 | 25% |
| Perkins Coie | 11 | 6 | 17 | 35.3% |
| Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman | 4 | 4 | 8 | 50% |
| Polsinelli | 17 | 6 | 23 | 26.1% |
| Proskauer Rose | 7 | 2 | 9 | 22.2% |
| Quarles & Brady | 8 | 7 | 15 | 46.7% |
| Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan | 5 | 3 | 8 | 37.5% |
| Reed Smith | 10 | 7 | 17 | 41.2% |
| Ropes & Gray | 6 | 2 | 8 | 25% |
| Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
| Schiff Hardin | 2 | 2 | 4 | 50% |
| Schulte Roth & Zabel | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0% |
| Seyfarth Shaw | 6 | 5 | 11 | 45.5% |
| Shearman & Sterling | 6 | 2 | 8 | 25% |
| Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton | 7 | 6 | 13 | 46.2% |
| Shook, Hardy & Bacon | 12 | 3 | 15 | 20% |
| Shutts & Bowen | 1 | 4 | 5 | 80% |
| Sidley Austin | 8 | 8 | 16 | 50% |
| Simpson Thacher & Bartlett | 7 | 2 | 9 | 22.2% |
| Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom | 7 | 3 | 10 | 30% |
| Squire Patton Boggs | 2 | 9 | 11 | 81.8% |
| Steptoe & Johnson | 1 | 2 | 3 | 66.7% |
| Sterne, Kessler, Goldstein & Fox | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20% |
| Stroock & Stroock & Lavan | 5 | 1 | 6 | 16.7% |
| Sullivan & Cromwell | 6 | 1 | 7 | 14.3% |
| Thompson & Knight | 4 | 1 | 5 | 20% |
| Thompson Hine | 3 | 6 | 9 | 66.7% |
| Troutman Sanders | 8 | 1 | 9 | 11.1% |
| Venable | 10 | 8 | 18 | 44.4% |
| Vinson & Elkins | 5 | 3 | 8 | 37.5% |
| Weil, Gotshal & Manges | 7 | 0 | 7 | 0% |
| White & Case | 14 | 2 | 16 | 12.5% |
| Wiley Rein | 3 | 3 | 6 | 50% |
| Williams & Connolly | 3 | 2 | 5 | 40% |
| Willkie Farr & Gallagher | 5 | 2 | 7 | 28.6% |
| Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale & Dorr | 4 | 3 | 7 | 42.9% |
| Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati | 11 | 4 | 15 | 26.7% |
| Winston & Strawn | 10 | 6 | 16 | 37.5% |
| Womble Carlyle Sandridge & Rice | 10 | 4 | 14 | 28.6% |
| Zuckerman Spaeder | 0 | 1 | 1 | 100% |
| TOTAL | 897 | 571 | 1,468 | 38.9% |
We strive to keep this report accurate, but should you find any inaccuracies or have questions, please contact Sejal Shah.