2019 New Partner Report Released
Washington, DC – November 8, 2019 – Yesterday, during the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance’s Annual Conference, fifty-one law firms were recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2019 U.S.-based new partner class. The firms, recognized as “Tipping the Scales,” were identified through the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report, a compilation of public data and self-reported sources released each year for the past eight years. The Report revealed that 41.3 percent of new partners in 138 major U.S. law firms in 2019 were women, surpassing last year’s mark by 2.4 percentage points. The Executive Summary is publicly available here.
PHOTO: Representatives from major law firms pose with Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance, after receiving their “Tipping the Scales” Recognition at the Alliance’s 2019 Annual Conference in Washington, DC on November 7, 2019. Photo Credit: Birch Thomas (photosbybirch.com).
The “Tipping the Scales” firms recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2019 new partner class included:
| 1. Akerman
2. Alston & Bird 3. Arent Fox 4. Arnold & Porter 5. Ballard Spahr 6. Boies Schiller Flexner 7. Bracewell 8. Cahill Gordon & Reindel 9. Cravath, Swaine & Moore 10. Crowell & Moring 11. Davis Polk & Wardwell 12. Davis Wright Tremaine 13. Debevoise & Plimpton 14. Dentons 15. Dickinson Wright 16. Drinker Biddle & Reath 17. Duane Morris 18. Epstein Becker & Green
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19. Eversheds Sutherland
20. Fenwick & West 21. Fragomen, Del Rey, Bernsen & Loewy 22. Gibbons 23. Goodwin Procter 24. Goldberg Kohn 25. Hogan Lovells 26. Jackson Lewis 27. Jones Day 28. K&L Gates 29. Lathrop Gage 30. Lewis Brisbois Bisgaard & Smith 31. Littler Mendelson 32. Manatt, Phelps & Phillips 33. McGuireWoods 34. Miles & Stockbridge 35. Morgan, Lewis & Bockius
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36. Ogletree, Deakins, Nash, Smoak & Stewart
37. O’Melveny & Myers 38. Parker Poe Adams & Bernstein 39. Perkins Coie 40. Polsinelli 41. Quinn Emanuel Urquhart & Sullivan 42. Schiff Hardin 43. Seyfarth Shaw 44. Shook, Hardy & Bacon 45. Shutts & Bowen 46. Thompson & Knight 47. Van Ness Feldman 48. White & Case 49. Williams & Connolly 50. Wolf Greenfield 51. Womble Bond Dickinson
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The 2019 New Partner Report also found that the percentage of women promoted to partnership in major U.S. law firms has increased by 8.1 percent since 2012. Additionally, a larger share of firms have attained a 50/50 split or greater of women in the new partner class than in previous years. The fifty-one firms with 50% or more women in their 2019 new partner class represented 37% of the firms in the study. This is an increase from the 2018 figure of 31.3% and also represents a significant increase over previous years.
“We are encouraged to see the overall increase in the percentage of women in new partner classes in 2019 and are thrilled to recognize those firms that are “Tipping the Scales,” said Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. “Despite this progress, we continue to recognize the need for firms to commit to a more intentional and proactive strategy to retain and advance women.”
The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report is a yearly compilation of data from more than 100 (138 this year) of the nation’s largest and top-grossing law firms examining the gender breakdown of attorneys promoted to partnership in their U.S. offices. The data is based upon publicly available firm announcements and other self-reported sources on new partner classes with an effective date of promotion between October 1, 2018 and September 30, 2019.
The Diversity and Flexibility Alliance is a think tank that collaborates with organizations to develop non-stigmatized flexible work policies that promote inclusive work cultures and help to advance more women into leadership positions. The Alliance provides practical research-based solutions, training workshops, and strategic advisory services that increase organizational effectiveness through diversity and flexibility.
Contact Manar Morales at 202-957-9650 or manar@dfalliance.com for more information.