2022 New Partner Report Shows Decline in Percentage of Women New Partners
Washington, DC (November 4, 2022) – Yesterday, during the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance’s Annual Conference, fifty-seven law firms were recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2022 U.S.-based new partner classes. The firms, recognized as “Tipping the Scales,” were identified through the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report, a compilation of public data released each year since 2012.
The Report revealed that 40.2 percent of new partners from 206 major U.S. law firms in 2022 were women, which represents a decrease from last year’s figure of 40.9 percent. Further, when looking at a representative sample (only AmLaw 100 & Alliance member firms), 40.3% of new partners were women in 2022, which represents a substantial drop of 2.1% from last year’s figure of 42.4%. More information on the report can be found here.
Other highlights include:
- The average new partner class increased substantially (by 2.4 attorneys), despite the decrease in the share of women.
- The nation’s top grossing firms had significant declines in the share of women in their new partner class. In fact, firms in the AmLaw 50 and AmLaw 51-100 had significant declines in the shares of women of 4.2% and 4.9%, respectively.
- The number of firms with a 50/50 split or greater of women in the new partner class decreased from 67 firms in 2021 to 57 firms in 2022.
- For Diversity & Flexibility Alliance member firms, 42.9% of attorneys promoted to partnership were women, representing a 2.7% higher share of female partners compared to the overall share of women in this year’s new partner class (40.2%).
- The number of firms reporting no women in their new partner class decreased from eight to six, however.
“While the overall dip in women new partners may seem inconsequential, any step backwards in a trend towards gender parity is concerning. Additionally, when looking at the representative sample of larger AmLaw 100 firms, the decline of 2.1% in women partners was more significant,” said Manar Morales, President & CEO of the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance. “The legal industry must be mindful of these trends and renew its commitment to increasing the share of women partners by focusing on the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women,” she added.
To reap the benefits of gender parity, the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance advises that law firm leaders pay close attention to building a pipeline of women and focusing on equity in their work distribution, mentorships, training, pay and evaluation systems. Additionally, firms are encouraged to develop intentional and inclusive hybrid working initiatives that benefit everyone. It is important to note that many Alliance member firms have made systematic changes and taken intentional steps towards increasing gender diversity and therefore have seen quantifiable results in their promotions of a higher share of female new partners than nonmembers.
The “Tipping the Scales” firms recognized for having 50% or more women in their 2022 new partner class included:
| 1. Akerman
2. Arnold & Porter**
3. Baker Donelson
4. Bilzin Sumberg
5. Boies Schiller Flexner*
6. Bracewell
7. Brown Rudnick
8. Choate Hall
9. Clark Hill
10. Cole Schotz
11. Cole Scott
12. Davis Wright Tremaine**
13. Day Pitney
14. Debevoise & Plimpton
15. Dechert
16. Dickinson Wright
17. Epstein Becker & Green*
18. Faegre Drinker Biddle & Reath
19. Fisher & Phillips |
20. Foley Hoag*
21. Fox Rothschild
22. Fredrikson & Byron
23. Haynes & Boone
24. Hinckley Allen
25. Hirschler
26. Hughes Hubbard & Reed
27. Jenner & Block
28. Jones Day*
29. Kutak Rock
30. Lane Powell
31. Lathrop GPM**
32. Loeb & Loeb
33. Marshall Dennehey
34. McCarter & English
35. Michael Best
36. Miller & Chevalier*
37. Nelson Mullins
38. Offit Kurman |
39. Parker, Hudson, Rainer & Dobbs
40. Porter Wright
41. Robinson & Cole
42. Rutan & Tucker
43. Schulte Roth & Zabel
44. Shook, Hardy & Bacon*
45. Smith Gambrell
46. Squire Patton Boggs
47. Steptoe & Johnson
48. Stoel Rives
49. Thompson Coburn
50. Tucker Ellis
51. Vorys
52. Warner Norcross + Judd
53. Wiley Rein*
54. Willkie Farr & Gallagher
55. WilmerHale
56. Wolf, Greenfield & Sacks
57. Womble Bond Dickinson* |
*Firms that have been recognized as “Tipping the Scales” for at least three years.
** Firms that have been recognized for all four years since we began the “Tipping the Scales” recognition.
Diversity & Flexibility Alliance Member Firms are highlighted in orange
The Alliance has been compiling this data since 2012, when the data revealed that women only made up 33% of new partners. It is important to note that, in 2021 as well as this year, the Alliance expanded the number of law firms included in the report, examining all public data from law firms in the AmLaw 200 (versus only AmLaw100 in previous years), as well as Alliance member law firms. New partner data was collected from 206 law firms this year versus 187 firms in 2021. For purposes of comparing data and trends to previous years, a Representative Sample was identified in this and last year’s report, including firms in the AmLaw100 as well as member firms.
The Diversity & Flexibility Alliance’s New Partner Report is a yearly compilation of data from the nation’s largest and top-grossing law firms (206 this year) 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, 2021 and September 30, 2022. Eight firms from the AmLaw 200 were not included because either data was not available or they had no partner promotions.
For ten years, the Diversity and Flexibility Alliance has collaborated 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
manar@dfalliance.com
301-580-2490
On a more positive note, we did see certain bright spots. Notably, member firms had an average of 1.6% higher share of women partners in their U.S. new partner classes over the last five years. In addition, a nearly 13% increase existed in the share of firms reporting a 50/50 split or greater in favor of women in U.S. new partner classes over the last two years. We also saw a 2% decrease in the share of firms with no women partners from last year. These bright spots suggest that a number of law firms are making concerted, intentional efforts to address gender imbalances during the partnership promotion process.
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 (