WilmerHale was ranked as one of the Best Law Firms for Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Flex-Time Lawyers. The firm has been included in each of the four years the ranking has been published. The 2011 Best Law Firms for Women are recognized for having programs that encourage networking, training and mentoring for women, and for fostering environments that enable women to balance successful careers with motherhood.
“We are proud to be recognized as a top law firm for women,” said Susan Murley, chair of WilmerHale’s Transactional Department and an incoming co-managing partner. “Encouraging networking, training and mentoring for women, and supporting our women attorneys by fostering a balance between successful careers and family responsibilities, continue to be priorities of the firm.”
WilmerHale is fully committed to the development and advancement of women lawyers. Seventy-three percent of the firm’s newly elected 2011 partner class were women, and women make up 25 percent of the partnership, well above the national average of 15 percent. In addition, approximately 30 percent of our lawyers who hold leadership roles at the firm—from serving as chair of a committee to leading an office or practice—are women.
The framework for professional development at the firm is the Career Advancement Program, which offers mentoring, flexible careers paths, comprehensive training and a competitive merit-based compensation package. WilmerHale’s Women’s Leadership Initiative provides additional support to ensure that women have opportunities for internal and external networking, business development, training, and mentoring, tailored to their needs and interests.
“Our research team has seen an increase in the number of female partners working at the Best Law Firms for Women within the past five years, with 19 percent of female equity partners employed compared to the national average of 15 percent,” said Dr. Betty Spence, president of NAFE. “We are proud to recognize the 2011 Best Law Firms for Women and their unwavering dedication to creating programs and policies that support women in the legal profession.”
In addition to this recent recognition, WilmerHale ranked second in MultiCultural Law magazine’s “Top 100 Law Firms for Women”; was named one of the Top Ten Family Friendly Firms in 2011 by Yale Law Women; and was recognized by the Project for Attorney Retention for outranking its competitors in the number of women attorneys promoted to partner.
The 2011 Best Law Firms for Women application was developed through a partnership between Working Mother Media and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Firms with at least 50 lawyers were eligible to apply, and the application included detailed questions about the issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. The 50 winning firms were selected based on areas such as workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, and advancement and retention of women.
WilmerHale will be featured in the fall 2011 issue of NAFE Magazine and is profiled on www.nafe.com, www.workingmother.com and www.flextimelawyers.com/best.asp.
Read more about work/life balance at WilmerHale.