For the sixth time, Yale Law Women (YLW) at Yale Law School selected WilmerHale for inclusion on its prestigious list of Top Ten Family Friendly Firms. Each year YLW surveys top law firms to explore important family friendliness indicators—billable hour requirements, flex-time options, parental leave policies and childcare availability—to determine firms that are committed to the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the legal industry.
In addition, YLW honors a select group of firms that demonstrate superior performance in specific categories. WilmerHale was endorsed for standing out in gender equity, as more than 25% of partners at the firm are women. Outside of partnership, women account for 48% of WilmerHale lawyers in the US.
The firm is committed to providing lawyers with support to balance professional obligations and their personal lives. This includes the firm's Career Advancement Program which offers a flexible career path structure, a robust mentoring program, supportive training, and a competency-based approach to evaluation, promotion, compensation and overall professional development.
WilmerHale Co-Managing Partner Susan Murley notes "WilmerHale strives to provide a family friendly culture by offering flexible career paths for both men and women. In addition, we have formal programs that support women attorneys and a significant number of women in leadership roles. Women make up 20% of the firmwide Management Committee, nearly 32% of the Compensation Committee, 28% of practice group and department leadership, and more than 23% of the top half of the firm's most highly compensated partners are women. It is not an accident that our figures are higher than industry averages."
This philosophy is supported through the efforts of the Women's Leadership Initiative, designed to promote the retention and advancement of women lawyers by building women leaders and business generators. This is accomplished through focusing on internal and external networks of women attorneys, business development training for women lawyers, business development initiatives involving women clients and alumni, and career advancement training programs tailored to the needs of women lawyers. WilmerHale also offers generous gender-neutral parental leave, flexible work arrangements and subsidized emergency child care, among other family-friendly benefits.
YLW is a student-run organization at Yale Law School whose mission is to promote the interests and development of women in law school and the legal industry.