[vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]The Lawyer have recently published their US Top 50 firms for gender diversity. At the pinnacle of The Lawyer’s diversity ranking is Greenberg Traurig. Greenbergs holds top spot with a female partnership proportion of 41 percent. Although US firms in the UK are still struggling to achieve diversity at partner level, with nine firms reporting a drop in women partner numbers, and three firms consisting of only men at the top level.
The Lawyer US Top 50 report shows that women make up 21.5 percent of all UK-based partners in the 50 firms, whilst the average proportion of female partners is only 19.9 percent.
Comparatively, data gathered for the UK 200 2018 suggested that women made up 21.2 percent of partners in the top 10 UK firms. Women also represented a quarter of all partners in the top 100 UK firms last year.
However, out of a total partnership of 1,901, there are just 411 female partners in UK offices of the top 50 US firms.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]
Gender Diversity is Slowly Rising
Whilst the proportion of female partners at US firms in the UK remains low, the percentage has been moderately rising year-on-year. In 2017, the average proportion of female partners was 18.4 percent and women represented 20.7 percent of all UK-based partners in the top 50 firms. There has been a 6.4 percent rise in the number of female partners, from 379 in 2017. Greenberg Traurig has consistently outperformed other firms, making it the most gender-diverse partnership of the US firms in London. In 2017, Greenberg had 11 female partners (37.9 percent of the total), and this has risen to 14 women out of 34 partners.
According to The Lawyer, Greenberg is the only firm in the US Top 50 to record a female partnership proportion in the UK of more than 40 percent.
Some of Greenberg’s hires in the past year include white-collar crime specialist Anne-Marie Ottaway from Pinsent Mason and real estate partner Carol Hopper from Ropes & Gray. Greenberg is one of five US firms in London that boasts a UK partnership comprised with at least a third of females. Other firms on this list include Brown Rudnick (38.5 percent), Ropes (36.5 percent), Orrick (36.4 percent) and Boies Schiller Flexner (33.3 percent).
Climbing the Ranks
Baker McKenzie has also been praised for its diversity, with 31 of its 113 London partners being female. This is a 3.2 percent increase from 2017, where 24 partners were female.
In its June 2018 promotions round in London, Bakers promoted two women both named Jessica. Recent hires also include Clifford Chance energy partner Kathy Honeywood, Sidley Austin financial services expert Caitlin McErlane and Linklaters capital markets specialist Megan Schellinger.
White & Case also boasts a substantial number of female partners, with a large year-on-year increase from 21 partners in 2017 to 27 in the last year. In 2019, five of the firm’s London promotions were female, with White & Case making up a further 14 women in their offices worldwide.
Outside the top 10 firms ranked by female partner proportion, Dentons has 36 female partners, representing 23.1 percent of its UK partnership of 156. In its April 2019 promotion round, 50 percent of Dentons UK promotions were women.
A total of four US Top 50 firms have at least 30 female partners, including Reed Smith, Squire Patton Boggs, Dentons and Bakers.
Meanwhile, 14 firms from this year’s top 50 reported that at least a quarter of their UK partnership were female, an increase from only nine in 2017.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]
The Least Diverse Firms
At the bottom of the table sit Davis Polk, Paul Weiss and WilmerHale, who have no women in their UK partnerships whatsoever. However, this is an improvement from 2017, when five top 50 firms had no female partners in the UK.
Baker Botts still sits near the bottom of the gender diversity rankings, despite the promotion of litigator Dorine Frah in London 2019.
Winston & Strawn was one of several firms in this year’s top 50 to make up only one partner in London, and that partner was male, making just 1.4 full-time partners at Winston & Strawn female.
According to The Lawyer, a total of six firms have two female partners in the UK, and in total 21 of the top 50 firms have fewer than five female partners in the country.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row type=”in_container” full_screen_row_position=”middle” column_margin=”default” column_direction=”default” column_direction_tablet=”default” column_direction_phone=”default” scene_position=”center” text_color=”dark” text_align=”left” row_border_radius=”none” row_border_radius_applies=”bg” overlay_strength=”0.3″ gradient_direction=”left_to_right” shape_divider_position=”bottom” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column column_padding=”no-extra-padding” column_padding_tablet=”inherit” column_padding_phone=”inherit” column_padding_position=”all” background_color_opacity=”1″ background_hover_color_opacity=”1″ column_shadow=”none” column_border_radius=”none” column_link_target=”_self” gradient_direction=”left_to_right” overlay_strength=”0.3″ width=”1/1″ tablet_width_inherit=”default” tablet_text_alignment=”default” phone_text_alignment=”default” column_border_width=”none” column_border_style=”solid” bg_image_animation=”none”][vc_column_text]Source: The Lawyer
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Check out our other articles on gender diversity here. [/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
