Firms honored for being most favorable for women lawyers

Four Washington-based law firms are among the top 50 law firms for women, according to new rankings by the National Association for Female Executives and Flex-Time Lawyers organization.

The group includes Arent Fox; Covington & Burling; Finnegan, Henderson, Farabow, Garrett & Dunner; and Steptoe & Johnson. The rankings will be published in the fall issue of Working Mother magazine.

Firms were ranked by their "unwavering dedication to creating programs and policies that support women in the legal profession."

At Arent Fox, 44% of attorneys who made partner since 2006 were women. Overall, women account for 35% of the firm. Covington's Washington office offers childcare from infancy to preschool and women account for 40% of the firm.

Finnegan offers both men and women paid parental leave, providing for 12 and 18 weeks of pay, respectively. And at Steptoe, women take on many lead roles such as the head of the compensation committee and chief diversity partner.

Several other firms with large Washington offices also made the list, including Hunton & Williams and Thompson Hine.

Hunton & Williams has maintained a reduced-hour schedule program for the past 20 years. As part of the program, lawyers have the opportunity to take up to five years off to address personal matters.

The group also honored Thompson Hine, which made the list for the first time this year. The firm's programs have led to improvements in its women lawyer hiring, promotion and retention rates. Women account for approximately 24% of Thompson Hine's partners, for example, and make up 31% of its practice group leaders.

(Published by BLT - September 14, 2011)