When Women Lateral

Women comprised approximately 17% of the original pool of targeted candidates and 15% of the respondents who identified themselves by gender. This percentage is low primarily due to the lack of women partners. The National Association of Women Lawyers' 'National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms' released in October 2006 noted that women who graduated in 1996 (when women represented 44% of all law students) constitute only 24% of the equity partners in AmLaw 200 firms. The numbers fall as the years from graduation increase ' women graduates from the classes of 1990-1995 represent 21% of equity partners, and women graduates from the classes of 1980-89 (typically presumed to be prime partnership years in terms of productivity and earnings) constitute just 19% of equity partner positions.

The NAWL survey goes on to conclude that there is a considerably lower percentage of women equity partners than the number of women law school graduates would predict, especially when the number of men and women who start out as associates in the larger firms is roughly the same and has been for a number of years. The NAWL survey notes the broader implications that these statistics may speak to given the generally believed positive effect that mentoring and role models have on the movement of women into senior roles at firms.