International law firm Dorsey & Whitney LLP was named again by Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) as one of the 2021 “Best Law Firms for Women,” for its use of best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers. Dorsey was among the 50 firms that earned spots on this year’s list and one of only two firms who have been on the list every year for 14 years.
“We are proud to be named once again a 2021 Seramount Best Law Firm for Women,” said Bill Stoeri, Dorsey’s Managing Partner. “I believe that having women in top leadership positions makes a difference, both culturally and for the bottom line—success is having a diverse and profitable law firm, where there is a true sense of belonging.”
The full list, available here, highlights law firms that averaged 25 percent women among equity partners, compared with 23 percent last year, and women represented 40 percent of all lawyers overall (up from 39 percent in 2020). Of all female equity partners, 16 percent were multicultural, and multicultural women represented 27 percent of overall women lawyers (up from 26 percent).
“We know that women have left the workplace in droves since the onset of COVID-19,” said Subha V. Barry, CEO of Seramount. “But the fact that representation of women equity partners, and women lawyers overall, has increased during this turbulent time just shows how supportive our Best Law Firms for Women are to parents and caregivers. They stepped up and offered increased flexibility and new benefit programs to help this critical talent pool balance both work and home life.”
Seramount’s 2021 Best Law Firms for Women application includes more than 300 questions about attorney demographics at different levels, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women. This year, in light of COVID-19, several questions were added about the success of working from home for lawyers.