(July 26, 2016) – Littler, the world’s largest employment and labor law practice representing management, has been named one of the 2016 “50 Best Law Firms for Women” by Working Mother Media and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. The Best Law Firms for Women initiative recognizes firms, with 50 or more attorneys, that create and follow best practices in the retention and promotion of women lawyers.
“This is the seventh time the firm has made the list, and we are proud of our continued recognition by Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers,” Tom Bender and Jeremy Roth, co-managing directors of Littler, said in a joint statement. “Women represent 59 percent of Littler’s entire workforce, and we strongly believe in fostering a progressive and inclusive culture that provides the necessary resources and opportunities for women to advance their professional and personal goals.”
Law firms that earn this recognition lead the industry in initiatives for women’s business development and career advancement, plus offer flexible work arrangements and generous paid parental leave, among other important benefits. The results of the survey highlight the best practices across all participating firms and provide benchmarking tools that firms can implement to advance their own women’s programs.
“As we celebrate the Best Law Firms for Women, there is still much work to be done, with only 18 percent of equity partners being female nationwide, reported by the National Association of Women Lawyers. With grit and client centeredness, women lawyers can continue to find growing success as rainmakers and a pathway to leadership positions,” said Subha Barry, vice president and general manager of Working Mother Media.
Littler’s Women’s Leadership Initiative (WLI) ensures that female attorneys advance to leadership levels through focused development and retention efforts. Lawyers involved with WLI are able to discuss their experiences and readiness to take on new roles, learn how to promote their successes and identify the skills needed to advance.
In addition to the WLI, Littler’s other diversity initiatives are focused on mentoring and retention and designed to further the professional development for both female and diverse attorneys. This includes the award-winning Career Advocacy Program (CAP), which last week earned the inaugural national Sager Award from the Minority Corporate Counsel Association. CAP matches high-performing associates who are visible minorities or have identified themselves as LGBTQ or disabled and pairs them with firm leaders for mentorship and career development.
Littler also offers a FlexTime Attorney program and other benefits that help achieve work-life balance.
In addition to the Working Mother accolade, Littler has received significant recognition over the past year for its diversity and inclusion efforts focused on female attorneys, including:
- Certified as a “Gold Standard Firm” from the Women in Law Empowerment Forum for 2016
- Ranked #7 for Diversity for Women by Vault for 2016
- Ranked #15 among the Top 25 Firms for Female Partners by Law360 for 2015
- Ranked #26 among the Top 100 Firms for Female Attorneys by Law360 for 2015
“WLI focuses on developing and retaining women leaders at every level of the firm, and we are proud to report that more than half of our newly elevated shareholders in 2016 are female attorneys,” said Linda Headley, shareholder and co-chair of WLI. “We will continue to further enhance and develop programs to ensure we are setting the stage for the women to excel.”
About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation (bonnier.com), publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute (workingmother.com/wmri), the National Association for Female Executives (nafe.com) and Diversity Best Practices (diversitybestpractices.com) are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change. Working Mother magazine reaches more than 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Follow Working Mother Media on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.
About Flex-Time Lawyers
Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is an international consulting firm founded by Deborah Epstein Henry in the late 1990s, providing advisory, training and speaking services to employers and professionals on work life balance, retaining and promoting women and the future of the legal profession. It provides consulting and speaking services to law firms, corporations, professional service firms, non-profits, bar associations, and law schools, and at conferences, and retreats. Flex-Time Lawyers hosts a membership organization, offering quarterly in-person and webcast events on timely issues with prominent speakers. Membership also provides resources, networking opportunities and education about legal industry norms. For more information, please visit http://www.flextimelawyers.com.
About Littler
Littler is the largest global employment and labor law practice, with more than 1,000 attorneys in over 70 offices worldwide. Littler represents management in all aspects of employment and labor law and serves as a single-source solution provider to the global employer community. Consistently recognized in the industry as a leading and innovative law practice, Littler has been litigating, mediating and negotiating some of the most influential employment law cases and labor contracts on record for over 70 years. Littler Global is the collective trade name for an international legal practice, the practicing entities of which are separate and distinct professional firms.