Overview
CHICAGO (July 26, 2017) — McDermott Will & Emery is proud to announce that it has been selected by Working Mother magazine as one of 2017’s “Best Law Firms for Women.” The list recognizes law firms that lead the industry in creating and implementing best practices to retain and promote women lawyers. The annual list identifies 50 US law firms for their policies in the advancement of women and for the implementation of work-life balance.
“We are incredibly proud that McDermott has been named among the ‘Best Law Firms for Women’ for the fourth consecutive year,” said Jennifer Mikulina, chair of the Firm’s Gender Diversity Subcommittee. “McDermott supports a number of innovative programs, including a variety of coaching and networking opportunities, and we want our women lawyers to have the support, guidance, and flexibility they need to succeed.”
For the first time, Working Mother collaborated with The ABA Journal as a knowledge partner to gain greater insight into the legal industry. “The ABA Journal is delighted to be part of the ‘Best Law Firms for Women’ project that explores in depth what’s really working at law firms to fill the diversity gap and ensure women are getting the support and resources they need to advance,” says Molly McDonough, editor & publisher, The ABA Journal.
Subha V. Barry, senior vice president & managing director, Working Mother Media, says, “This is the tenth year Working Mother has recognized the ‘Best Law Firms for Women,’ which heralds US law firms that create and use best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers. We are proud to illuminate the accomplishments of the firms leading the way in helping women advance and achieve a more balanced work life.”
McDermott is often recognized for its efforts in developing and implementing comprehensive policies and programming that enable the Firm to recruit, retain and promote women lawyers. In fact, Law360’s 2017 Glass Ceiling Report recently named McDermott among the top ten “Best Law Firms for Women.” The report described McDermott as “ahead of the rest” and “well-above-average” in terms of overall female headcount and the representation of female attorneys from associate to equity partner levels.
McDermott remains committed promoting gender diversity and inclusion within the Firm and throughout the legal profession as a whole. As part of this effort, McDermott recently held its first ever Women’s Summit as a way for women Capital Partners to gather for a frank discussion about how McDermott can become a better place for women, and, ultimately, all of its lawyers and staff. The Summit encouraged an open and honest dialogue about some of the challenges women face in the legal industry and the ways in which McDermott can support women on their paths to success.
About the Methodology
Law firms completed an extensive application in the areas of workforce profile, flexibility and development and retention of women. Best Law Firms were selected from a pool of self-selected applicant firms with 50 or more lawyers in the US. Statistics reported are aggregated from data provided by the firms collected from the full year of 2016.
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 us on Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and Pinterest.