McGuireWoods LLP announced today that the firm has been named as one of the 2011 Best Law Firms for Women by the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE) and Flex-Time Lawyers. The award recognizes law firms seen as actively supporting female lawyers with both work/life balance and women-friendly policies, while offering programs to retain and promote top female legal talent. This is the third year McGuireWoods has been named in the survey, now in its fourth year.
“It is a great honor for our firm to again be named to this list,” said Tom Cabaniss, managing partner of McGuireWoods. “We as a firm work hard to foster a culture that allows our attorneys to achieve their fullest potential while maintaining a good work/life balance.”
As part of the submission process, McGuireWoods provided detailed information on issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of women lawyers, including the firm’s policy of allowing 18 weeks of maternity leave or six weeks of paternity leave. Also included is the firm’s six-month ramp-up period upon return, with a 20 percent reduction in billable hour target, with no change in pay policy. McGuireWoods also ranked highly for the number of women in leadership positions.
The list of the top 50 selected firms will run in the fall 2011 issue of NAFE Magazine. Kim Cacheris, a partner with the firm and chair of McGuireWoods’ women lawyers’ affinity group, will appear on the cover of the NAFE Magazine and is featured in an article on the firm’s inclusion in this year’s “Best Law Firms for Women” list. Among the reasons for the firm’s selection included McGuireWoods’ reduced-hour and flex-time policies and multiple career tracks, as well as its innovative business development training program for women lawyers.
“We are proud to recognize the 2011 Best Law Firms for Women and their unwavering dedication to creating programs and policies that support women in the legal profession,” said Carol Evans, CEO, NAFE.
“The 2011 Best Law Firms for Women are encouraging the retention and promotion of women, in addition to creating conducive work environments for all lawyers to thrive,” said Deborah Epstein Henry, founder and president, Flex-Time Lawyers. “By offering leadership and business development opportunities for women, along with generous flexibility, parental leave and childcare programs, these firms are better poised to retain and promote the brightest legal minds, with the goal of reaching parity for women in the profession.”
The 2011 NAFE & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are continuing to redefine the standards of success, with written reduced-hour policies at 100 percent of the winning firms and 78 percent that are offering full-time telecommuting. Now in its fourth year, the Best Law Firms for Women has increased support for programs that encourage networking, training and mentoring.
McGuireWoods and the other winning firms will be honored in New York on September 21. NAFE is a division of Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation.
Methodology: The 2011 Best Law Firms for Women application was developed in a partnership between Working Mother Media and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Firms with at least 50 lawyers were eligible to apply and the application included detailed questions about the issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. Completed applications were collected online from November 12, 2010, to January 21, 2011. All data for the 2011 survey was collected from the full year of 2010. The 50 winning firms were selected based on their responses to an application measuring areas such as workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women.
About Working Mother Media
Working Mother magazine reaches 2.2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers; WorkingMother.com gives working mothers @home and @work advice, solutions and ideas. This year marks the 26th anniversary of Working Mother’s signature research initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, and the ninth year of the Best Companies for Multicultural Women. Working Mother Media, a division of Bonnier Corporation, includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), Diversity Best Practices and the Working Mother Research Institute. Working Mother Media’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change.
About Flex-Time Lawyers LLC
Flex-Time Lawyers LLC® is a national consulting firm advising the legal profession on workplace restructure, talent management, work/life balance, and the retention and promotion of lawyers, with a focus on women. It hosts a membership organization with quarterly chapter meetings for legal employers and lawyers, offering networking opportunities, employer advice, support, career guidance, education and information sharing to effect change. Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is a resource to the press and legal community at large and also provides recruiting services. It has been covered extensively in the national and legal press, including The New York Times, “NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams”, National Public Radio, National Law Journal and numerous others.