Big Law's missing women: the dialogue continues
I’ve been closely following the cyber debate and dialog generated by Timothy L. O’Brien’s New York Times article Why Do So Few Women Reach the Top of Big Law Firms? While I think it sheds light on a very important and thought-provoking subject, the article doesn’t answer the title question. Nor does it do much to share the varied voices and stories of women who’ve opted out of Big Law partnership. Instead, we’re asked to view the problem O’Brien spotlights, and its many possible causes, largely through a lens trained on a woman dedicated to Big Law practice and partnership for over a quarter century - Proskauer Rose’s Bettina B. Plevan. The piece addresses a lawyer-life issue that engages our emotions. So, I hoped to hear more from women who’ve lived and breathed the often difficult decision to leave Big Law and/or its partnership track. (Ms. Plevan also seems to need some direct input from departing female colleagues, since she’s left querying: “What de-motivates them to want to continue working in the law?”) That’s why I’m very grateful for the conversation the article’s compelled in the blogosphere. The commentary surrounding posts by Carolyn Elefant; Patrick J. Lamb; Bruce MacEwen; The Wall Street Journal’s Law Blog; and Monica Bay (among others) have given me some of the first-person insight I was seeking as I read O’Brien’s coverage on Big Law’s missing women.
