The Law Society of NSW will seek to establish why so many women fail to make it to the top in law firms and develop strategies to address the issue. 

2011 president of the society Stuart Westgarth told ALB he was struck by the raw numbers of women in senior roles. “I realised that this was a problem,” said Westgarth. “Having been struck by the figures I thought one of the things I could do for the profession, while president, is focus on this issue.”

The number of women solicitors in NSW has grown at a much faster rate than the number of men, according to the society’s data. “For women the increase has been 452% since 1988, compared to only 64% for men,” said Westgarth.  In 2010 there were 11,000 women making up 46% of the profession. However, there is an issue with retention and promotion. Last year women accounted for only 23% of principals in law forms with more than 20 partners and in firms with two to 20 partner, it was 18%. However, it’s not all bad news, the figures represent an improvement of five percentage points compared to six years ago.

During the past two weeks the society has held a series of events to draw stories, experiences and recommendations from practitioners on the issue. A report with the findings and recommendations by the society will be launched later this year. “The idea is to begin the process of changing the attitudes of the profession,” said Westgarth. “The long term goal is to see real change occur.” 

Already, the research has identified three common issues raised by participants at those events. They are flexible work arrangements, mentoring and support for women returning to the workforce after an extended break. Westgarth added that from his observations he has also seen an additional theme: being open to new experiences. The theme was also raised by Justice Julie Ward, guest speaker at an event held this morning (July 29). A trailblazer for women across the legal profession, Justice Ward made partner at the firm now known as Mallesons Stephen Jaques at the age of 28, before becoming the first female solicitor to be directly appointed to the Supreme Court. And she did this all while having a family. However, her career decisions have not been admired by all.

Justice Ward told the audience of her dealings with other female professionals who felt her decision to become a partner had been at the sake of her family, and that her departure from private practice had “let down other women” by depriving them of a female partner role model. “It just shows the truth of the old adage that you can please some of the people some of the time but you cannot please all of the people all of the time,” she said. “I would like to think I have given those solicitors (as other women judges have done before me) a glimpse of one of but a number of available career paths to follow.”

Partners and principals in private firms 2005 versus 2010

Related stories:
Women high on the agenda for Law Society 27 July 2011 
NSW legal profession snapshot: More women and greater flexibility 4 April 2011