For the fifth year in a row, Fredrikson & Byron was named one of the “50 Best Law Firms for Women” by Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. This award, founded in 2007, recognizes firms for their family-friendly policies and career and business development initiatives that help to retain women attorneys and advance them into the leadership pipeline. The recipients of the 2015 Best Law Firms for Women award were announced in the August/September issue of Working Mother magazine.
“We are pleased to again be recognized as a leading law firm when it comes to recruiting, retaining and advancing top female attorneys,” said Mary S. Ranum, chair of the firm’s Board of Directors. “Our long-standing commitment to invest in the success of our attorneys has developed a culture where working women thrive.”
Overall, the firms that qualified for this award employ more female equity partners (20 percent) than the national average (17 percent). Among the 2015 Best Law Firms for Women, 16 percent have at least three women among their top 10 rainmakers, up from 11 percent last year. Women also hold 27 percent of equity partner promotion committee seats—the highest representation in the past five years. Comparatively, at Fredrikson & Byron, 34.9 percent are female equity partners and women hold 62.5 percent of equity partner promotion committee seats.
Jennifer Owens, editorial director of Working Mother Media, says, “The 50 Best Law Firms for Women are setting and pushing forward the standard when it comes to retaining women--and advancing them to the very top, equity partnership. These firms are also committed to creating best practices that support working parents.”
Deborah Epstein Henry, president of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC, adds, “Law firms that focus exclusively on flexible and reduced hour policies to retain women or solely on getting women in power seats are missing the mark. We see our Best Law Firms for Women who are having the most success to be the ones that understand the value of focusing on both retention and promotion simultaneously. They are cultivating female talent to facilitate that they get the good work, the skills and the flexibility they may need. Yet they are also investing in women with business development and leadership opportunities to ensure they have a strong presence and voice in the equity partner ranks, the governing committees and in running the law firm as a business.”
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.
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 and Diversity Best Practices 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.
Fredrikson & Byron is a 275-attorney law firm based in Minneapolis, with offices in Bismarck, Des Moines, Fargo, St. Paul, Monterrey, Mexico, and Shanghai, China. Fredrikson & Byron has a reputation as the firm “where law and business meet”. Our attorneys bring business acumen and entrepreneurial thinking to work with clients, and operate as business advisors and strategic partners, as well as legal counselors. More information about the firm is available at www.fredlaw.com. Follow us on LinkedIn and on Twitter @FredriksonLaw.
Media Contact: Kelly Griffith, Marketing Communications Manager, 612.492.7514, kgriffith@fredlaw.com