Founding Partner, Michelle Foster, Quoted in Law360's Glass Ceiling Report

Working Remotely Comes At Special Price For Female Attorneys

While many law firms say they’re remaining vigilant about balancing the needs of attorneys who continue to work remotely and those who plan to be in the office, some leaders and recruiters are concerned about whether the remote arrangement could disproportionately affect women and cause them to be passed up for promotions.

It’s no secret that the coronavirus pandemic not only exposed but also amplified the hurdles faced by women. Women of color have already seen more barriers to advancement at work than their peers, and mothers had to balance their careers with child care and education when support systems closed their doors.

That reality is compounded by a long history of female lawyers facing barriers in the profession, especially when it comes to accessing the top ranks. Women continue to make up a small portion of equity partners: 23.3% of equity partners are women, according to Law360 Pulse’s 2021 Glass Ceiling Report- up only slightly from 22.2% last year.

As women continue to lag behind their male colleagues in law firm representation, the option to work remotely as the pandemic continues might not have a favorable result for them despite the flexibility it allows. Working away from the office might put women at a disadvantage that firms will need to account for by ensuring they have exposure to management and meaningful assignments, experts say.

The past 18 months of the pandemic have shown that remote work can exacerbate the household and familial responsibilities that typically fall more on women than men, and make it more difficult for remote female lawyers to make their presence known in the office.

Mothers are more than three times as likely as fathers to be responsible for most of the housework and caregiving during the COVID-19 crisis, according to a study of women in the workplace, published by McKinsey & Co. in 2020.

But many women might need the flexibility of working remotely. A recent survey by Law360 Pulse and legal consulting firm Major Lindsey & Africa found that men were more inclined to want to go back to the office as soon as possible- 26%, compared to only 15% of female respondents. Most lawyers in the survey noted a corrosion of the quality of mentorship and training that could be provided under remote working conditions.

Yusuf Zakir, chief diversity, equity and inclusion officer at Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, acknowledged there might be a “perception challenge” to overcome because some people in the profession think lawyers who choose to be primarily at the office are more dedicated to the business and work harder than their remote colleagues.

A one-size-fits-all perception of what is considered to be hard-working is not going to be productive or helpful.

“It brings the old-school element of law firms back to life again,” he said. “I think the past year and a half has demonstrated that people are able to work in different ways, so a one-size-fits-all perception of what is considered to be hard-working is not going to be productive or helpful to people.”

At least some of the onus will fall on the women who are working remotely to ensure they’re getting the exposure, training and mentorship they need to grow and succeed. But staying in touch with mentors and continuing to proactively seek assignments while working from a remote location could prove more difficult- and take more effort, said Michelle Foster, managing partner of The Foster Group Legal Search LLC.

Women who aren’t in the office could miss out on sporadic conversations that might immediately lead to assignments and decisions, and are likely to remain less connected to their colleagues. To ensure they don’t fall through the cracks, firms will need to stay hyperaware by tracking data such as hours, credit allocation and responsibilities, Zakir said.

Davis Wright Tremaine found no significant disparities along gender, racial or ethnic lines in lawyers’ preferences for returning to the office, Zakir said. Still, the firm’s leaders are aware of the disproportionate impacts on women that existed in the industry even before the pandemic began, he added.

To Zakir, those challenges include access to client-facing opportunities, tangible feedback and sponsorship, as well as allowing lawyers the chance to make mistakes in order to grow.

Some clients might even demand face time from their outside counsel.

In July, Morgan Stanley Chief Legal Officer Eric Grossman requested firms bring back workers to the office, or risk losing business from one of Wall Street’s biggest banks. In the following days, some of his banking peers and firm leaders said they shared the same desire because they think working face-to-face as much as possible can directly lead to excellent client service.

At Davis Wright Tremaine, leaders anticipate lawyers will spend some time in the office moving forward, though the schedule is up to the individuals and their practice groups.

“In-person human connections are still going to be valuable,” Zakir said, and women will want to “make every effort to make those happen” if they are going to continue on a mostly remote schedule.

At Locke Lord LLP, leaders are also making sure that women who are working remotely remain connected to their colleagues.

“I have not heard anyone, especially not women, saying that there has been a lack of opportunities,” said Paulette Brown, senior partner and chief diversity and inclusion officer. “It is something that I personally monitor… and I know our chair monitors it, too. As soon as there is the slightest blip, he and I are on the phone and we are looking at the numbers and looking at the assignments.”

She noted ongoing positive aspects of the firm’s culture, which include promoting women when they’re on maternity leave, and the chair’s weekly practice of highlighting an attorney from an underrepresented group, which often includes women.

Holland & Knight LLP doesn’t expect remote work, which will be part of its fabric moving forward, to affect lawyers’ career opportunities, said Deb Barnard, professional growth and development partner.

“We anticipate that attorneys will work remotely at least some of the time,” she said. “I think I can say confidently that remote working won’t have any impact on anyone’s opportunity for promotion or other opportunities.”

Barnard said that even before the pandemic, Holland & Knight promoted attorneys to partner who weren’t in the office all the time.

“The concept of promoting people who are not in the office full-time - even if others choose to be in the office full-time - is not something that’s unfamiliar to us,” she said.

For about a decade at Ropes & Gray LLP, the firm has offered a flexible working arrangements program, which partner Amanda Austin took advantage of when her children were younger.

The system “has worked well for making sure that folks who are for whatever reason either working remotely or need to work less or need some kind of flexibility in their schedule don’t fall off the radar, and even further are actually just as engaged as folks who are in the office every day,” she said.

When she started the program about nine years ago, Austin proactively reached out to colleagues. She added that it’s also important for others at the firm to make sure the lawyers in the program feel engaged, and that complete transparency about goals, obstacles and restrictions is key.

“It’s beneficial for the lawyers and the firm,” Austin said. “I think we very much don’t want to lose good associates and lawyers who need a flexible work schedule. That’s not in our best interest, it’s not in their best interest. We really work to make it a good arrangement.”

https://www.law360.com/pulse/articles/1418936/the-2021-glass-ceiling-report