1932

Abstract

This article examines the durability of gender inequality in private law practice since Kay & Gorman published their comprehensive review in the in 2008. We begin with some of the changes in legal practice that intensified during the Great Recession and help to contextualize women's lack of progress. We turn next to a contemporary profile of women in private practice that demonstrates empirically where women stand. We look at some of the organizational mechanisms that seem to perpetuate inequality. The challenges of integrating work and family dominated the discussion of women's lack of progress in earlier reviews of women in the legal profession and continue to matter greatly. We assume the persistence of these challenges and instead focus on ways that the mechanisms or strategies for determining compensation systematically overlook and undervalue women's contributions. We consider the different social science frameworks that explain women as overlooked and undervalued for their contributions. We conclude with proposed suggestions for changes aimed at remedying the problems discussed here.

Loading

Article metrics loading...

/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-120814-121705
2016-10-27
2024-03-28
Loading full text...

Full text loading...

/deliver/fulltext/lawsocsci/12/1/annurev-lawsocsci-120814-121705.html?itemId=/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-120814-121705&mimeType=html&fmt=ahah

Literature Cited

  1. ABA Comm. Women Prof 2016. A Current Glance at Women in the Law. Chicago: Am. Bar Assoc.
  2. Acker J. 1990. Hierachies, jobs, bodies: a theory of gendered organizations. Gender Soc 4:139–58 [Google Scholar]
  3. Berger J, Conner TL, Fisek MH. 1977. Status Characteristics and Social Interaction: An Expectation-States Approach Cambridge, MA: Winthrop
  4. Beiner TM. 2008. Not all lawyers are equal: difficulties that plague women and women of color. Syracuse Law Rev. 58:317–34 [Google Scholar]
  5. Biernat M, Tocci M, Williams JC. 2012. The language of performance evaluations: gender-based shifts in content and consistency of judgment. Soc. Psychol. Personal. Sci. 3:186–92 [Google Scholar]
  6. Boigeol A. 2003. French women lawyers (avocates) and the “women's cause” in the first half of the twentieth century. Int. J. Leg. Prof. 10:193–207 [Google Scholar]
  7. Bolton SC, Muzio D. 2007. Can't live with ‘em; can't live without ‘em: gendered segmentation in the legal profession. Sociology 41:47–64 [Google Scholar]
  8. Bolton SC, Muzio D. 2008. The paradoxical processes of feminization in the professions: the case of established, aspiring and semi-professions. Work Employ. Soc. 22:281–99 [Google Scholar]
  9. Bond JT, Thompson C, Galinsky E, Prottas D. 2003. National Study of the Changing Workforce. New York: Fam. Work Inst.
  10. Briscoe F, Kellogg KC. 2011. The initial assignment effect local employer practices and positive career outcomes for work-family program users. Am. Sociol. Rev. 76:291–319 [Google Scholar]
  11. Britton DM. 2000. The epistemology of the gendered organization. Gender Soc. 14:418–34 [Google Scholar]
  12. Brockman J. 1994. Leaving the practice of law: the wherefores and the why. Alberta Law Rev. 32:116–80 [Google Scholar]
  13. Budig MJ, Hodges MJ. 2010. Who gets the daddy bonus? Markers of hegemonic masculinity and the impact of first-time fatherhood on men's earnings. Gend. Soc. 24:717–45 [Google Scholar]
  14. Campbell I, Charlesworth S. 2012. Salaried lawyers and billable hours: a new perspective from the sociology of work. Int. J. Leg. Prof. 19:89–122 [Google Scholar]
  15. Chambliss E, Wilkins DB. 2001. Promoting effective ethical infrastructure in large law firms: a call for research and reporting. Hofstra Law Rev. 30:691–716 [Google Scholar]
  16. Chen V. 2015. Women in big law are losing ground. American Lawyer Oct. 27
  17. Collier R. 2015. Naming men as men in corporate legal practice: gender and the idea of “virtually 24/7 commitment” in law. Fordham Law Rev. 83:2387–408 [Google Scholar]
  18. Correll SJ, Benard S. 2006. Biased estimators? Comparing status and statistical theories of gender discrimination. Adv. Group Process. 23:89–116 [Google Scholar]
  19. Correll SJ, Ridgeway CL. 2003. Expectation states theory. The Handbook of Social Psychology J Delamater 29–51 New York: Kluwer Acad./Plenum [Google Scholar]
  20. Cotterman J. 2009. Law firm compensation practices update. Rep. Legal Manag. 36:8–10 [Google Scholar]
  21. Curran BA. 1995. Women in the Law: A Look at the Numbers Chicago: ABA Comm.
  22. Dau-Schmidt KG, Galanter MS, Mukhopadhaya K, Hull KE. 2009. Men and women of the bar: the impact of gender on legal careers. Mich. J. Gender Law 16:49–145 [Google Scholar]
  23. Dilloff NJ. 2011. The changing cultures and economics of large law firm practice and their impact on legal education. Md. Law Rev. 70:341–63 [Google Scholar]
  24. Dinovitzer R. 2015. Law and beyond: a national study of Canadian law graduates. First Draft Rep., Soc. Sci. Humanit. Res. Counc. Can.
  25. Dinovitzer R, Garth B, Sander R, Sterling J, Wilder GZ. 2004. After the JD: First Results of a National Study of Legal Careers Overland Park, KS/Chicago: NALP Found./Am. Bar Found.
  26. Dinovitzer R, Hagan J. 2014. Hierarchical structure and gender dissimilarity in American legal labor markets. Soc. Forces 92:929–55 [Google Scholar]
  27. Dinovitzer R, Nelson RL, Plickert G, Sandefur RL, Sterling J. 2009. After the JD II: Second Results of a National Study of Legal Careers Overland Park, KS/Chicago: NALP Found./Am. Bar Found.
  28. Dinovitzer R, Reichman N, Sterling J. 2009. The differential valuation of women's work: a new look at the gender gap in lawyers' incomes. Soc. Forces 88:819–64 [Google Scholar]
  29. Duff L, Webley L. 2004. Equality & diversity: women solicitors Law Soc. Engl. Wales Res. Study 48, London
  30. Epner J. 2006. Visible invisibility: women of color in law firms Exec. Summ., ABA Comm. Women Prof., Chicago
  31. Flom BM. 2012. Report of the Seventh Annual NAWL National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms Chicago: Natl. Assoc. Women Lawyers
  32. Fortney SS. 2005. The billable hours derby: empirical data on the problems and pressure points. Fordham Urban Law J. 33:171–92 [Google Scholar]
  33. Foschi M. 1989. Status characteristics, standards, and attributions. Sociological Theories in Progress: New Formulations J Berger, M Zelditch, B Anderson 58–72 Newbury Park, CA: Sage [Google Scholar]
  34. Fuchs Epstein C, Kolker A. 2013. The impact of the economic downturn on women lawyers in the United States. Indiana J. Glob. Leg. Stud. 20:1169–202 [Google Scholar]
  35. Fuchs Epstein C, Sauté R, Oglensky B, Gever M. 1995. Glass ceilings and open doors: women's advancement in the legal profession. Fordham Law Rev. 64:291–449 [Google Scholar]
  36. Galanter M, Henderson WM. 2008. The elastic tournament: a second transformation of the big law firm. Stanford Law Rev. 60:1867 [Google Scholar]
  37. Gorman EH, Kmec JA. 2009. Hierarchical rank and women's organizational mobility: glass ceilings in corporate law firms. Am. J. Sociol. 114:1428–74 [Google Scholar]
  38. Gough M, Noonan M. 2013. A review of the motherhood wage penalty in the United States. Sociol. Compass 7:328–42 [Google Scholar]
  39. Grace M. 2011. Symposium—the profession and the academy: addressing major changes in law practice—introduction. Md. Law Rev. 70:307–9 [Google Scholar]
  40. Hagan J, Kay F. 1995. Gender in Practice: A Study of Lawyers' Lives New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  41. Hagan J, Kay F. 2010. The masculine mystique: living large from law school to later life. Can. Rev. Sociol. 25:195–226 [Google Scholar]
  42. Heilman ME. 2012. Gender stereotypes and workplace bias. Res. Organ. Behav. 32:113–35 [Google Scholar]
  43. Heilman ME, Okimoto TG. 2007. Why are women penalized for success at male tasks? The implied communality deficit. J. Appl. Psychol. 92:81–92 [Google Scholar]
  44. Henderson WD. 2006. Symposium: empirical studies of the legal profession: What do we know about lawyers' lives? An empirical study of single-tier versus two-tier partnerships in the AmLaw 200. N.C. Law Rev. 84:1691–749 [Google Scholar]
  45. Henderson WD. 2007. The globalization of the legal profession. Indiana J. Glob. Leg. Stud. 14:1–3 [Google Scholar]
  46. Henderson WD. 2011. Three generations of U.S. lawyers: generalists, specialists, project managers. Md. Law Rev. 70:373–89 [Google Scholar]
  47. Hirsch RL. 1989. National Survey of Lawyers' Career Satisfaction, Wave I, 1984, and Wave II, 1990 Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-Univ. Consort. Polit. Soc. Res.
  48. Hunter R. 2005. Women in the legal profession: the Australian profile. Women in the World's Legal Profession U Shultz, G Shaw 87–102 Oxford: Hart [Google Scholar]
  49. Innocenti N. 2014. Show me the money. Major, Lindsey & Africa Blog Sept. 12. http://www.mlaglobal.com/community/thought-leadership/show-me-the-money
  50. Jacobs J, Gerson K. 2004. The Time Divide: Work, Family, and Gender Inequality. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press
  51. Kang J. 2009. Implicit Bias: A Primer for Courts. Williamsburg, VA: Natl. Cent. State Courts
  52. Kang J. 2014. Rethinking intent and impact: some behavioral realism about equal protection. Ala. Law Rev. 66:627–51 [Google Scholar]
  53. Kanter RM. 1977. Men and Women of the Corporation New York: Basic Books
  54. Kay FM. 1997. Flight from law: a competing risks model of departures from law firms. Law Soc. Rev. 31:301–35 [Google Scholar]
  55. Kay FM. 2002. Crossroads to innovation and diversity: the careers of women lawyers in Quebec. McGill Law J. 47:699–745 [Google Scholar]
  56. Kay FM, Alarie S, Adjei J. 2013. Leaving private practice: how organizational context, time pressures, and structural inflexibilities shape departures from private law practice. Indiana J. Glob. Leg. Stud. 20:1223–60 [Google Scholar]
  57. Kay FM, Gorman EH. 2008. Women in the legal profession. Annu. Rev. Law Soc. Sci. 4:299–332 [Google Scholar]
  58. Kay FM, Gorman EH. 2012. Developmental practices, organizational culture, and minority representation in organizational leadership the case of partners in large US law firms. Ann. Am. Acad. Polit. Soc. Sci. 639:91–113 [Google Scholar]
  59. Kay FM, Hagan J. 1998. Raising the bar: the gender stratification of law-firm capital. Am. Sociol. Rev. 63:728–43 [Google Scholar]
  60. Kay FM, Hagan J. 2003. Building trust: social capital, distributive justice and loyalty to the firm. Law Soc. Inq. 28:483–519 [Google Scholar]
  61. Kay FM, Wallace JE. 2009. Mentors as social capital: gender, mentors, and career rewards in law practice. Sociol. Inq. 79:418–52 [Google Scholar]
  62. Law School Adm. Counc 2014. Admitted Applicants by Ethnic and Gender Group. Newtown, PA: Law School Adm. Counc http://www.lsac.org/lsacresources/data/ethnic-gender-admits
  63. Leahey E, Hunter LA. 2012. Lawyers' lines of work: specialization's role in the income determination process. Soc. Forces 90:1101–31 [Google Scholar]
  64. Lerman LG. 2001. The slippery slope from ambition to greed to dishonesty: lawyers, money, and professional integrity. Hofstra Law Rev. 30:879–921 [Google Scholar]
  65. Levinson JD, Young D. 2010. Implicit gender bias in the legal profession: an empirical study. Duke J. Gender Law Policy 18:1–39 [Google Scholar]
  66. Lopez MP. 2008. Future of women in the legal profession: recognizing the challenges ahead by reviewing current trends. Hastings Women's Law J. 19:53 [Google Scholar]
  67. Lowe JA. 2014. 2014 Partner Compensation Survey New York: Major, Lindsey & Africa
  68. McGinley AC. 2013. Masculine law firms. FIU Law Rev. 9:423–47 [Google Scholar]
  69. Monahan J, Swanson J. 2009. Lawyers at mid-career: a 20-year longitudinal study of job and life satisfaction. J. Empir. Leg. Stud. 6:451–83 [Google Scholar]
  70. Natl. Assoc. Law Place. (NALP) 2010. Market for law graduates changes with recession: Class of 2009 faced new challenges. Press Rel., July 22
  71. Natl. Assoc. Law Place. (NALP) 2013. Representation of women among associates continues to fall, even as minority associates make gains Press Rel., Dec. 13
  72. Natl. Assoc. Law Place. (NALP) 2014a. National Summary Chart for Schools—2014 Class. Washington, DC: Natl. Assoc. Law Place.
  73. Natl. Assoc. Law Place. (NALP) 2014b. Women and minorities at law firms by race and ethnicity—an update. NALP Bull., April 2013
  74. Natl. Assoc. Law Place. (NALP) 2015. Women, black/African-American associates lose ground at major U.S. law firms. Press Rel., Nov. 19
  75. Nelson RL. 1988. Partners with Power: The Social Transformation of the Large Law Firm Oakland: Univ. Calif. Press
  76. Noonan MC, Corcoran ME, Courant PN. 2008. Is the partnership gap closing for women? Cohort differences in the sex gap in partnership chances. Soc. Sci. Res. 37:156–79 [Google Scholar]
  77. Parker C, Ruschena D. 2011. The pressures of billable hours: lessons from a survey of billing practices inside law firms. Univ. St. Thomas Law J. 9:619–54 [Google Scholar]
  78. Pearce RG, Wald E, Ballakrishnen SS. 2015. Difference blindness vs. bias awareness: why law firms with the best intentions have failed to create diverse partnerships. Fordham Law Rev. 83:2407–57 [Google Scholar]
  79. Percheski C. 2008. Opting out? Cohort differences in professional women's employment rates from 1960 to 2005. Am. Sociol. Rev. 73:497–517 [Google Scholar]
  80. Pinnington AH, Sandberg J. 2013. Lawyers' professional careers: increasing women's inclusion in the partnership of law firms. Gend. Work Organ. 20:616–31 [Google Scholar]
  81. Plickert G, Dinovitzer R, Garth B, Nelson RL, Sandefur RL. et al. 2014. After the JD III: Third Results from a National Study of Legal Careers Chicago/Washington, DC: Am. Bar Found./Natl. Assoc. Law Place. Found. Law Career Res.
  82. Posner R. 2009. When does a depression or a recession end?. The Atlantic Aug. 1
  83. Rachman-Moore D, Slmor T, Meir K. 2006. Equal investments, different rewards: gender inequalities among Israeli lawyers. Int. J. Leg. Prof. 13:189–216 [Google Scholar]
  84. Rampell C. 2011. At well-paying law firms, a low-paid corner. New York Times May 23. http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/24/business/24lawyers.html?emc/At-Well-Paying-Law-Firms-a-Low-Paid-Corner
  85. Reeves A. 2014. Written in black & white: exploring confirmation bias in racialized perceptions of writing skills Yellow Pap. Ser., Nextions. http://www.nextions.com/wp-content/files_mf/14468226472014040114WritteninBlackandWhiteYPS.pdf
  86. Regan MC Jr., Heenan PT. 2010. Supply chains and porous boundaries: the disaggregation of legal services. Fordham Law Rev. 78:2137–88 [Google Scholar]
  87. Reichman N, Sterling J. 2002. Recasting the brass ring: deconstructing and reconstructing workplace opportunities for women lawyers. Cap. Univ. Law Rev. 29:923–77 [Google Scholar]
  88. Reichman N, Sterling J. 2004. Sticky floors, broken steps, and concrete ceilings in legal careers. Tex. J. Women Law 14:28–76 [Google Scholar]
  89. Reichman N, Sterling J. 2013. Parenthood status and compensation in law practice. Indiana J. Glob. Leg. Stud. 20:1203–22 [Google Scholar]
  90. Rhode DL. 2001. Balanced lives for lawyers. Fordham Law Rev. 70:2207–20 [Google Scholar]
  91. Rhode DL. 2011. From platitudes to priorities: diversity and gender equity in law firms. Georgetown J. Leg. Ethics 24:1041–77 [Google Scholar]
  92. Rhode DL. 2014. Diversity and gender equity in legal practice. Univ. Cincinnati Law Rev. 82:871–88 [Google Scholar]
  93. Ridgeway CL. 2011. Framed by Gender: How Gender Inequality Persists in the Modern World New York: Oxford Univ. Press
  94. Ridgeway CL, Backor K, Li YE, Tinkler JE, Erickson KG. 2009. How easily does a social difference become a status distinction?. Am. Sociol. Rev. 74:44–62 [Google Scholar]
  95. Ridgeway CL, Correll SJ. 2004. Motherhood as a status characteristic. J. Soc. Issues 60:683–700 [Google Scholar]
  96. Ridgeway CL, Fisk SR. 2012. Class rules, status dynamics, and ‘gateway' interactions. Facing Social Class ST Fiske, H Markus 131–51 New York: Russell Sage [Google Scholar]
  97. Ridgeway CL, Kricheli-Katz T. 2013. Intersecting cultural beliefs in social relations: gender, race, and class binds and freedoms. Gender Soc. 27:294–318 [Google Scholar]
  98. Rikleen LS. 2013. Closing the Gap: A Road Map for Achieving Gender Pay Equity in Law Firm Compensation Washington, DC: Am. Bar Assoc., Comm. Women Prof., Gend. Equity Task Force
  99. Rikleen LS. 2015. Women lawyers continue to lag behind male colleagues: report of the ninth annual NAWL survey on retention and promotion of women in law firms. Women Lawyers J. 100:25 [Google Scholar]
  100. Sandgrund R. 2016. Can we talk? Bias, diversity, and inclusiveness in the Colorado legal community. Colo. Lawyer 45:249 [Google Scholar]
  101. Scharf SA, Liebenberg RD. 2015. First Chairs at Trial: Women Need More Seats at the Table. Chicago: Am. Bar Assoc., Comm. Women Prof.
  102. Scharf SA, Liebenberg RD, Amalfe C. 2014. Report of the Eighth Annual NAWL National Survey on Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms. Chicago: Natl. Assoc. Women Lawyers
  103. Schultz U, Shaw G. 2003. Women in the World's Legal Professions Oxford: Hart
  104. Silverstein SH. 2014. White paper gender study Study, Sky Analytics. http://www.silviahodges.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/07/Sky-Analytics-Gender-study-WP.pdf
  105. Sloan K. 2013. ABA issues toolkit, aiming to eliminate gender pay gap. National Law Journal March 18
  106. Smith J. 2014. Female lawyers still battle gender bias. Wall Street Journal May 4. http://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424052702303948104579537814028747376
  107. Sommerlad H. 2003. Can women lawyer differently? A perspective from the U.K. Women in the World's Legal Profession: An International Study U Schultz, G Shaw 191–224 Oxford: Hart [Google Scholar]
  108. Sommerlad H. 2012. Minorities, merit, and misrecognition in the globalized profession. Fordham Law Rev 80:2481–92 [Google Scholar]
  109. Sommerlad H. 2015. The “social magic” of merit: diversity, equity, and inclusion in the English and Welsh legal profession. Fordham Law Rev. 83:2325–47 [Google Scholar]
  110. Sommerlad H, Sanderson P. 1998. Gender, Choice, and Commitment: Women Solicitors in England and Wales and the Struggle for Equal Status Farnham, UK: Ashgate
  111. Sommerlad H, Webley L, Muzio D, Tomlinson J, Duff L. 2010. Diversity in the Legal Profession in England and Wales: A Qualitative Study of Barriers and Individual Choices. London: Legal Serv. Board
  112. Spurr SJ, Sueyoshi GT. 1994. Turnover and promotion of lawyers: an inquiry into gender differences. J. Hum. Resour. 29:813–42 [Google Scholar]
  113. Sterling J, Plickert G. 2014. Gender Still Matters Unpublished manuscript on file with authors
  114. Sterling J, Reichman N. 2010. So you want to be a lawyer? The quest for professional status in a changing legal world. Fordham Law Rev. 78:2289–314 [Google Scholar]
  115. Stone P. 2007. Opting Out?: Why Women Really Quit Careers and Head Home Oakland: Univ. Calif. Press
  116. Temple HS. 2012. Clogged pipeline: lack of growth at firms has women skipping law school. ABA J. 98:29 [Google Scholar]
  117. Thornton M. 2013. The mirage of merit: reconstructing the ideal academic. Aust. Fem. Stud. 76:127–43 [Google Scholar]
  118. Thornton M, Bagust J. 2007. The gender trap: flexible work in corporate legal practice. Osgoode Hall Law J. 45:773–811 [Google Scholar]
  119. Tomaskovic-Devey D. 2014. The relational generation of workplace inequalities. Soc. Curr. 1:51–73 [Google Scholar]
  120. Triedman J. 2015. A few good women: The number of female equity partners at AmLaw 200 firms has been stagnant for a decade. Is it time for quotas?. The American LawyerJune 1
  121. Wagner DG, Berger J. 2002. The evolution of expectation states theories. Contemporary Sociological Theories M Zelditch Jr., J Berger 41–78 New York: Rowman & Littlefield [Google Scholar]
  122. Wald E. 2010a. Glass ceilings and dead ends: professional ideologies, gender stereotypes, and the future of women lawyers at large law firms. Fordham Law Rev. 78:2245–88 [Google Scholar]
  123. Wald E. 2010b. The Great Recession and the legal profession. Fordham Law Rev. 78:2051–3161 [Google Scholar]
  124. Wald E. 2015. Big law identity capital: pink and blue, black and white. Fordham Law Rev. 83:2509–55 [Google Scholar]
  125. Wallace JE. 2001. Explaining why lawyers want to leave the practice of law. Legal Professions: Work, Structure and Organization J Van Hoy 117–45 Oxford: Elsevier Sci. [Google Scholar]
  126. Wallace JE, Kay FM. 2012. Tokenism, organizational segregation, and coworker relations in law firms. Soc. Probl. 59:389–410 [Google Scholar]
  127. Walsh J. 2012. Not worth the sacrifice? Women's aspirations and career progression in law firms. Gend. Work Organ. 19:508–31 [Google Scholar]
  128. Webley L, Duff L. 2007. Women solicitors as a barometer for problems within the legal profession—time to put values before profits?. J. Law Soc. 34:374–402 [Google Scholar]
  129. Weiss DC. 2016. Full-time female lawyers earn 77 percent of male lawyer pay. ABA Journal Mar. 17. http://www.abajournal.com/news/article/pay_gap_is_greatest_in_legal_occupations/?utm_source=maestio&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=weekly
  130. Wilkins DB, Fong B, Dinovitzer R. 2015. The women and men of Harvard Law School: preliminary results from the HLS career study Res. Pap., Harvard Law School Cent. Leg. Prof., Cambridge, MA
  131. Williams JC. 2000. What stymies women's academic careers? It's personal. Chronicles of Higher EducationDec. 15
  132. Williams JC. 2010. Reshaping the Work-Family Debate: Why Men and Class Matter Cambridge, MA: Harvard Univ. Press
  133. Williams JC. 2012. Jumpstarting the stalled gender revolution: Justice Ginsburg and reconstructive feminism. Hastings Law J. 63:1267–92 [Google Scholar]
  134. Williams JC, Manvell J, Bornstein S. 2006. “Opt Out” or Pushed Out?: How the Press Covers Work/Family Conflict Hastings, CA: Cent. WorkLife Law
  135. Williams JC, Richardson V. 2010. New millennium, same glass ceiling—the impact of law firm compensation systems on women. Hastings Law J. 62:597–676 [Google Scholar]
/content/journals/10.1146/annurev-lawsocsci-120814-121705
Loading
  • Article Type: Review Article
This is a required field
Please enter a valid email address
Approval was a Success
Invalid data
An Error Occurred
Approval was partially successful, following selected items could not be processed due to error