Overview
(September 8, 2020, Washington, DC) — Steptoe has been named to Working Mother magazine's 2020 list of the "Best Law Firms for Women." Now in its 13th year, the list recognizes US law firms that utilize best practices in finding, retaining, promoting and developing women lawyers. This marks Steptoe's seventh year on the list.
This year's list was based on an application administered by the Working Mother Research Institute that included more than 300 questions about attorney demographics at different levels, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women.
"Law firms on this year's list were better prepared to respond to the effects of the pandemic because of their continued support of flextime and remote work for working parents and caregivers," said Subha V. Barry, president of Working Mother Media. "We are proud to recognize their resilience and steadfast commitment to supporting gender equality."
A key finding on this year's list was the increase in women holding equity partnership with firms averaging 23 percent women equity partners compared with only 20% five years ago. Last month, Steptoe was also recognized on The American Lawyer's A-List survey for having a large proportion of women in its equity partnership, ranking among the top 25 firms in the nation for having women equity partners.
Steptoe has a strong track record of supporting women lawyers. Over the past five years, women have comprised an average of 60% of the new partner classes. Additionally, many women serve in leadership positions. The firm's vice chair and general counsel is a woman, a number of the firm's practice departments and management teams are headed by women, and five of the firm's nine offices are led or co-led by women.
Steptoe strives to differentiate itself from other law firms by not only delivering the highest-quality legal services to clients, but also by accomplishing that goal with a talented, creative, diverse, and engaged team of professionals. Along with providing formal and informal mentoring for women lawyers, the firm's Women's Forum sponsors activities to advance, recognize, and connect the firm's women lawyers and professionals.
Earlier this year, Steptoe was named to the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) Gold Standard Certification list and earned a spot on the Yale Law Women "Top Firms for Gender Equity & Family Friendliness" report.
Firms that appear on this year's list will be honored during the virtual Best Law Firms for Women Gala Awards on September 22.
About Steptoe
In more than 100 years of practice, Steptoe has earned an international reputation for vigorous representation of clients before governmental agencies, successful advocacy in litigation and arbitration, and creative and practical advice in structuring business transactions. Steptoe has more than 500 lawyers and other professional staff across offices in Beijing, Brussels, Chicago, Hong Kong, London, Los Angeles, New York, San Francisco, and Washington. For more information, visit www.steptoe.com.