Baker Donelson was named today by Working Mother to its 13th annual "Best Law Firms for Women" list. This is the fourth consecutive year the Firm has been included in this prominent list, which recognizes firms that utilize best practices in recruiting, retaining, promoting and developing women lawyers.
"Baker Donelson is honored to once again be recognized by Working Mother for our continuous efforts to build and enhance a culture of support that allows women to succeed and thrive, including our Women to Equity training, mentoring, and accountability program. We've seen tremendous results and are fortunate to have a leadership team dedicated to the advancement of women and are proud to be included in a list with other law firms who share the same goal," said Christy Tosh Crider, chair of Baker Donelson's Women's Initiative and chair of the Firm's Health Care Litigation Group.
The 2020 Working Mother "Best Law Firms for Women" list highlights law firms that averaged 23 percent women among new equity partners, compared with only 20 percent five years ago. Multicultural women make up 14 percent of equity partners, compared with 11 percent give years ago. These firms additionally offer more extended parental leave benefits and encourage more lawyers to work remotely and use flexible hours.
Through its Women's Initiative, Baker Donelson has implemented numerous key initiatives designed to create an environment where female attorneys thrive, including an industry-leading parental leave policy, a Firm-wide mentoring program for women, a program that awards business development grants to women attorneys, and a training program designed to help women attorneys achieve equity shareholder status.
Baker Donelson has earned multiple national recognitions as an exceptional workplace for women. It has been named to Women Inc. magazine's "Top 100 Law Firms for Women" and FORTUNE's "100 Best Workplaces for Women®." The Firm was also recognized by the Chambers Women in Law Awards: USA 2018 as a finalist in the category of Outstanding Firm in Advancing Gender Diversity and Inclusion. Baker Donelson also has been certified by the Women in Law Empowerment Forum (WILEF) as a Gold Standard Firm for six consecutive years.
"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."
About the Methodology
The 2020 Working Mother Best Law Firms for Women application, administered by the Working Mother Research Institute, includes more than 300 questions about attorney demographics at different levels, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women.
About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation, publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute, the National Association for Female Executives, Diversity Best Practices, and Culture@Work are also units within WMM. WMM's mission is to serve as a champion of culture change, and Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers.