Baker Donelson has been recognized by the Diversity & Flexibility Alliance as a law firm that is "Tipping the Scales" toward gender parity by having 50% or more women in its 2023 new partner class. Baker Donelson was among 78 law firms recognized at the Alliance's annual conference.
These firms were honored in conjunction with the results of the Alliance's 2023 New Partner Report, a compilation of public data related to the gender breakdown of attorneys promoted to partner in U.S. and global law firms. The report revealed that 43.7% of new partners from 196 major U.S. law firms in 2023 were women, representing a substantial increase of 3.5% from last year's 40.2%.
Christy Tosh Crider, Baker Donelson's Baker Women's chair, Health Care Litigation Group chair, and member of the Firm's Board of Directors, said, "Baker Donelson is proud to be among the law firms recognized for their impact in ensuring gender parity in the legal profession. To advance all deserving lawyers, a firm must have vision, intentionality, and most importantly, prioritization of the goal by firm leadership. At Baker Donelson, we have achieved gender parity in several recent classes of shareholder promotions because we are committed to providing our women attorneys with the resources and support that they need to advance and thrive."
Through its Women's Initiative, Baker Donelson continues to build key initiatives and resources designed to support women and working parents, including a Family Planning & Support Committee, a Women to Equity program, a Women to Leadership program, a Breastmilk Shipment Reimbursement Program, and a newly formed committee to help attorneys find balance and joy in their careers.
The Alliance's New Partner Report, which is released in full to its members, is a yearly compilation of data from the nation's largest and top-grossing law firms examining the gender breakdown of attorneys promoted to partnership in their U.S. offices. The data is based upon publicly available firm announcements and other self-reported sources on new partner classes with an effective date of promotion between October 1, 2022, and September 30, 2023.