Now That Men Are Leaving BigLaw, Does That Mean It’s OK for Women to Leave As Well?
Eight years ago, at a conference sponsored by Ms. JD , I attended a gripe-session about the hardships of big law for women, to which I responded by listing the benefits of starting one’s own firm. As I described here, my remarks were received tepidly, and in fact, one woman responded:
Starting a firm is all well and good, but if everyone flees biglaw life, firms will be left stranded as the last bastions of male dominated hierarchy.”
Seems that women aren’t interested in saving big law any longer now that everyone is jumping ship. For example, Joan Williams, who heads the Center for Work, Life Law (tagline: jumpstarting the stalled gender revolution) has now jumped on the disrupt big law bandwagon, with an article in the Harvard Business Review about the new business models like Axiom that are poaching big law talent, then turning around and “siphoning off the [routine] work that big law used to rely on to balance its books.” Moreover, these ventures are offering superior work-life balance options to both women – and men. Moreover – and while not mentioned in the article, the new business models give women more opportunities to run the show – as a growing number of these lawyer-on-demand services – such as those mentioned here are run by women.
While it’s great that the legal profession is embracing new models, why did it have to take so long? Imagine the women who attended Ms. JD eight years ago who might have carved out a different path sooner instead of marching back to big law with hopes of making it better. They could have been at the beginning of a new movement, not the end.
Moreover, are these alternative models actually better for women in the long run? Sure, they provide good salaries and more balanced hours. But at the end of the day, you’re an employee and not an owner, with little opportunity to control your destiny. If running the show matters to you – and matters to women generally – starting your own firm is still the way to go. It may not necessarily afford the same work life balance, but you’ll still be able to control the hours and work-flow.
Finally, the most important lesson in all of this is that if you’re not happy whether at big law or in-house or wherever you are, leap now – no matter what anyone says. You have no obligations to rescue big law or the legal profession at large – at the end of the day, all that matters is your family, your financial security and your dreams.
I tend to agree with you overall (being a solo myself) but I can’t help but feel a little sad knowing that if every woman working in BigLaw decided to take that leap and leave BigLaw, then there will no more female mentors/sponsors for the next wave of female lawyers entering BigLaw. If Biglaw becomes even MORE male dominated, then the vicious cycle of underrepresentation will just continue. I’ve never worked for BigLaw (nor have I ever wanted to!) but there are women out there who do it and we want them to try to stick around and help shape that future.
The most disconcerting aspect of the Harvard Business Review article is that it completely ignored the perfect law firm — for male and female attorneys — FisherBroyles, LLP. When I was spinning out of a GC role to return to private practice, I contemplated going solo. It certainly seemed more attractive than returning to BigLaw where my efforts to service MY clients the way they expected and I required seemed to constantly be impeded by the chase for some arbitrary billable hours requirement (even for equity partners), ever-increasing hourly rates, and inflexibility with alternative fee arrangements, like a flat fee for a trademark application. And I certainly was not interested in becoming basically a contract attorney at this stage of my career (did that for a few months as a newly minted attorney in the late 1990s out of necessity, certainly not choice, while pursing an LL.M). In fact, one of those types of firms – Axiom – contacted me just today. It didn’t take more than a second to decline to talk with them. Why would I? Unlike Axiom, every attorney at FisherBroyles, LLP is a PARTNER, not an employee. But, unlike BigLaw, FisherBroyles, LLP listens to its clients and its partners when they say they want to receive and provide quality legal work at reasonable rates. It does my client no good if it is too expensive to call me. And, if I’m pursuing an arbitrary billable hour requirement, I have no latitude to take the call and decide whether and what to bill for it unless I want to return to the days of all-nighters and no vacations. Fortunately, I haven’t had to make that choice for 3 glorious years now. FisherBroyles, LLP respects me enough — as a professional who, yes, also happens to be a woman — to make those decisions about what and whether to bill myself. Each of us, as partners, can. And, as a result, we have an unbelievably talented group of attorneys with deep experience in just about every practice area. As a female attorney, though, I would be amiss not to also emphasize that FisherBroyles, LLP is also the perfect firm for female attorneys. We did not crack those glass ceilings (with the help of the wonderful women who preceded us) only to face three choices: no life in BigLaw, loneliness and stress in solo practice, or allowing ourselves to be reduced to just an employee at a firm like Axiom. I am so fortunate to have found — and, now as one of 3 female Managing Partners, to encourage others to find — the true alternative to BigLaw. Indeed, FisherBroyles may be the most important law firm you’ve never heard of.
Thanks for your comment – one of your colleagues posted a comment about FSB as well – I am trying to get it posted but having some glitches with the site. I am very familiar with FSB – I knew an attorney who worked there, and I did some research on it early on. It is an excellent business model, but perhaps too far ahead of its time to warrant mention in the article.
And, yet, FisherBroyles has been in existence, representing Fortune 500 companies, for over a decade. Like so many of the software companies I represent, though, we fortunately are becoming an “overnight” success. It is thrilling to have clients and attorneys seek US out . . .
If women want to stay in BigLaw, I’m certainly in favor of that. But if they don’t (as most conclude eventually), I think it’s absurd to try to convince them to stay in the name of feminism. And this isn’t hypothetical! Various people have told me I’m a bad feminist because I quit my BigLaw job. (Lee and I had this exact discussion in our Authenticity podcast episode.) I don’t buy it!