“I left my law firm because there was no opportunity for advancement, and I received better career opportunities in-house,” commented one of the women who participated in the Women Leaving Law survey by Leopard Solutions. “I am considering leaving the law practice to work in business or to do something new altogether because I’m just tired of solving other peoples’ problems and struggling to be paid fairly and equally to men.”
The survey launched in February and received 199 responses from women who had left a law career in 36 different states. Some questions on the survey asked about their current employment, factors that prompted them to leave their industry jobs, career trajectories and the impact of COVID-19 on their decision-making.
According to the survey data, the pandemic or raising a family was not a huge or main factor in leaving for these women. Only 20% of women said that the pandemic was a factor in resigning and while many of the survey respondents were mothers, 70% reported that staying home with their family had little or nothing to do with their reason to leave.
The main reason women are leaving may have to do with the work culture. Of the surveyed women, 90% reported their workplace culture as the main reason for quitting. The data also shared that 82% blamed lack of flexibility and 74% quit due to lack of career trajectory.
It is fair to say that many of these women feel shut out of advancing in their careers, even when 60% of them reported that they had lined up to become a partner early in their careers. Most of these women weren’t presented with that opportunity.
“I left my job after 8 years of practice,” a respondent shared in the survey. “I realized that in June 2021, after all of the hard work, time and effort put into my career, and bringing business to the firm, that I would never be a partner.”
The respondent also mentioned the grief that she felt after this realization. She said that going to a different firm wouldn’t help, so she quit to find a different job that allowed her to live the life she wanted instead of living to work.
Another reason many of the respondents left their firms is due to a lack of support. Ninety percent of the women felt somewhat frustrated or very frustrated with the support they had received from their law firms.
“Having a mentor — someone who cared about my career, well-being, et cetera — would have made a huge difference,” said one survey respondent. “I worked at a top 5 law firm, and there were no mentors for any of us. All the women that I started with left practice, except one who made partner and is thriving.”
While much of the research by Leopard Solutions points out the flaws in the relationship between these women and their firms, it also provides solutions for improving the workplace for them.
They provide several tips for elevating and retaining women:
- Letting women speak and amplify their voices.
- Ensuring that the firm is giving women opportunities.
- Providing women with a seat at the decision-making table.
- Having a zero-tolerance policy for sexism.
- Uncovering unconscious bias.
- Offering equal paternity care.
- Offering flextime schedules and remote work.
- Acknowledging women’s successes.
- Guaranteeing fairness in promotions.
- Hiring more women laterals.
- Providing greater mentorship for women.
