Dale C. Doerhoff
Cook, Vetter, Doerhoff & Landwehr
Jefferson City

As revolutions go, it was quiet. There were no banners or barricades, no high-profile martyrs or heroines. No men stood in the law school doors or took women to court for taking their places. Rather than a battle of action and reaction, this was a revolution of attitude, formed in the minds of young women, who looked beyond their gender's traditional roles and saw themselves as lawyers and judges. The movement began in the 1960s and gained momentum in the 1970s. By 2002, half of the students entering law school were women.

Now that women have achieved parity with men on law school admissions, it is only a matter of time before they achieve parity in the profession. The gap is quickly closing. In 1995, one-fourth of the lawyers were women. Today, their share of the profession has risen to one-third. More women are becoming partners, judges and law professors than ever before. The only statistical category men can expect to dominate for the next several decades is lawyer deaths, as the men who built and sustained the old boy networks pass on.

This is not to say women lawyers are entirely free from professional barriers. Gender stereotyping, inadequate support networks, workplace structures such as burdensome hourly requirements, and outright sexual harassment persist to some extent.¹ The good news is the problems have been and will continue to be addressed, and the situation is better than it was.²

Is progress the result of reforms, or is it that women in the profession have achieved a critical mass of influence? Nobody can say for sure, but there is no doubt the latter factor grows stronger each year. With approximately 300,000 women lawyers in America, and with women holding one-fifth of the seats on the federal bench, one-fourth of the seats on state courts of last resort, nearly one-third of law school faculty positions, and 14 percent of the general counsel positions for Fortune 500 companies, women lawyers are able to form powerful networks of their own. ³ And unlike the situation a generation ago, new women lawyers entering the profession today have mentors, role models and sponsors available to help them advance.

What changes are women making in how lawyers practice? Even as one looks past discredited gender stereotypes, there is still a marked difference between men and women on the issue of an appropriate balance between personal and professional lives. Overall, the desire for sufficient time to meet personal and family needs is a more important consideration for women lawyers than for men.⁴ In a perfect world, men should have the same level of concern, but they do not. "It took the increased participation of women in our profession to awaken a consciousness regarding issues of work and family balance."⁵

The most commonly noted obstacle to a balanced life for lawyers in private practice is the burdensome number of billable hours expected in many firms. In the 1960s, 1,300 hours of billable time was considered normal. Now, many firms expect their associates and partners to bill 1,800 to 2,200 hours per year. A workweek of 60 hours or more is now routine. ⁶

The harmful effects of the billable hour system are well known, and steps are being taken at both the national and state levels to come up with billing alternatives that are less harmful to the profession and to the people in it.⁷

Many large firms now "get it," and they have adopted enlightened policies for alternative work schedules, family leave and organizational support, all of which improve the ability of their attorneys to balance personal needs against professional demands. But having policies in place and having a culture where women feel free to use them are two different things. Unfortunately, most women lawyers are reluctant to take advantage of these options, out of fear that to do so will harm their careers.⁸ Only after some pathfinders demonstrate that taking advantage of available accommodations does not damage a lawyer's career will more women (and men) be willing to use them.

For women lawyers who may feel intimidated by the large-firm culture, and want to avoid billable hours altogether, there are other good options, like government or corporate practice. Women can also gain more freedom to make lifestyle choices by forming or joining small firms. This option is particularly attractive in Missouri, because smaller firms predominate: four out of five Missouri lawyers practice in firms of 19 or fewer lawyers; 54% practice in firms of four or less.⁹ Examples of small-firm lawyers who excelled in the profession include the Honorable Ann Covington, the first woman to serve on the Missouri Supreme Court, who came from a four-person firm, and Theresa Levings, the immediate past-president of The Missouri Bar, who practices in a two-person firm.

It is still too early to know the full impact of gender equality. We do know women are a force in restoring balance to the lives of lawyers, male as well as female, and that is a welcome and needed influence. What other changes will they bring to the profession?

If you have some answers or random thoughts to share, please send them to "Dialogue on Justice," c/o Dale Doerhoff, 231 Madison St., Jefferson City, MO 65101 or e-mail them to ddoerhoff@cvdl.net.

Footnotes

¹ "The Unfinished Agenda: Women and the Legal Profession" (ABA Commission on Women in the Profession 2001).

² The Missouri Supreme Court and The Missouri Bar met the gender problems head on in 1992 with the Gender and Justice Task Force, which held six hearings, at which 150 witnesses testified, with many more providing written testimony, and surveyed all Missouri lawyers, judges and court personnel by mail. The follow-up Gender and Justice Implementation Committee saw that the recommendations of the Task Force were addressed, by changes in statutes and court rules, and through CLE programs for lawyers and gender-sensitivity classes for judges and court personnel. The mission of gender fairness was subsequently assumed by The Missouri Bar Committee on Gender and Justice, a permanent committee that is currently evaluating Missouri's progress toward gender fairness.

³ "A Current Glance at Women in the Law" (ABA Commission on Women in the Profession 2002).

⁴ "Balanced Lives: Changing the Culture of Legal Practice" (ABA Commission on Women in the Profession 2001), at 11-12.

⁵ Id. at 3, quoting ABA President Robert E. Hirshon.

⁶ Id. at 14.

⁷ See ABA Commission on Billable Hours Report (2002). The Missouri Bar Alternate Billing Methods Committee will be publishing its report in 2003.

⁸ "Balanced Lives," supra, at 16.

⁹ Missouri Bar Pro Bono Survey (2002).