New York – LawFuel – Law Firm Announcements – Sidley Austin LLP has been named as a 2008 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firm for Women. The firm is among a total of 50 law firms selected by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers, a national consulting firm advising lawyers and legal employers on work/life balance and the retention and advancement of women. Sidley was also named to the inaugural 2007 list.
Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers have partnered for the second year in a row to recognize 50 law firms that have redefined the standards of success by creating a workplace that encourages the retention and advancement of women. The winning firms were selected based on their responses to an application measuring areas such as workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women.
Sidley’s inclusion on the list was based on its long-standing commitment to the recruitment, retention and promotion of women. The firm’s culture embraces and builds upon the diverse perspectives, experiences and backgrounds of its lawyers, its clients and the communities in which it serves. The firm’s formal initiative to provide a work environment that fosters the establishment and development of women’s legal careers began in 1998, and the Committee on Retention and Promotion of Women was established to ensure sustained diversity efforts. In 2005, Sidley became the second law firm to win the Catalyst Award, from the leading research and advisory organization dedicated to expanding opportunities for women and business.
“Sidley is deeply dedicated to recruiting, retaining and promoting outstanding diverse lawyers,” commented Thomas A. Cole, Chair of Sidley’s Executive Committee. “We are grateful to be recognized, once again, as a workplace where women thrive and are encouraged to succeed.”
At Sidley, women have successfully cultivated their careers, risen to partnership, become leaders as well as role models and given back. Currently, the firm has more than 600 women lawyers and 125 women partners. Many have taken advantage of the firmwide reduced hours policy, which enables lawyers, at both the associate and partner levels, to work a flexible schedule.
“There is no set formula for balancing work and family and no single definition of success for the working mother,” said Laurin Blumenthal Kleiman, firmwide co-chair of Sidley’s Committee on Retention and Promotion of Women. “Thanks to a supportive climate and strong mentors, Sidley women – particularly those with families – are empowered to build careers that work for them.”
Sidley Austin LLP is one of the world’s largest full-service law firms, with more than 1800 lawyers practicing in 16 U.S. and international cities, including Beijing, Brussels, Frankfurt, Geneva, Hong Kong, London, Shanghai, Singapore, Sydney and Tokyo. Every year since 2003, Sidley has been named to Legal Business’ Global Elite, its designation for the 18 firms “that define the pinnacle of the legal profession.” BTI, a Boston-based consulting and research firm, has named Sidley to their Client Service Hall of Fame as one of only two law firms to rank in the Client Service Top 10 for seven years in a row, and to the BTI Power Elite as one of only seven law firms demonstrating the best client relationships for the fourth consecutive year.
