BigLaw bankruptcy doesn't have to be a man's world, 5 female Weil Gotshal partners say in WSJ post
Big-firm bankruptcy practice may be a male-dominated field. But that doesn’t mean it should stay that way, five female partners at one of the nation’s best-known corporate bankruptcy law firms say.
The lawyers were responding to an earlier post on the Bankruptcy Beat page of the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.), written by Philip Dublin, a partner at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld.
“[N]o firm’s policies can eliminate the less appealing parts of a successful restructuring practice: an unpredictable schedule, long hours and, at times, significant travel,” wrote Dublin. “Thus, I think restructuring likely will continue to be a male-dominated field.”
The five Weil Gotshal & Manges partners called Dublin’s conclusions “disappointing” and unduly discouraging to young women attorneys interested in their field.
“All of us are mothers, and between the five of us, we have nine children. Collectively, we have handled some of the largest and most prominent bankruptcies in history,” the five say an article published Wednesday on the newspaper’s Bankruptcy Beat (sub. req.) page. “Further, two of us are members of Weil’s management committee, and one of us is co-chair of Weil’s business finance and restructuring department. Given our experience, we feel it is especially important that young people, including our children, understand that it is possible to be a successful mother and a successful lawyer in the restructuring field—and that the two are not mutually exclusive.”
For more details, read the full WSJ article (sub. req.) by the five partners, Marcia L. Goldstein, Ronit J. Berkovich, Debra A. Dandeneau, Lori R. Fife and Jacqueline Marcus.
