Working Mother Puts Four Law Firms on Its List of 100 Best Companies

This summer, Working Mother magazine released its list of the 50 best law firms for women, without ranking the firms. Now the magazine has included four law firms on its list of 100 best companies for working women, including one that didn’t make the top 50 list.

Working Mother lists these law firms:

• Arnold & Porter, based in Washington, D.C. The firm allows its lawyers to take three years off, “no questions asked,” and pays their bar fees during their time away, according to the story. Arnold & Porter also provides day care at its D.C. headquarters and near its New York office, and gives women “a whopping 18 paid weeks” of maternity leave.

• Covington & Burling, based in Washington, D.C. “Lots of lawyers would laugh if you told them they could make partner while working reduced hours—but not at this D.C.-based firm,” the magazine says. Covington also permits flex-time and makes the scheduling requests easy. Its Work-Family Balance Group meets monthly.

• Katten Muchin Rosenman, based in Chicago. The firm gives three months of paid leave to primary caregivers to spend with a newborn or new adoptee, and pays an additional month if the caregiver has been with the firm for five years. The firm also subsidizes backup child care at 200 centers nationwide. Last year, 17 percent of women promoted at Katten worked part-time.

• Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman, based in New York City. Ten percent of the law firm’s employees shared a job last year, and at least 80 percent made use of flex-time or telecommuting options. “Gifted moms are prized by this New York City-based law firm, which offers generous benefits to help retain them and welcomes back those who have left the fold,” the story says. The firm also has a free backup child care program and pays for at least six weeks of parental leave. Lawyers who want to take additional time off can petition for unpaid leaves of absence capped at five years.

Arnold & Porter wasn’t on Working Mother’s list of the top 50 law firms released in August; it’s unclear why it’s now on the more exclusive list. When the Am Law Daily asked the law firm why it didn’t make the top 50, it declined to comment. An Arnold & Porter spokeswoman contacted by the ABA Journal declined to comment.