From the article:

The challenges to increasing the retention and advancement of women in national law firms are complex – multilayered and entrenched structural impediments weave into deep-seated cultural mindsets and biases.

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In fact, the lack of change for women in elite firms is directly tied to the structure and culture of the firms themselves. The firms – how they are organized and how they conduct and monetize their services – are the problem. The current business and cultural model of elite law firms, particularly as it is focused around the billable hour and a rigid hierarchical structure, makes meaningful advancement for women and other minorities extremely difficult. …[M]any of the prevailing approaches … are not successful because they are, effectively, small fixes at the edges which don’t touch the central structural and cultural problem.

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What will be successful, as we have learned from other business sectors, are clearly articulated and focused efforts targeted at central points of power.

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We are, perhaps, at a moment in time when these fundamental changes are actually possible.

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Law firms need to move away from the billable hour.

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