New York, NY (July 31, 2018)—Working Mother magazine revealed its 11th annual “Best Law Firms for Women” list today, recognizing firms that utilize best practices in retaining and promoting women lawyers. Culhane Meadows PLLC, the largest national full-service women-owned law firm in the U.S., was among the 60 firms that earned spots on this year’s list. For the second year, Working Mother collaborated with the ABA Journal as a knowledge partner.
The full list, available here, highlights law firms where on average more than a third of partners are women, while one-fifth of equity partners are women. Culhane Meadows, however, boasts above-average female representation. Approaching almost 60 partners across seven major business markets, forty percent of its total attorneys, and sixty percent of its equity partners, are women. Culhane Meadows is also the only cloud-based national firm where women represent the majority of equity shareholders.
The firm’s management team includes Kelly Culhane, Heather Haughian, Jim Meadows, Kim Verska, and Grant Walsh. They each serve their own clients while also managing and guiding the firm’s continued growth and strategic vision. Culhane Meadows’ innovative cloud-based model has sustained accelerated growth by leveraging scalable technology platforms and promoting a superior work-life environment. Attorneys are attracted to the firm’s transparent and objective compensation formula, while the flexibility of practicing from any physical location, including home offices, is especially appealing to working parents.
“Working Mother’s recognition is a welcome acknowledgment of the commitment Culhane Meadows has made to create an environment where inclusion and equality are at the forefront,” says Kelly Culhane, a co-founder and a managing partner at the firm. “From our very beginning, we have sought to create an open and transparent platform where all lawyers can thrive regardless of gender, race, religion, age, or geography.”
Culhane Meadows’ broad national footprint and resources to handle everything from sophisticated transactional matters to complex disputes is particularly attractive to institutional clients. “GCs and other decision-makers value diversity in outside counsel, at the same time they want the depth of experience and sophistication that until recently was offered primarily at large law firms,” explains Culhane. “We meet the clients’ needs because our firm is comprised exclusively of partners from Am Law 200 firms or equivalent senior counsel roles in large in-house legal departments, yet we afford them the flexibility of working from home and setting their own hours.”
“The law firms that make Working Mother’s list are remarkable for their long-term commitment to retaining and promoting women lawyers,” said Meredith Bodgas, editor-in-chief of Working Mother. “One hundred percent of these firms provide flexible work arrangements and 57 percent of them offer sponsorship programs for high-potential women lawyers. That’s resulted in a jump in the number of women equity partners to 21 percent.”
“The ABA Journal has been exploring diversity issues in the profession for decades and is continually surprised to see how little progress women have made with pay equity and at top positions in law firms,” said Molly McDonough, editor and publisher of the ABA Journal. “Collaborating with Working Mother gives us another way to explore what firms can do to bring gender parity to firm leadership.”
“We are honored to be part of the Working Mother list,” adds Jim Meadows. “Consistent with the encouragement of the ABA Journal and many of our Fortune-ranked clients, Culhane Meadows is committed to removing barriers and giving everyone a truly level playing field to achieve success regardless of background, gender, race or family circumstances. We are proud to be a national leader in promoting women within the legal marketplace and creating a better way to practice law.”
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About the Methodology
The 2018 Working Mother Best Law Firms for Women application included more than 300 questions about attorney representation, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women. Profiles are culled from the applications and reflect 2017 data. The ABA Journal acts as a partner in recruiting participant firms and publicizing results.
About Working Mother Media
Working Mother Media (WMM), a division of Bonnier Corporation, publishes Working Mother magazine and its companion website, workingmother.com. The Working Mother Research Institute, the National Association for Female Executives, and Diversity Best Practices are also units within WMM. WMM’s mission is to serve as a champion of culture change and Working Mother magazine is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers.
Culhane Meadows’ Press Contact
Marcia Golden, publicrelations@culhane.law
