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Infobit: Since 1985, law schools have been graduating classes of new lawyers that are 40% or more female. Yet in 1996, only 14.2% of law firm partners were women, and in 2005, only 17.2% were women. (Note: this figure is for all partners; the number of equity partners is lower.) Source: Catalyst. At this rate of increase, women should make up half of law firm partners by the year 2115.

For past Infobits, check our the Infobit Archive.

Best Practice #1

Appoint a Balanced Hour Coordinator

What is a Balanced Hours Coordinator? Why Do Firms Need One?

A Balanced Hours Coordinator is a partner or administrator with a direct report to the head of the firm who is appointed by the firm to oversee the successful implementation and administration of its balanced hours program. Firms need a Balanced Hours Coordinator because even the most expertly-drafted, well-intentioned balanced hours policy cannot implement itself. A mere paper policy is essentially worthless or, worse yet, it can be damaging-damaging to the careers of the attorneys who opt to take advantage of it without appropriate guidance and institutional support, and damaging to management's credibility as it creates false expectations and erodes associates' morale. By adopting a balanced hours program and appointing a Balanced Hours Coordinator to keep a balanced hours program on track, to troubleshoot problems as they arise, and to guide balanced hours and supervising attorneys, firms can ensure that their policy will succeed in practice.

Functions of a Balanced Hours Coordinator:

· Collect and provide information about balanced hours at the firm

· Help attorneys and the firm create balanced hour proposals

· Monitor schedule creep and assignments

· Address excessive hours with supervising attorneys

· Advocate for and support balanced hours attorneys

· Provide training about the program initially for the firm as a whole and thereafter for new attorneys

Check out the real-world examples of balanced hour coordinators below. Does your firm have a balanced hour coordinator? Is it planning to appoint one? Let us know your experiences, thoughts, and questions by sending an email.

Roslyn Pitts, Balanced Hour Coordinator, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Nicholson Graham LLP

Read about KLNG's balanced hours program here.

Q&A with Roslyn Pitts

Q: Do you know why the firm created your position?

A: Experts in the field have identified infrastructure as an essential element of programs like ours. K&LNG created the balanced hours coordinator position to serve as a crucial part of that infrastructure here-to implement, support, and manage the balanced hours program. Administratively, the program has many moving parts, so it's very important to have one person dedicated exclusively to the role.

Read the entire Q & A here.

Cathy Hoffman, Part-Time Advisor, Arnold & Porter

In 2001, Arnold & Porter ("A&P") appointed Cathy Hoffman, a partner who works an 80% schedule in the firm's D.C. office, as the firm's Part-Time Advisor. According to Ms. Hoffman, firm management determined "that it would be great to have someone attorneys could speak with confidentially about the ins and outs of the arrangement." Ms. Hoffman, who is a litigator with an expertise in antitrust law, began working part-time after her first child was born, three years after she became a partner.

Ms. Hoffman dispelled the belief that going part-time will ruin one's career in Balancing Act, a cover story in the September/October 2003 issue of Diversity & the Bar Magazine. As she explained to that interviewer as well as to PAR, A&P has accommodated part-timers since the 1960s and 1970s when Brooksley Born-then an associate with two children-pioneered working part-time as an attorney. Born later became a partner and served not only on the firm's policy committee, but also as the head of A&P's derivatives practices. According to Hoffman, Born "set a precedent that it is possible for attorneys to work part-time and still be productive" and "[a]s a result, there's now a general acceptance by management and the firm's attorneys of part-time arrangements."

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