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.

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Linda Marks is Director of Special Projects for the Project for Attorney Retention. She has over 25 years experience in corporate consulting and training and specific expertise in flexible work arrangements and work-life balance. She previously directed the Work Time Options in the Legal Profession project for New Ways to Work (NWW), a nonprofit organization founded in 1972 to promote workplace flexibility, and is co-author of Negotiating Time: New Scheduling Options in the Legal Profession. While at NWW she also directed the FlexGroup, a consortium of 14 companies that took the lead in moving workplace flexibility forward as a business strategy. Included in this group were Hewlett-Packard, Marriott International, Royal Bank of California, Chevron and other major corporations.

In addition, Marks worked for WFD (Work Family Directions), a Boston-based consulting firm, and for Rupert & Company as part of their flexibility consulting and training practices, working remotely from her home in San Francisco. She is a frequent presenter and has spoken to meetings of the American Bar Association, Association of Legal Administrators, NALP and the state bars of California, Washington, Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico and Colorado. She is worked with the Bar Association of San Francisco on their Work/Life Balance task force and is currently part of a Flexibility Think Tank organized by Flexperience.

Among her responsibilities at PAR, Marks works with PAR members to make sure that they are receiving the most from their member benefits, manages the annual Flex Success award process, coordinates the Hastings Leadership Academy for Women and co-leads the Hastings Opting Back In program. She holds a bachelor's degree cum laude from Brandeis University and lives with her husband in San Francisco.