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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Natalie Hiott-Levine is the Assistant Director of the Project for Attorney Retention. Hiott-Levine is licensed to practice law in New York and New Jersey and has practiced in both federal and state courts. In 1995, she received her J.D. from New York University ("NYU") School of Law and became an associate at Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.C., in Woodbridge, New Jersey. At Wilentz, Hiott-Levine first practiced as a school board attorney, and later in the areas of commercial litigation and employment discrimination. In September 1997, Hiott-Levine joined the litigation department of the New York office of Mayer, Brown, Rowe & Maw LLP-then Mayer, Brown & Platt-as an associate. After the birth of her first son in 2001, she returned to Mayer Brown on a 60% schedule and began a telecommuting arrangement in 2004. During her eight years with Mayer Brown, Hiott-Levine represented clients-including accounting and consulting firms, pharmaceutical and medical device manufacturers, engineering and construction companies, commercial and industrial property owners, hotels, banks, a health insurer, and a foreign government-in complex commercial litigations. Representative matters involved allegations of breach of contract, breach of fiduciary duty, professional malpractice, fraud, misrepresentation, negligence, product liability, patent infringement, environmental contamination, and antitrust violations.

Hiott-Levine is very active in women's and diversity initiatives in New York and New Jersey. In February 2004, she was appointed to the New York State Bar Association's ("NYSBA") Committee on Women in the Law, where she is Co-Chair of the Programming Subcommittee and sits on the Legislative and Best Practices Subcommittees. She also served as Chair of the Committee's Annual Program in 2005, entitled The Value of Diversity: Creating a Win-Win Environment for Women and Minority Attorneys AND Their Employers. Also in 2004, Hiott-Levine was elected to the Executive Board of NYU School of Law's Black, Latino, Asian Pacific American Law Alumni Association ("BLAPA") and serves as co-chair of its Membership & Outreach Committee. She has been a member of Flex-Time Lawyers LLC since 2002 and the New York County Lawyers Association ("NYCLA") Women's Rights Committee since 2005. In early 2006, Hiott-Levine accepted an invitation to join the Executive Board of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association. She is married and has two sons. She can be reached by e-mail at NHiottLevine@pardc.org.