Sheppard Mullin Named to "Best Law Firms for Women" List For Fourth Year
Sheppard, Mullin, Richter & Hampton LLP was recognized by Seramount (formerly Working Mother Media) on its 2021 “Best Law Firms for Women” list, recognizing firms that employ best practices in recruiting, retaining, promoting and developing women lawyers. This is Sheppard Mullin’s fourth consecutive year on the list and the firm was among only 50 firms to earn a spot on this year’s list.
“We are honored once again to be recognized for our work to create a culture that empowers career growth and ensures a healthy work-life balance for women and working mothers,” said Sheppard Mullin chairman Guy Halgren. “We are proud of our efforts, and we will continue our mission to support our women professionals at all levels. Kudos, once again, to Seramount for holding law firms accountable and encouraging them to support their women lawyers.”
According to Seramount, the recognized firms offer women lawyers key benefits and employ career advancement initiatives, including:
- 100 percent of firms let new parents come back to work at reduced hours.
- The average paid parental leave offered is 13 weeks, the same as the previous year.
- 86 percent of firms offer subsidized in-home backup childcare.
- 72 percent of the firms on the list have formal sponsorship, and 74 percent have formal succession planning.
- 70 percent tie partner compensation to women’s advancement.
Rena Andoh, chair of Sheppard Mullin’s Diversity & Inclusion Committee, said, "We work very hard to make sure that our women lawyers are listened to and supported. We understand success looks different to each individual, so our initiatives are designed to be flexible and creative to allow our women to succeed and thrive. Being recognized on Seramount’s’ Best Law Firms for Women’ list again this year is a great reward for that commitment.”
“We know that women have left the workplace in droves since the onset of COVID-19,” said Subha V. Barry, CEO of Seramount. “But the fact that representation of women equity partners, and women lawyers overall, has increased during this turbulent time just shows how supportive our Best Law Firms for Women are to parents and caregivers. They stepped up and offered increased flexibility and new benefit programs to help this critical talent pool balance both work and homelife.”
Seramount’s 2021 Best Law Firms for Women application includes more than 300 questions about attorney demographics at different levels, schedule flexibility, paid time off and parental leaves, and development and retention of women. This year, in light of COVID-19, several questions were added about the success of working from home for lawyers. The full list is available here.