CHICAGO – Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP is pleased to announce that for the second consecutive year, it has been recognized as a Best Law Firm for Women by Working Mother magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Working Mother magazine is the authoritative source for career mothers, and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is a national consulting firm advising attorneys and legal employers on work/life balance. In order to effect change, the two organizations have partnered for the second year in a row to recognize 50 firms that have redefined the standards of success by creating a workplace that encourages the retention and advancement of women. In addition to being selected as one of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women in 2007 and 2008, Katten was also ranked in 2007 as one of Working Mother's 100 Best Companies, one of only four law firms in the nation to receive that distinction.
“Today nearly half of law school graduates are women. Law firms need to make a fundamental shift in their policies by instituting female and family-friendly benefits as Katten has done,” said Carol Evans, CEO of Working Mother Media. “We hope that by recognizing Katten, which has already moved the needle, a paradigm shift will follow.”
“We hope other law firms will take notice of Katten’s commitment to change and that competition will drive more creative ways to enhance work/life balance and improve the status of women in the profession,” said Deborah Epstein Henry, Founder and President, Flex-Time Lawyers LLC.
Katten is honored for creating a work environment that is hospitable to and encouraging of the advancement of women. With innovative programs and policies that help female attorneys achieve balance in their personal and professional lives and thrive as practitioners, Katten is ensuring that women are the future of private law practice.
Katten’s Women’s Leadership Forum (WLF) was established to further the firm's commitment to the development, retention and advancement of women and to provide a forum for its women attorneys to discuss issues and share information. A driving force for its creation was the recognition that as a national law firm, the women at Katten have significant wisdom, experience and vision, which, when collected and shared internally and externally, can empower women at all levels in their careers to achieve success and satisfaction.
In 2005, the firm became a lead signatory to the Chicago Bar Association's Alliance for Women’s "Call to Action," a project that promotes the recruitment, retention and advancement of women in the legal profession. The WLF has also been instrumental in organizing firmwide training in areas such as business development and networking, and has organized mentoring groups that create better lines of communication among women attorneys within the firm. The WLF hosts regular internal events and roundtable sessions to discuss specific issues that impact women in the legal workplace today, including leveraging a professional presence, balancing work and life, achieving financial wellness, and unleashing the power of personality for more success. Outside of the firm, the WLF has joined with several organizations that support and value the advancement of women to sponsor key events.
“Over the years, we have strived to be an industry leader in the retention and advancement of female attorneys, and as such have worked diligently to provide our female attorneys with the support, tools and resources essential to ensuring their long-term success within the firm,” said Vincent A.F. Sergi, Katten’s National Managing Partner. “We are especially proud of the efforts undertaken by our Women’s Leadership Forum, which has been instrumental in developing programs designed to enhance the success of all of our women. To be named among the best law firms and have our efforts recognized for the second year in a row is very gratifying.”
Katten is profiled in the August/September issue of Working Mother and at www.workingmother.com and www.flextimelawyers.com. The firm will be honored at a luncheon at the Mandarin Oriental in New York on September 15. That morning, Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers will hold a forum to report for the first time the findings of their national research on the trends and share best practices of work/life balance and women in the legal profession.
Methodology: The 2008 Best Law Firms for Women application was developed in a partnership between Working Mother and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC. Firms with at least 50 lawyers were eligible to apply and the application included detailed questions about the issues that are most important to the retention and promotion of female lawyers. Katten was selected based on responses to an application measuring areas such as workforce profile, family-friendly benefits and policies, flexibility, leadership, compensation, advancement and retention of women.
About Working Mother Media
Founded in 1979, Working Mother magazine reaches 2 million readers and is the only national magazine for career-committed mothers. Its 22-year signature initiative, Working Mother 100 Best Companies, is the most important benchmark for work/life practices in corporate America. Working Mother is published by Working Mother Media, which was founded in 2001. Working Mother Media includes the National Association for Female Executives (NAFE), Diversity Best Practices, the WorkLife Congress, the Multicultural Women's Conference and Town Halls. Working Mother Media's mission is to champion culture change. For more information, please visit www.workingmother.com.
About Flex-Time Lawyers LLC
Flex-Time Lawyers LLC® is a national consulting firm advising lawyers, law firms, bar associations, law schools and corporations on work/life balance, business development, women's initiatives, re-entry of comeback professionals and the retention and promotion of women. It hosts a membership organization with chapters in New York and Philadelphia, offering networking opportunities, support, career guidance, education and information sharing to effect change. Flex-Time Lawyers LLC is a resource to the press and legal community at large on work/life balance and women's issues and also provides recruiting services. It has been covered extensively in the national and legal press, including The New York Times, NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams, National Public Radio, The Boston Globe, The Los Angeles Times, The Philadelphia Inquirer, National Law Journal, New York Law Journal, and numerous others. For more information, please visit www.flextimelawyers.com.
