Legal Research

"How to Make Law Firms' Compensation Systems More Fair"

In the news: "An extensive study released this week surveyed more than 700 female partners about pay disparities at law firms. The Project for Attorney Retention was one of two groups that undertook the study. Its director, Joan Williams, discusses how firms can improve their compensation systems."

Questions answered include:

Q: What do law firms need to do to make their compensation system fair to women and minorities?
Q: What's wrong with how most firms handle origination credit?
Q: How should firms handle origination credit -- which is given to attorneys who bring business to the firm -- to ensure that compensation decisions are fair?
Q: I suspect firms rely on factors such as billable hours and origination credit to set compensation because they are fairly easy to quantify. How should firms quantify the institutional investments that disproportionately fall to women, such as associate development?
Q: You mentioned the lack of diversity on compensations committees. How should firms go about changing who gets onto those committees?
Q: What's at stake if firms don't make the kinds of changes you are advocating?

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Source: Law.Com's Daily Legal Newswire. 9 July 2010. Copyright 2009.  ALM Properties, Inc. All rights reserved. Subscribe <http://store.law.com/registration/register.asp?subscribeto=nw>.

Full post as published by Stark County Law Library Blawg on July 09, 2010 (boomark / email).