re: Life as a Lawyer Advice Needed

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But you would agree that the barrier to female entry into the marketplace is lower than it was 20 years ago, right?

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I have been in practice about 15 or so years but I don't think there is a barrier per se. It's really just some industries are not as conducive to having a family. For instance, in a small to mid sized firm (very common in southern states), a lawyer who takes 6mos maternity leave is pretty financially harmful to the business. I think that could be on the mind of the people doing the hiring at those firms. Smart ones will recognize the benefit of a talented young woman in the firm, but not all lawyers are business savvy

Another aspect is the client development. In my industry, we do lots of golf tournaments and hunting trips. There are usually some women, and they aren't excluded, but not as many are interested in these kinds of activities. If you raise smart, confident daughters, they can absolutely make it. I think it's just a harder road unfortunately. And yes i think this changes more and more (e.g., this type of client development is getting somewhat less common)