This Texas Lawyer article describes a phenomenon that I think will become all too familiar in the near future: experienced women lawyers in their 40s abandoning BigLaw and creating women-dominated and/or family-friendly law firms.
It makes sense that women with a good amount of experience would leave once their kids are a bit older--perhaps entering grade school. The women are probably completely burnt out from burning the wick at both ends and trying to juggle it all. And, they're probably sick and tired of banging their head up against the walls created by naysayers who refuse to compromise and sit high atop the hierarchy of the firms.
I know a large number of women in this situation and know firsthand that it can be incredibly frustrating and energy-draining to attempt to swim against the tide with no end in sight.
So, read and learn my friends--and keep on eye on this trend.
And, note that a male lawyer jumped ship from BigLaw in order to join this ground breaking firm with a focus on alternative billing arrangements as well. Interesting stuff, indeed.
From the article:
A new women-owned firm in Dallas, Spencer Crain Cubbage Healy & McNamara, formed by five veteran Dallas lawyers from four firms, opened its doors May 1.
The five lawyers -- all were partners or shareholders in big firms in Dallas before their new venture -- do litigation, labor and employment law, business immigration work and dispute resolution.
The founding shareholders are Jennifer Jackson Spencer, a litigator who left Fulbright & Jaworski; Gayla Crain, a management-side labor and employment lawyer from Epstein Becker Green Wickliff & Hall; Brenda Cubbage, a litigator from Greenberg Traurig; Elise Healy, a business immigration lawyer from Epstein Becker; and Larry McNamara, a labor and employment lawyer from Locke Lord Bissell & Liddell...Spencer, the lawyer whose dreams led to the firm, says, "[W]e envision about 30 lawyers in two to three years."
She says the time is right to launch a majority-women-owned firm in Dallas. "It just seems like a lot of the companies ... had committed to diversifying their legal firms," she says...
"It was my 45th birthday, and I have 20 years left to practice, and what better way to hook up with lawyers that I like and have immense respect for and create something that I thought was woman-owned and [with] the ability to come up with some flexible billing arrangements," Spencer says...
McNamara, who calls himself the "token" male partner, says he decided he was interested in a change and likes the opportunity to pick the lawyers with whom he will practice.
The Spencer Crain business plan calls for the partners to bill out at rates lower than at their former firms, although those fees aren't set in stone yet, and to offer alternative billing arrangements to their clients, including blended rates, project fees, fixed fees and flexible fees for smaller clients, Spencer says.
"This is a great business model in terms of ... my client base, more regionally based," Cubbage says.
"It seems like many businesses are finding the larger firms are not cost-effective for their needs," Spencer says.
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