Where They Are Now

With women now constituting close to a third of the nation's new lawyers, American Lawyer reporters Abramson and Franklin set out to discover the impact of these women on the profession and its impact on them. They focus on the 70 women graduates of the class of 1974 at Harvard Law School, whom they interviewed 10 years after graduation. Fifteen chose social service despite low pay, but the majority opted for work either in corporate law, as public defenders or prosecutors, in teaching or in government. Although anti-discrimination laws offer women more access to formerly all-male bastions like Wall Street, only 16 members of the group have achieved partnership. Most claim that they must work harder than men to prove themselves, and many report difficulty balancing career and family; but, though career comes first for many of them, 51 percent of the graduates have had children. Despite the achievements of this elite group, median pay for women is still much lower than for men, and the authors conclude that it still takes unusual drive and an ability to develop the right connections for women to make it to the top. (February 21)