On August 11, 2023, Elizabeth Manno, a co-chair of the National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) Research Committee, discussed NAWL’s change last year from a traditional structured survey to a new listening tour approach, and its Annual Report on the Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms on ALM’s Legal Speak podcast.
This year, as part of its annual research, NAWL embarked on a listening tour of individuals rather than conducting its annual survey of Am Law 200 firms, which it had done for the past 15 years. The new format included cohorts of individual lawyers from law firms, in-house counsel, and DEI professionals. Each cohort held three virtual sessions over a one-month period that were open to anyone who wanted to participate. While the conversations were primed by a few initial questions, the participants truly drove the discussions.
The NAWL research establishes industry benchmarking data on the career progression and compensation of women in law firms, and its Annual Report on the Retention and Promotion of Women in Law Firms is regularly cited in publications such as the New York Times, American Lawyer, Bloomberg, Crain’s, Law360, the Washington Post, and many others.
Click here to listen to the full podcast.