Canadian Lawyer

w w w . C A N A D I A N L a w y e r m a g . c o m J A N U A R Y 2 0 1 7 17 years more women than men, particularly those five to nine years from their call to the bar, had left private practice and not returned. A 2016 study by the Criminal Lawyers Association found that women were leaving the practice of criminal law because (they said) of low pay, lack of financial support for maternity leave and because they were treated worse than men by judges and court staff. Formal studies aside, there's a lot of anecdotal evi- dence of women lawyers not being taken seriously enough, particularly in larger firms. There's that damn glass ceiling, although periodically a woman manag- ing partner here or chief of research there is cynically trotted out and dusted off to try and demonstrate that the glass ceiling doesn't exist. Recent studies in the United States draw depressing conclusions about the place of women in the American legal profession. A 2016 study of partner com- pensation by a major U.S. legal search firm reported a 44-per-cent difference in pay between female and male partners at big American law firms, apparently because men are better than women at getting credit for bringing in new cli- ents (bringing in new clients used to be called rainmaking, but it now has the far more impressive faux-scientific moniker "origination"). By the way, is it true that men are better "originators" than women, and, if so, why on earth is that the case? A 2016 survey by the New York City Bar Association, again of larger law firms, found that fewer women were working as associates than in previous years, and that firm partnerships remained more than 75 per cent white male. The New York Times reported: "The survey findings concluded that progress for women and minorities is hampered by high rates of lawyers leaving firms for varied reasons. Failure to attain equity, or owner, partner- ship — or the lack of prospects to become partner — appeared to have a significant effect on firm longevity." I can't find any recent Canadian income studies comparable in scope to the American ones. There's the occasional analysis here and there. A 2010 study commissioned by the LSUC reported: "Women and especially visible minor- ity lawyers earn less than their white male counterparts. Relative to men, the earnings of women lawyers increased substantially between 1970 and 1995, but there has been little improvement since. At the start of their careers the earnings of women and men are very similar, but a gender gap opens up at the age of 30 and its size increases with age." A 2015 study of junior lawyers by Ronit Dino- vitzer, a University of Toronto sociologist, found that, on average, second-year male lawyers make $5,500 more than their female counterparts. For years, surveys have shown that Canadian female in- house counsel make less than their male counterparts. I don't think we need more studies. We know something is not right. There's a big ethical problem, deeply buried in society and reflected in the legal profession. Some- thing needs to be done. But what? Philip Slayton is immediate past president of PEN Canada. He is working on a book about freedom in Canada. Written by experts More and better content Smart, powerful tools Superior work product lexisnexis.ca/practiceadvisor_cl PRACTICE ( ADVISOR ) MAKES PERFECT Get there faster and more reliably with Lexis Practice Advisor ® Canada. With thousands of practice notes, forms, precedents, and time-saving tools, we're your best resource, every time. Lexis Practice Advisor ® Canada is the industry's leading practice resource with content maintained by our internal team of lawyersTaW hundreds of leading practitioners from the top law firms in Canada. Go ahead, take the next step. Lexis Practice Advisor ® helps you apply the law ntitled-3 1 2016-12-13 1:58 PM

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