Women’s Issues
 May 5, 2004

It comes as little surprise that time is the most important issue to most female lawyers, according to a study by the Georgia Association of Women Lawyers. A three year study of 37 Atlanta law firms found that the annual attrition rate among women lawyers was 15 to 19 percent while the rate for men was 11 to 12 percent. Most full time lawyers who left a law firm did so for better schedules, not for a larger paycheck. Only 22 percent of respondents reported that they left for “more money” in contract to 33 percent who left because they “wanted fewer hours” and 19 percent who “wanted a different schedule.” One third of Atlanta lawyers in private practice are women. At the current rate of growth, women will make up 50 percent of Atlanta lawyers within 10 years.