Will We See Big Law Gender Parity in 20 Years? Dream On.

When I started covering women in Big Law almost two decades ago, I thought female lawyers would bloom like wildflowers—everywhere.

Although female partners were like rare orchids in 2003—they constituted a scant 16% of all partners then, according to The American Lawyer—they seemed to have momentum on their side. We might not see a big jump in women partners in five years, I thought at the time, but probably in 10 years. And certainly in 20.

I was so wrong.

Today, women are nowhere close to the 50% mark for partners—equity or nonequity—in Big Law.

According to the National Association ...