New Zealand Law Firm Gender Study Shows Slow But Steady Improvement

The ratio of women partners in New Zealand's largest law firms continues to expand as firms step up their initiatives to encourage advancement of their women lawyers.

The LawFuel Gender Survey shows that law firm Dentons has the largest ratio of women partners, at 41 per cent as well as undertaking a range of initiatives aimed at encouraging women towards full partnership.

The annual LawFuel survey shows that firms are adopting strategies involving mentoring, pay audits, leadership and other courses and programmes.

Only equity partners are measured in the survey, being those entitled to full equity participation in partnership profits, rather than those who are salaried partners and others.

At the lower end of the scale is Duncan Cotterill with 20 per cent female equity partners and among the largest of the country's law firms, Chapman Tripp had lifted its female partnership number from 22 per cent to 30 per cent.

Christchurch-based Anthony Harper has 30 partners of whom only seven are women, although they did not indicate the equity partnership status.

The top three firms were:

1. Dentons - 41 per cent

2. DLA Piper - 38 per cent

3. Anderson Lloyd - 33 per cent

See the LawFuel Gender survey details here.

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