A quarter of partners at SA’s top law firms are women, but opinion is split on how to bridge the gender gap

Adelaide’s top lawyers are split on whether the profession has more to do to address the gender imbalance at the top ranks of the city’s biggest firms.

Fisher Jeffries partner Vanessa Gore and solicitor Charlotte Thomas - pic AAP/MIKE BURTON

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Adelaide’s top lawyers are split on whether the profession has more to do to address the gender imbalance at the top ranks of the city’s biggest firms.

While female lawyers comprise 47 per cent of junior and senior associate positions at the city’s biggest 25 firms, The Advertiser’s survey reveals that female representation at partner level drops to just 25 per cent.

Commercial law firm Fisher Jeffries is the only practice with an equal number of male and female partners - seven of each gender represented within the firm’s highest ranks.

Fisher Jeffries partner Vanessa Gore says gender diversity at the firm is a “manifestation of our culture”.

“There are a number of female partners who work part-time and also other staff that work part time,” she said.

“I think there’s a willingness to look at flexibility, depending on the role and the business needs, but certainly across the board there’s a culture of being open-minded.

“And it’s fairly established as well - there’s a number of female partners that have been here for a long time, including our Karen Thomas who has been managing partner since 1994.”

DMAW principal Leo Walsh says a “culture change” is needed across the industry to support the elevation of more women into senior positions.

“I think it’s a challenge, and it is a profession that has not lent itself particularly well to accommodating women into senior roles because of the time and other demands associated with it,” he said.

“There will be opportunities though, through increased technology and a change in attitude - a culture change around flexible working arrangements and work from home arrangements that helps to de-stigmatise those sorts of arrangements.”

Minter Ellison's Adam Bannister and Leah Wright. The firm has a target for 30 per cent of partner positions to be held by women by 2020 - - pic Mike BURTON

Minter Ellison is one of only two firms to have a gender diversity target - aiming for 30 per cent of partner and board positions to be held by women by 2020.

Minter Ellison SA/NT managing partner Adam Bannister says his firm has a “concentrated focus” on addressing the current imbalance.

“No doubt it is a challenge but with proper programs and a re-examination of what it takes to be a partner - it’s about giving people every opportunity to become a partner and supporting that,” he said.

“It’s about having supportive programs and re-introduction programs employed by firms, making sure that people are not disadvantaged by their life choices.”

Thomson Geer chief executive partner Adrian Tembel agrees more can be done to address the gender diversity challenge, but says flexible working arrangements can only go so far.

“We’re still not getting it right in terms of creating incentives that make it attractive for females to pursue the law firm partner journey,” he said.

“It’s an all-encompassing, challenging role historically, and we still need to make adjustments to make it more workable and desirable for women.

“I think there are limits to flexibility if you’re really pursuing a higher end legal career.

“You might call that cultural but I think that’s the reality of client need. They want a focused, unified group that’s seamless and that’s hard to do when you’re all at home.

“So we promote flexibility but it has limitations for some of our more elite jobs.”