Nonpracticing Female Lawyers: Why Did They Leave and Where Are They Now?

Ellen V.  Schlesinger; Lee  Butterfield

Authors

Ellen V. Schlesinger Counsellor & Consultant
Lee Butterfield Adler School of Professional Psychology

Keywords:

lawyers, career, female, nonpracticing

Abstract

Since a greater proportion of female lawyers leave the law profession, the present study investigated women lawyers’ decisions to transition from the practice, their feelings at the time they decided to leave, and the characteristics of their current careers. Thematic Analysis of the interviews with nine female participants highlighted the nature of legal work and family responsibilities as the main reasons participants left the legal profession. Most participants reported experiencing anxiety, depression or burnout at the point they decided to change careers. Participants described their transition into new careers, the characteristics of their new work, and reflected on their decision to leave. Implications for career counsellors are considered.

References

Amundson, N., Borgen, W., Jordan, S., & Erlebach, A. (2004). Survivors of downsizing: Helpful and hindering experiences. The Career Development Quarterly, 52(3), 256–271. Retrieved from http://associationdatabase.com/aws/NCDA/pt/sp/cdquarterly/

Andersson, B., & Nilsson, S. (1964). Studies in the reliability and validity of the critical incident technique. Journal of Applied Psychology, 48, 398–403. doi:10.1037/h0042025

Astin, H. S. (1984). The meaning of work in women’s lives: A sociopsychological model of career choice and work behavior. The Counseling Psychologist, 12(4), 117–126. doi:10.1177/0011000084124002

Berger, B. (2000). Prisoners of liberation: A psychoanalytic perspective on disenchantment and burnout among career women lawyers. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 56(5), 665–673. doi:10.1002/%28SICI%291097-4679%28200005%2956:5%3C665::AID-JCLP7%3E3.0.CO;2-J

Borgen, W. (1997). People caught in changing career opportunities: A counseling process. Journal of Employment Counseling, 34(3), 133–143. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292161-1920

Borgen, W., Butterfield, L., & Amundson, N. (2010). The experience of change and its impact on workers who self-identify as doing well with change that affects their work. Journal of Employment Counseling, 47, 2–11. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/ %28ISSN%292161-1920

Braun, V., & Clarke, V. (2006). Using thematic analysis in psychology. Qualitative Research in Psychology, 3, 77–101. doi:0.1191/1478088706qp063oa

Brockman, J. (1992). ‘Resistance by the club’ to the feminization of the legal profession. Canadian Journal of Law and Society, 7, 47–93. Retrieved from http://www.acds-clsa.org/en/canadian_journal_law_society.cfm

Brockman, J. (1994). Leaving the practice of law: The wherefores and the whys. Alberta Law Review, 32, 116–180. Retrieved from http://www .albertalawreview.com/

Butterfield, L., Borgen, W., Maglio, A., & Amundson, N. (2009). Using the enhanced Critical Incident Technique in counselling psychology research. Canadian Journal of Counselling, 43, 265–282. Retrieved from http://cjc-rcc.ucalgary.ca/cjc/index.php/rcc

Butterfield, L. D., Borgen, W. A., Amundson, N., & Maglio, A. S. (2005). Fifty years of the critical incident technique: 1954-2004 and beyond. Qualitative Research, 5, 475–497. doi:10.1177/1468794105056924

Choo, K. (2001). The right equation. American Bar Association Journal, 87(8), 58–62. Retrieved from http://www.abajournal.com/

Chiu, C. (1998). Do professional women have lower job satisfaction than professional men? Lawyers as a case study. Sex Roles, 38, 521–538. doi:10.1023 /A:1018722208646

Coogar, P., & Chen, C. (2007). Career development and counselling for women: Connecting theories to practice. Counselling Psychology Quarterly, 20(2), 191-204. doi:10.1080/095 15070701391171

Dau-Schmidt, K., Galanter, M., Mukhopadhaya, K., & Hull, K. (2009). Men and women of the bar: The impact of gender on legal careers. Michigan Journal of Gender & Law, 16, 49–145. Retrieved from http://students. law .umich.edu/mjgl/

Evers, A., & Sieverding, M. (2014). Why do highly qualified women (still) earn less? Gender differences in long-term predictors of career success. Psychology of Women Quarterly, 38(1), 93- 106. doi: 10.1177/0361684313498071

Goodman, J., Schlossberg, N. K., & Anderson, M. L. (2006). Counseling adults in transition (3rd ed.). New York, NY: Springer.

Hagan, J. (1990). The gender stratification of income inequality among lawyers. Social Forces, 68(3), 835–855. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/ journals/social_forces/

Hagan, J., & Kay, F. (2007). Even lawyers get the blues: Gender, depression, and job satisfaction in legal practice. Law & Society Review, 41(1), 51–78. doi:10.1111/j.1540-5893.2007.00291.x

Hull, K., & Nelson, R. (2000). Assimilation, choice, or constraint? Testing theories of gender differences in the careers of lawyers. Social Forces, 79(1), 229–264. Retrieved from http://muse.jhu.edu/journals/social_ forces/

Kay, F. (1997). Flight from law: Acompeting risks model of departures from law firms. Law & Society Review, 31, 301–335. Retrieved from http://www.lawandsociety.org/review.htm

Kay, F., Alarie, S., & Adjei, J. (2013). Leaving law and barriers to re-entry: A study of departures from and re-entries to private practice. Law Society of Upper Canada. Retrieved from http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=1069

Kay, F., & Brockman, J. (2000). Barriers to gender equality in the Canadian legal establishment. Feminist Legal Studies, 8, 169–198. doi:10.1023/A:1009205626028

Kay, F., & Hagan, J. (1995). The persistent glass ceiling: Gendered inequalities in the earnings of lawyers. British Journal of Sociology, 46(2), 279–310. Retrieved from http://www2.lse.ac.uk/BJS/home.aspx

Kidd, J. (2008). Exploring the components of career well-being and the emotions associated with significant career experiences. Journal of Career Development, 35(2), 166–186. doi:10.1177/0894845308325647

Krakauer, L., & Chen, C. (2003). Gender barriers in the legal profession: Implications for career development of female law students. Journal of Employment Counseling, 40, 65–79. Retrieved from http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/journal/10.1002/%28ISSN%292161-1920

Law Society of British Columbia. (2011). We’ve come a long way baby…or have we? Bencher’s Bulletin, 3. Retrieved from http://www.lawsociety.bc.ca/page.cfm?cid=2294&t=FeatureWe%E2%80%99ve-come-along-way%2C-baby-%E2%80%A6-or-have-we%3F

Peterson, C. (2013). 10 year summary report of the activities of the discrimination and harassment counsel for the Law Society of Upper Canada: Summary of data from January 1, 2003 to December 31, 2012. Report to Convocation – Equity and Aboriginal Issues Committee, 161-187. Retrieved from http://www.lsuc.on.ca/with.aspx?id=2147487013

Maxwell, J. A. (1992). Understanding and validity in qualitative research. Harvard Educational Review, 62(3), 279–300. Retrieved from http://www.hepg.org/main/her/Index.html

Mueller, C., & Wallace, J. (1996). Justice and the paradox of the contented female worker. Social Psychology Quarterly, 59, 338– 349. doi:10.2307/2787075

Scharf, S., Oblander, C., Trost, M., & Tipton, E. (2009). Report of the 2009 NAWL survey on the status of women in law firms. Women Lawyers Journal, 94(3), 8–15. Retrieved from http://www.nawl.org/content.asp?contentid=310

Valcour, M., & Ladge, J. (2008). Family and career path characteristics as predictors of women’s objective and subjective career success: Integrating traditional and protean career explanations. Journal of Vocational Behavior, 73, 300- 309.doi:10.1016/j.jvb.2008.06.002