Indeed, women are more prominent in the areas of government, legal services or public defender, public interest, nonprofit, and education - whereas men are more prominent in solo practice, large, private firms, and business settings. "Women don't find what they need in big firms so they leave and look for other options," says Slotkin. "Sometimes it is easier to leave than to try and effect change within law firm culture."

While there is a high attrition rate for women lawyers, there are still those who have broken through barriers to find a balance between work and life outside of work.

Lisa Weinreb '92, a San Diego deputy district attorney and president of the San Diego Lawyers Club, points out that just because she may not be at her desk, doesn't mean she's not working. "I think a lot of working women, like myself, leave by six or so to go home and spend time with family," says Weinreb. "As soon as my family goes to bed, I'm working all odd hours of the night."

Weinreb says that while her experiences as a woman in the legal profession have been positive, she sees women still lagging in certain areas. "We need to reach the same levels of positions of leadership and salary as men," she says. "Law firms must understand they are going to have to provide some type of balance for these lawyers. If you want to retain women lawyers, you are going to have to work with them and make them feel like they have an opportunity to progress or succeed, regardless of their personal life."

Attrition rates in large firms have reached an all-time high, and it goes beyond gender. A NALP study found that nearly 100 percent of minority female lawyers leave law firms within eight years. Other studies put the number closer to 66 percent within five years.

Diversity in the Workplace

Legal professionals of color have had even less success than women making partner at U.S. firms. On average, there is just one African-American, one Latino, and one Asian partner at a firm, according to reports by the EEOC. Although there has been a small increase of minority groups in the past 20 years, their representation in the law is nowhere near their presence demographically.

When Professor Gloria Sandrino first entered the legal profession, she joined a large firm in Washington, D.C. Out of the 600 attorneys, only six were of color. "It was a real wake-up call," says Sandrino, a native of Cuba. "Older minority attorneys who were on a partnership track were passed over and never put up for a vote in the first place."

Sandrino recalls one of her colleagues - an African-American with an MBA from Stanford University - being passed over for partnership in the early 80s. "We all thought he was going to lead the way and let the rest of us in, but he was never promoted," says Sandrino. "That was literally the sign on the wall."