Two notes of optimism today for the legal profession:

“Forget the old stereotypes of law firms as inhospitable to women,” said Suzanne Riss, Editor in Chief, Working Mother magazine.  “As Working Mother examined the practices of many of the nation’s law firms, I was pleasantly surprised to discover that a number have been quietly changing their policies in recent years to reflect changes that are afoot in society as a whole.  The 2007 Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women are making women’s issues a priority, and the success of their policies will hopefully become reflected in the number of women, from associates all the way up to partners.”

See the full press release including the 50 Best Law firms for Women  (Note – this is a PDF)

More than three-quarters of the UK’s top 50 law firms have introduced flexible working… Regional-based firm Mills & Reeves tops the table in terms of numbers of fee-earners taking up flexible working in the last year, according to a poll conducted by The Lawyer. Of the firm’s 407 fee-earners, 153 are no longer working traditional nine to five hours. This is the equivalent of 38 per cent of the workforce.

See the full story: Top UK firms embrace flexible working   (UK’s: The Lawyer.com)

Punchline:  It’s refreshing to read about some significant progress in this area – I grow weary of those who suffer from "hardening of the attitudes".