
43
WIPR Influential Women in IP 2019
www.worldipreview.com Women in the boardroom
sharing a partnership and splitting the hours and
returns? It will take some bold experiments to find
better ways of working.
“At the moment people leave to go in-house,
work for a freelance legal agency or do something
completely different. Sadly, many of the women I
have interviewed have done the latter and left the
profession.”
McLean concurs and adds: “Much like in other
professions, when talented women find that working
practices don’t work for them, they don’t just accept
it. They go off and set up their own businesses
instead.”
“It’s not as though the clients I interview are
thrilled either,” says Armstrong. “If a client sends
queries at 3pm and there’s a brief on their desk at 9am
the next morning, they know that means a lawyer has
been working overnight, and often wonder whether
the issue would have benefited from more thorough
and clearer-headed analysis.” l
Women: do you take advantage of flexible
working?
Yes: 60% No: 40%
If you use flexible working do you feel
at a disadvantage in the workplace?
Yes: 17%
Women: 94%
No: 83%
Men: 6%
SHUTTERSTOCK / JACOB LUND