In its annual survey of women partners, the Australian reports that one third of new partners are women here. The numbers of women making partnership are steadily on the rise. The Australian also reports that ‘family proves no obstacle to career’, with firms increasingly accommodating the needs of lawyers with young families without requiring them to sacrifice their career aspirations. Great news it seems.

But …

Compare the insightful opinion piece by Roy Williams  here, which questions the compatibility of the values of the modern legal workplace with the aspirations of many young lawyers.

In blunt terms: an Australian commercial law firm is no longer, for most lawyers, an enjoyable place to work

He concludes with 4 propositions, the final one is that rather than a ‘maternity wall’  women use their ‘common sense’ to bail out via a ‘maternity escape-hatch’.

Do you agree?