Overview

• A survey of Germany’s 20 highest-earning law firms finds women’s share falls from 47% at the associate level to just 16% among partners.
• At the salary-partner and counsel stages, women account for 37%, underscoring a sharp decline before reaching full partnership.
• Allbright highlights a client-driven, high-pressure work environment and constant-availability expectations as major barriers for those with caregiving duties.
• The report depicts the typical partner as male, German-born, PhD-holder and always on call, reinforcing entrenched male-norm advancement criteria.
• Recommendations include public gender-balance targets, systematic promotion monitoring and accountability measures for firm leadership.