Today, Friday 8th March, we celebrate International Women’s Day. This year the theme is #balanceforbetter.
Although in 2018, 50% of practising lawyers were female, there is still room to create balance in our industry. AlexanderDorrington is not representative, however. Two of our three directors are female. Legal 500 Asia Pacific named Debra Dorrington and Denise Marsden ‘Leading Individuals’ in 2019. They were among only four women recognized as the top legal talent in the Real Estate and Construction sector in our region.
The trailblazer
The first woman lawyer in New Zealand was Ethel Benjamin. Ethel wasted no time after the passing of the Female Law Practitioners Act in 1896 and was admitted in 1897. Ethel was the first woman in the British Empire to appear in as counsel in court. Although her practice centred around family law, she shared our love of property. She had a sharp eye for a business deal, buying several properties and investing in hotels. Other women were slow to follow her lead. The numbers of women entering the profession did not start to build until the middle of the previous century.
Help readjust the balance
Collective action and shared ownership for driving gender parity have ensured the success of International Women’s Day (which has been going for over 100 years). If gender is a consideration in your selection process, consider AlexanderDorrington. We are a Legal 500 Leading Firm. We have half of the Leading Individual female property lawyers on our board. In our view, AlexanderDorrington is the property law firm of choice for corporates with diversity on their agenda.
