By ANNIE DECK-MILLER
Buffalo Law Journal

She's a white woman of about 50, a lawyer at a small law firm, and makes roughly $113,000 a year.

That was the majority composite that emerged from our 2008 Lawyer Survey, a first-time effort that saw the Buffalo Law Journal and Buffalo Business First partnering with the Western New York chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York.

This spring, we contacted the 4,700-plus members of the Bar Association of Erie County, seeking their participation in a survey seeking information about their age, race, gender, compensation and benefits. Participation was open to any practicing lawyer in the 8th Judicial District, an area covering eight Western New York counties. Nearly 400 lawyers responded. Because the participants self-selected, the survey isn't scientific. But it does offer a glimpse at important and often complicated issues that are challenging the Western New York legal community.

Three articles in this issue are based on the survey: See "Partner track shows racial divide" and "Women lawyers weigh progress, inequities," page 1; "Lawyer compensation in WNY still low, but on rise," page 14.

By the numbers

Highlights of our findings:

• 94 percent of respondents are white, 3 percent are African-American, 1 percent identified themselves as Hispanic or "other" and .5 percent are Asian.

• Most, 29 percent, are in the 46-55 age group, followed by the 56-75 and 36-40 categories. Two percent are 76 or older, and 11 percent are 30 or younger.

• 61 percent work in a private law firm, with the remainder spread fairly evenly among self-employment or positions in government agencies, corporations and nonprofits.

• The two largest title categories, each representing 31 percent of respondents, are associate and equity (part-owner) partner. Of those 78 equity partners, 96 percent are white, 1 percent are African-American and 1 percent are Hispanic. A 69 percent majority of those equity partners are men.

The bulk of our respondents - 76 percent - feel fairly compensated by their employers, though a couple did share comments that noted otherwise. "The federal government does not adequately compensate its experienced attorneys," wrote one.

Many told us how important flexible schedules are for them. "They say balance is important but billable hours are more important. Choosing family first is frowned upon," one lawyer noted. "Speaking up is frowned upon," the same lawyer continued. "Elections are rigged. Committee appointments are rigged. Women, minorities and green programs are put in place solely to attract clients."

Another woman noted that she's had a hard time finding full-time work. "Unless you are a bright young newcomer or an established practitioner ... you will have a very hard time finding a position ... in this community," she wrote.

Who responded

In light of the co-sponsoring role of the Women's Bar, we were not surprised that the majority of our respondents - 57 percent - are female, a share that does not reflect the makeup of the Western New York lawyer community.

But it's not too far off either, our partners at the Women's Bar told us. "The majority of law-school applicants and admittees over the past 10 years has been women," said Kelly Philips, immediate past president of the local Women's Bar chapter. "It's hovering right around 52 to 55 percent, and increasing, if I'm not mistaken, every year.

"I'm pleased it is as close as it is," she added, referring to the gender breakdown of our survey respondents.

But Philips, an associate at Sugarman Law Firm LLP, was concerned to see an incongruity in the gender makeup of the equity-partner group. Women made up the majority of every category except for the partner positions.

She asks, "Why is it we're getting the salary there and feel like we're fairly compensated, but yet we're still not getting into that partner, equity partner level?"

Phillips says other questions need to be asked to get to the bottom of these trends.

"Are we as women not staying in the practice long enough to achieve partnership or senior-management positions?" she asked. "Are we seeing something a little more insidious, that the men are more likely to be on the partner track and are being promoted at a faster rate than women?"

Those issues, she said, have to be addressed by management at law firms and legal employers.

Some respondents noted that the survey questions seemed geared toward lawyers at firms rather than those in solo practice or in government, judicial or nonprofit agencies.

"The survey is not perfect," conceded Philips. "Often with these things, once you see the data it begins to pose more questions."

Editor's note: We asked 68 law firms to participate in a separate Law Firm Survey that asked about firm employment, diversity, compensation and benefits. Nine firms - among them Brown & Kelly LLP, Colucci & Gallaher PC, Hiscock & Barclay LLP, Magavern Magavern Grimm LLP, Schröder Joseph and Associates LLP and Simpson & Simpson PLLC - responded, representing too small a sample to analyze.