All Women (Nearly) Law Firm Launches in U.K.

In February of this year the U.K. firm of Allen & Overy laid off of 450 people, including 47 partners and its whole private client practice. Two months later twenty-three of the lawyers and support staff from their private practice have formed their own firm, Maurice Turnor Gardner, specializing in “private wealth, philanthropy, and partnerships and LLPs.” Another law firm for the rich wouldn’t be particularly interesting but for the fact that five of the six partners and all but four of the employees are women, as reported in the Times.

It’s likely the size of the firm and the nature of the clientele that’s made this a story. Surely there are other firms, even in the U.K., composed entirely of women lawyers. And with respect to the clientele, I’m curious to know whether it’s the case that a firm would be likely to arrange for women lawyers to work with private rather than corporate clients. I’d also be interested in whether law will be practised differently in this firm in order to take into account seriously the needs and wishes of women lawyers.