Introduction
Legal industry rankings are an important benchmarking tool for buyers of legal services. They offer a clear indication as to which law firms and lawyers are most active, have the highest market reputation, and are working on the most significant legal matters – an independent seal of quality and assurance.
Increasingly, diversity and inclusion policies have become a consideration in the selection of outside counsel. Using data driven analysis of the latest rankings, this Legal Media 360 special report assesses gender diversity at domestic law firms in China.
The report examines data at three levels: 1) firm wide; 2) by practice area; and 3) by individual lawyer rankings. It will reveal:
- Which firms are most gender diverse;
- Whether gender diverse firms are more successful than male dominated firms;
- Whether female lawyers are being afforded the same opportunities as men; and
- If rising star data implies a more gender balanced future.
Methodology
Results are based on the analysis of lawyer rankings in the following international publications: asialaw, Benchmark Litigation, Chambers and Partners, IAM1000, IFLR1000, IP Stars, Legal 500, and World Trademark Review 1000. These have been selected based on their multilateral research process, where peer and client reviews as well as submissions are used to determine the rankings.
For the purposes of this report, due to the variance in the categorization at atomic levels, lawyer rankings have been reclassified by Legal Media 360 to bring them together in a common scale without distorting the differences in the range of the values. This has been achieved by referring to the definitions provided by the publications.
Lawyers have been grouped on a six-tier scale:
- Senior Statesperson:Retired/semi-retired influential lawyers with close relationships with major institutional clients. Mainly work as a consultant.
- Band 1 (1.0 to 1.9): Leading lawyers who have an outstanding reputation and a strong track record for leading the most significant matters.
- Band 2 (2.0 to 2.9): Highly regarded lawyers who are active on significant matters.
- Up and Coming Partner:Partner level lawyers establishing their reputation and have been recognised for leading/assisting on significant matters. Potential to be a tiered lawyer in the future.
- Rising Star:Junior lawyers establishing their reputation and have been recognised for assisting on significant matters. Potential to be a tiered lawyer in the future.
- Notable Practitioner:Lawyers who have had some market recognition and worked on some notable matters. Not yet a tiered lawyer.
The 2023 dataset covers rankings published from January to December 2022.
Findings
Overall Gender Statistics
In the eight publications examined, a total of 1,446 lawyers in China were recognized. This number reflects lawyers ranked at the national level only and does not include lawyers ranked at a regional/provincial level.
The national average male to female ratio for China law firms is 68 to 32 percent which, as can be seen from the charts, is comparable to the overall Asia average of 70 to 30 percent:
Firm Level
Top 10 Firms with the Most Lawyer Recognitions
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Commentary: Examining the law firms with the greatest number of lawyer recognitions reveals:
- Only four of the top 10 firms have better gender diversity ratios than the national average;
- King and Wood Mallesons has the greatest number of rated lawyers and has the best gender diversity of the top 10 firms;
- Jingtian & Gongcheng and Allbright Law Offices statistics indicate that they have the most significant gender imbalance of the top 10 firms.
Practice Area Level
Gender Representation by Practice Area
Commentary: The above chart shows the top 10 practice areas by recognized lawyer count. It is clear from the data that women lawyers are under-represented in most of the 10 practice areas, with diversity clearly lacking in International Trade and Dispute Resolution.
As with other countries, Intellectual Property fairs well for gender balance. As finance related practice areas are male dominated it is surprising to find that Investment Funds is the most gender balanced practice area in China.
Lawyer Levels: Gender
Breakdown of Gender by Tier
Commentary: The lawyer tiers can be seen to reflect the development cycle in a lawyer’s career. The gender ratio for Up and Coming Partners and Rising Stars shows that the market is shifting to be more gender balanced.
Top Lawyers by Practice Area with the Greatest Number of Tier 1 Rankings
Commentary: A breakdown of the lawyers with the most Tier 1 recognitions in the top five practice areas by lawyer count reveals that female representation at the top level is balanced for Intellectual Property and Dispute Resolution. However it is at or close to zero for Corporate and M&A, Capital Markets and Private Equity. This suggests that female lawyers are not leading the most significant deals in China.
