Sensible lawyer Miranda Hobbes (Cynthia Nixon) was always the most balanced of the Sex and the City foursome.

The hard-driving, Harvard-educated lawyer put in long hours to make partner, bought a swank condo and still had time for countless brunches with Carrie, Samantha and Charlotte. Miranda's life was pretty much on track—that is, until she had a baby and watched her organized, fabulous existence swiftly unravel, leaving her little time even to brush her teeth.

For real-life female lawyers, and millions of working moms in other high-pressure fields, balancing work and family may be the toughest part of the job. Law firms are starting to recognize the hard choices their female attorneys face. In this, our inaugural Working Mother & Flex-Time Lawyers Best Law Firms for Women list, we salute those firms with groundbreaking programs to help women strike a better work/life balance and climb to the top. Our winning firms have taken the lead in implementing penalty-free flex schedules and mentoring, networking and leadership programs.

Despite these advances, there's still work to be done. Though almost half of law school grads over the past 15 years have been women, they make up only 16 percent of equity partners (those who share in a firm's profits). The good news is that our winning law firms prove that a dramatic shift in thinking, as well as in policies that benefit women, is under way and gaining momentum. Miranda would be proud.
 
Edited By Suzanne Riss, Teresa Palagano and Angela Ebron

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