As we are all painfully aware, the recession has not spared the legal profession. However, the potential silver lining in this upheaval is that it provides a unique opportunity for law firms to make fundamental changes in how they operate. The dramatic shakeup of the status quo could redound to the benefit of women lawyers, whose progress under the traditional law firm model has been way too slow.

The economic downturn has prompted an increasing number of law firms to implement alternative billing arrangements that de-emphasize the billable hour. This should benefit women lawyers because onerous billable hour quotas have been daunting for women, who generally shoulder the lion's share of family responsibilities. Just as corporate clients now place a greater premium on quality and efficiency than billable hours, so too should firms recognize that these same factors ought to play a greater role in determining lawyers' compensation and promotion.

Even before the recession, there had been widespread lateral movement of partners to different firms, and this trend has increased due to the volatility of the legal marketplace. Firms are now realizing that they should give business origination credit to the team of partners who service a client, rather than just a single partner, who may leave. This teamwork approach rewards and incentivizes not only the partner who originally brought the client in the door but also the other partners—who are often women—that have performed the client's work.

As firms reevaluate their compensation systems, they should place more women partners on compensation committees. Having a representative group of women on such committees can help prevent compensation decisions that are based on stereotyping or implicit bias. Firms also ought to consider giving credit for compensation purposes to partners who have taken action to help promote diversity. Firms could reward partners who have excelled at mentoring and training female lawyers and also those who have helped women in their business development.

Although the many changes to the traditional law firm business model caused by the recession may ultimately prove beneficial to women lawyers, we must ensure that the strides we have made thus far do not become another casualty of the recession. It appears that part-time, flex-time, and other alternative work arrangements, which were already underutilized, are being shunned by women who are fearful that working reduced hours in the current environment may make them appear expendable. Firms must reassure their women lawyers that they will not be disadvantaged by availing themselves of part-time policies, which benefit firms by enabling them to retain lawyers in whose training and development they have invested so heavily. Firms that provide their women lawyers with real work/life balance will enjoy a competitive advantage over other firms.

Although the recession has caused painful and substantial hardships, it nevertheless presents firms with the opportunity to make significant changes in their structural paradigm that not only will enable them to ride out the storm and thrive in the future but also will accelerate the progress of women in the profession.