Bringing them back

More than a third of women in professional fields leave the workforce at some point in their careers, most often to raise children. The legal world does even worse in that regard: 42 percent of all women attorneys leave their firms at some point, which makes it harder for them to stay on path toward leadership positions. At the nation's 200 largest firms, only one in six partners is a woman.

But change is afoot, albeit often slowly and in small steps. Locally, Baker Donelson Bearman Caldwell & Berkowitz is looking to build on its various efforts by taking part in the OnRamp Fellowship program, which looks to match re-entering attorneys and law firms with a one-year associate position that pays $85,000 or $125,000, depending on the city where the lawyer lands. (The firm picks up the cost of benefits.)