The number should be encouraging – women represent approximately one third of all attorneys involved in private legal practice, according to the 2017 Glass Ceiling Report produced by Law360.

But dig a little deeper into the report and the statistic loses its shine. In the past four years, that representation has barely budged, despite women accounting for 40 percent of all law students.

The situation might seem disheartening. But some local firms that have decided to view it as a challenge are now emerging as leaders in the push to find innovative ways to not only attract, but retain women in the legal profession.

Fisher Phillips, Littler, Davis Wright Tremaine and Perkins Coie – all national firms with Portland-area offices – recently earned spots on Working Mother magazine’s list of Best Law Firms for Women 2017.

Meanwhile, Miller Nash Graham and Dunn – a locally grown firm with offices in Portland and Seattle – claimed the number seven slot for firms with 150 to 299 lawyers in a 2017 national ranking of the best firms for female attorneys.

For Brandy Thompson Cody, an equity partner at Fisher Phillips, seeing the firm make a list that recognizes outstanding efforts to both attract and retain women is a sign that her firm’s focused efforts are working. Those efforts started a few years ago, after the firm discovered a troubling trend.

“We noticed a pattern – not just in our firm, but across the practice – of law firms having a hard time maintaining levels of women (lawyers),” Cody said. “We were losing a lot to private practice, to in-house counsel positions. We decided to ask what the firm could do better to retain them.”

The firm formed a group called the Women’s Initiative and Leadership Council that gathered input from its lawyers at all levels. The results, along with some possible solutions, were presented to firm leaders. Those leaders didn’t just listen, but also responded, said Cody, who serves as a member of the council.

One of the biggest changes resulting from the council’s work, for example, lies in how the firm evaluates attorney performances, information that is used to determine whether lawyers climb the firm’s career ladder. In the past, all attorneys were judged based on 12-month standards, even if an attorney had taken a couple of months off after having a baby or to care for a sick family member. Now, though, those standards have been adjusted to create a fairer evaluation system.

“Basically, we’ve adjusted performance requirements to match the actual hours worked,” Cody said.

The firm also has implemented what Cody considers a hallmark policy for Fisher Phillips.

“We’re one of a handful of firms that consider part-time equity partnership,” she said. “A lot of firms won’t even consider you unless you agree to work full time. That’s just not feasible for everyone, and those people still have value.”

Jenna Mooney, an equity partner at Davis Wright Tremaine, is proof that lawyers who work part time can provide as much value as attorneys who work full-time, 1,800-billable-hour schedules.

After giving birth to her first son, Mooney returned to the firm to an adjusted schedule that allowed her to work half days every Wednesday and Friday. Now an equity partner at the firm where she’s spent her entire legal career, she still works part time, a status that her firm has come to realize is a unique asset.

“I’ll always be a part-time lawyer, at least until my kids go to college,” Mooney said. “I’ll always bring in less than that 1,800 billable hours; that’s just the math. But I very well also may be bringing in more business to the firm than the person sitting next to me (who’s) bringing in 1,800 billable hours.”

Flexible schedules, including an increasing tolerance toward telecommuting, aren’t the only way that firms like Davis Wright Tremaine and Fisher Phillips are helping support women attorneys, who both Cody and Mooney agree face challenges their male colleagues may not have to deal with.

At Davis Wright Tremaine, support comes in the form of a series of “lean in” groups that began with a training session that brought women attorneys from firm offices across the country together in Seattle. The women were divided into groups that now hold regular conference calls to discuss challenges and share suggestions.

Cody has found a similar support network of female lawyers at Fisher Phillips through her ongoing involvement with the Women’s Initiative and Leadership Council.

“We share stories of success, we support each other and it’s very empowering,” Cody said. “You see these women a generation or two ahead of and behind you, and you’re inspired by them.”

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Umatilla County commissioners have agreed to rezone 121 acres of fallow farmland for a major expansion of Amazon‘s data center operations in Eastern Oregon.

The online retailer is moving forward with plans to construct near Hermiston up to four data center buildings – each holding more than 200,000 square feet. The data centers would be joined by a logistics warehouse, an administrative office and an electrical substation.

The proposed parcel is a half-mile from the interchange of interstates 82 and 84. The applicant is Vadata Inc., an entity linked to Amazon.

Commissioners voted 3-0 Thursday to rezone the farmland from exclusive farm use to light industrial with a limited-use overlay. The proposed data centers would be the first in Umatilla County outside the urban growth boundary, said Brandon Seitz, an assistant planner for the county.

Amazon’s plans envision four data centers totaling 853,600 square feet, an 80,000-square-foot warehouse and logistics building, a 25,000-square-foot office building and the electrical substation. Multiple small, redundant data centers are sought to ensure reliability of its web services in the event of a utility outage or natural disaster, Jim Footh, regional development manager for Amazon Web Services, stated in a letter to county planners.

Amazon, in addition to its massive retail business, is a major provider of cloud computing services. The Seattle-based company did not respond to a message seeking comment.

The proposed data centers are part of a web of such facilities in Eastern Oregon. Amazon already has two data centers in Boardman, and one in Umatilla County. The facilities are clustered together because they must be linked by fiber cables, Footh stated. An industrial property in Pendleton, floated by county commissioners as an alternative site, is too far away for use as a data center, he added.

Seth King, a Perkins Coie attorney, represented Amazon before the Umatilla County Board of Commissioners. He told commissioners the development would bring significant economic benefits, including new jobs and tax revenue, according to county documents.

Amazon’s existing data centers provide about 40 direct jobs that pay average annual salaries of $68,000, in addition to related vendor and construction jobs. Amazon and Vadata have been working with Blue Mountain Community College to recruit qualified employees, the company stated in documents submitted to Umatilla County.

In selecting the site, Amazon sought a flat, buildable property of at least 100 acres with access to highways, King said. The development must be located near high-voltage transmission lines of 115 kilovolts or more, he added. Hermiston Generating Plant will supply power for the data centers.

The data centers also require vast amounts of water – 400 gallons per minute, Footh said in testimony – for cooling, and a way to reuse the discharged water.

Mark Morgan, Hermiston’s assistant city manager, indicated in a letter that the development will not negatively affect the city’s water supply. The data centers would draw on water allotted to the Port of Umatilla.

The interstate interchange area is already home to a major Conagra Foods facility and distribution centers for UPS and FedEx.

Amazon’s rezoning request attracted some opposition from neighbors. Dan Burnam, a farmer in the area, said the property in question was farmed most recently five to seven years ago. He questioned why he is not allowed to drill a water well on his property, but Amazon will be able to drill a well using up to 5,000 gallons per day.

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