How America’s Top Law Firms Get Away With Paying Women Less

By Paul Barrett, Bloomberg Businessweek

In January 2014, the law firm Chadbourne & Parke hired Kerrie Campbell to work in its Washington office.

After 27 years in the business, she’d finally reached the pinnacle of private law practice: partnership at a top-tier firm—a century-old stalwart of the elite New York bar. In a press release, Chadbourne said, “We are thrilled to welcome her.”

After two years, the thrill was gone. Chadbourne’s managing partner, Andrew Giaccia, and Abbe Lowell, its head of litigation, appeared together at Campbell’s office. Her time at the firm had been rocky. Still, she says she was ...