If you are a woman working at a big law firm, it may be hard to understand why your paycheck falls short compared to your male co-workers. A new study shows you are not alone.

In this blog post, I will review a study performed by Major, Lindsey & Africa, a legal search firm based in Washington, DC. I will explain how women partners’ hourly rates, billable hours, and origination attribution may all be contributing to a large pay gap for female equity and nonequity partners in the nation’s largest firms.

The Statistics Behind the Pay Gap

Major, Lindsey & Africa is a legal search firm, which performs a biannual survey of partner compensation among big law firms. In October the firm announced its 2016 results, which are based on over 2,150 responses. The survey shows the gender pay gap continues to be a problem for the legal industry. According to the survey, the average male partner earned $949,000 per year, compared to only $659,000 for female partners. The survey also showed a distinct gap in billable rates ($701 for men compared to $636 for women) and annual billed hours (1,703 as compared to 1,632 for women).

Gender Pay Gap Explained as Origination Differences

Study author Jeffrey Lowe, Managing Partner at Major, Lindsey & Africa’s Washington DC office, says:

“Originations is probably the single biggest determination of what your compensation will be.”

Origination is defined as the total dollar value of work performed and collected by a law firm as a result of a partner’s efforts. The survey showed that the average male partner has over $2.5 million in originations, compared to $1.7 million for women.

“That’s the crux of the issue: Why are men generating more business than women?” Lowe said. “Is there some boys club aspect or not?”

At least part of the problem of origination can be seen in the difference in the billable hour. With a $65 difference in the average billable hour and over 1,600 hours billed each year, that difference can add up. But most partners do not set their own billable rate. It is decided by the firm. If a woman’s firm won’t agree to bill equally for their work, that female lawyer will end up having to work harder for the same amount of origination credit.

Equity Partnership May Play a Role

Another reason why female partners make less may have to do with their position. While the Major Lindsey study did not separate equity from nonequity partnership, another 2016 survey by The American Lawyer did. It found that at the 254 largest U.S. law firms, women made up 27% of the nonequity partners and only 17% of equity partners. Becoming an equity partner increases a lawyer’s pay, billable rate, and support in the office, so the vast difference in numbers is a problem.

“Many firms want to address it,” Lowe said, “but when you try to address it with them it becomes a question of, ‘How much business do [these lawyers] have?’”

Big Law Gender Pay Gap Causes Dissatisfaction at Work

The Major Lindsey survey also dug into the effect of the gender pay gap. Lowe asked big law partners how satisfied they were with their salaries, and their jobs. The number of women dissatisfied with their pay has grown from 5% in 2014 to 8% in 2016. Another 19% of women said they were “not very satisfied” with their salaries.

While only 10% of partners cited gender bias as a reason for their disappointment, another 24% attributed it to cronyism, which is a related concern.

Female Partners File Gender Pay Gap Lawsuits

Many female partners feel they are not given credit for the work they do perform. Earlier this year, Attorney Kerrie L. Campbell sued big law firm Chadbourne & Parke, LLP, for violations of the Equal Pay Act and gender discrimination. Her complaint said that she was being credited with fewer “compensation points” based on origination factors than her male counterparts. Similarly, Kamee B. Verdrager sued Mintz Levin, saying credit for business she brought in was incorrectly being credited to male attorneys in her firm. Once, origination credit was assigned to a male attorney who didn’t even know the client’s name.

The Equal Pay Act is designed to protect women whether they are in the file room or a top equity partner. At Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, our gender discrimination attorneys understand how to use the law to protect women and their rights against industry-wide problems of sex bias and discrimination. If you believe that you are being paid less than your counterparts because of your gender, contact Eisenberg & Baum, LLP, today to schedule a free consultation.