ABSTRACT
This chapter sketches the wider national and cultural context of employment and its impact on the law profession. The primary characteristics required to be a 'good lawyer' and a successful partner identified by women partners focused on personal characteristics: intelligence, determination, dedication, mental toughness, resilience, drive, client orientation and clarity of thinking. When women partners were asked to describe their firm's culture in a few words there was a great deal of similarity in how organisational culture was portrayed in spite of espoused differences between the firms. The surface description of the promotion process by female partners and managing partners was largely devoid of gender; rather they emphasised the business case. The chapter describes a comprehensive research study of gender issues arising in the large law firms in Auckland, NZ. The methodology chosen for the research was post positivist research, specifically interpretive qualitative.
