| Latinas are members of the largest and fastest growing minority group in the United States. However, they are the most disproportionately underrepresented attorney group within this nation's law firms, especially at the profession's highest levels. While Latina attorneys encounter significant gender-related barriers to their career success, the actual role of family responsibilities has not been closely examined for those employed in law firms, or how aspects of their cultural identity may influence these relationships. To close this research gap, this study relied on secondary data from the Hispanic National Bar Association Commission Study dataset to examine how family responsibilities relate to objective and subjective career success for 271 full-time Latina attorneys employed in law firms, as well as how their acculturation level within the Anglo culture moderated these relationships. The results of this study found that Latina attorneys' family responsibilities were generally not related to their positional level or gross compensation in law firms; however, having younger children was associated with lower hierarchical attainment. Latina attorneys still appear to encounter significant barriers in their legal careers, including those associated with their family responsibilities, which may ultimately threaten their retention and advancement within law firms. Furthermore, while this study found no support that the Latina attorneys' high level of career satisfaction was related to their family responsibilities, there is some evidence that it may account, in part, for the paradox of contentment they enjoy despite obstacles to their objective career success. Finally, acculturation level was not found to moderate these relationships, which was assumed to be due to their high acculturation level overall. It is recommended that law firm leaders support more gender-neutral and family-friendly attitudes, structures, policies, and cultures within their organizations and foster opportunities for Latina attorneys with family responsibilities to develop and maintain mentoring relationships and networking opportunities that may facilitate their career advancement. Future research must expand on these findings, including how different indicators of family responsibilities are related to other career-related outcomes for Latina attorneys, as well as other attorney populations, including those employed in different legal sectors and also those who work part-time. |
