This year’s new partner yearbook, which includes both newly made and laterally hired partners at New Jersey firms and branches from February 2019 through January 2020, includes 137 lawyers, a handful fewer than last year’s total of 142. The yearbook is comprehensive by aspiration but not exhaustive in practice, so some year-to-year fluctuation is to be expected.

There is another year-to-year difference—an apparently encouraging one. About 47% of the partners listed here are women. In last year’s yearbook, women made up less than 40% of the total. The sample size is not huge, and lateral moves affect the numbers, so again, we can’t rely on this fact alone to tell the story of gender parity in law firm partnership ranks. But it’s something to note as we continue to discuss and address the issue.