Fellowships For Female Lawyers Returning To Work Expands To In-House

The OnRamp Fellowship, a two-year-old program for women returning to the legal arena after taking time off, is expanding to provide opportunities for in-house jobs in addition to law firms. Caren Ulrich Stacy launched the program two years ago, pairing female lawyers who wanted back in the workforce with BigLaw firms like Baker Botts, Cooley, Sidley Austin and Hogan Lovells. Now OnRamp will work to pair women with law jobs at Amazon, Microsoft, and Bank of Montreal. On average, women awarded OnRamp Fellowships have been out of the legal field for 9.6 years, and had 10.1 years of experience. Two-thirds quit to care for children, but others pursued business or personal interests, or left for health reasons. “For most of these women, no one was even giving them an interview,” Ulrich Stacy told the Wall Street Journal. “This got their foot in the door to demonstrate their value.” The program provides one-year stints that pay between $110,000 and $125,000, with the hope of securing higher-paying, full-time jobs at the end. Thus far, 42 women have participated in the program, and 86 percent landed permanent jobs.