"Much of the remuneration and career structure in professional services firms is designed around 'face time' and billing levels," says Beverley Steel, a director at executive resourcing company Veredus. "In other words, you have to be in the office, which means a long hours culture, which tends to mean a macho, ie a male, culture. It's often still about visibility."

Veredus understands a thing or two about the legal market, having placed Sir Michael Bichard, the new chair of the Legal Services Commission. Steel says she has seen no change in law firms in relation to the improvement of career prospects for women.

"If you have a break in your career it can be very hard to get back in," she says. "The law is constantly changing, and you have to keep up your contacts. But that's not the only barrier. There are other, cultural issues that prevent women from getting to the top. Leadership, for example. There's a resistance [in law firms] to using different models or trying to create them. Law firms tend to base leadership on individuals and base the structure on individuals rather than teams. There needs to be a re-evaluation of what their definition of leadership and success is - what it is that makes a contribution. Law firms should ask themselves what they mean by leadership and success. How do they measure it?"