Diversity

Sotomayor is Confirmed

In a historic moment, the U.S. Senate today voted 68-31 to confirm President Barack Obama’s nomination of Sonia Sotomayor for a seat on the U.S. Supreme Court. The vote, as expected, was along party lines, with nine of the Senate’s 40 Republicans joining the Democratic majority in approving the 55-year-old…

Aug 6, 2009 7:48 PM CDT

Why Women Leaders Get a Bad Rap: Queen Bee Jealousy and ‘Vision Thing’

Women bosses may be getting a bad rap—and the blame may rest with evolutionary biology and differences in decision-making styles. Those are some of the new theories by management experts that are summarized in an article by lawyer Michael Maslanka for Texas Lawyer. Evolutionary biology creates queen-bee jealousies that spur…

Aug 6, 2009 1:57 PM CDT

Firm Hand for Hard Times

Incoming ABA President Carolyn Lamm seeks aid for lawyers facing economic woes

Aug 2, 2009 12:20 AM CDT

Women Partners Say They’re Still Forced into Support Roles at Firms #ABAChicago

While some law firms are leading the charge to promote women and minority partners to management positions, others remain dominated by the “white man’s voice,” and gender bias that keep these lawyers out of compensation discussions and away from origination credit, Pfizer Inc. general counsel Amy Schulman said today at…

Jul 30, 2009 8:27 PM CDT

Ex-Staff Lawyer Discrimination Suit Against Covington Is Revived

A high-profile former staff lawyer at Covington & Burling who accused the law firm of discrimination is back in the ballgame again with a federal lawsuit she filed against the firm earlier this year. Dismissed at the end of May without prejudice for want of prosecution, the suit by attorney,…

Jul 24, 2009 10:57 PM CDT

Lawyer Survey Shows Differing Perceptions of Bias in NJ Courts

Do New Jersey courts treat lawyers the same, whether they are black or white, male or female? The answer differs based on the group answering that question, according to a fall 2007 survey of 851 lawyers and judges by the New Jersey Supreme Court Committee of Women in the Courts.…

Jul 24, 2009 1:00 PM CDT

Why More than 75% of Minority Female Lawyers Leave Law Firms Within 5 Years

Minority women lawyers find law firm workplaces so challenging that 75 percent leave within five years, a study has found. Minority women lawyers are the focus of unwanted or unfair critical attention, according to a report by the research firm Catalyst, and they experience institutional discrimination at their firms. The…

Jul 22, 2009 2:41 PM CDT

Sotomayor’s Life Story Shows ‘Intoxicating Lure of Work’

The life story of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor is both a civil rights story about a minority woman rising from humble circumstances and a story of hard work that comes with personal sacrifices. Sotomayor is a high achiever who managed to rise to the top in an increasingly competitive…

Jul 14, 2009 12:09 PM CDT

Littler Mendelson Tops Ranking for Female Lawyers

Littler Mendelson is ranked No. 1 in a new study for having the greatest percentage of female lawyers and partners. Women make up 43.9 percent of the firm’s lawyers and 29 percent of its partners, according to the results. Overall, women made up 34 percent of the lawyers at the…

Jun 3, 2009 1:21 PM CDT

Allowing Our Differences to Unite Us

ABA helps to break down racial, sexual and disability barriers in the legal profession

Jun 2, 2009 4:00 AM CDT

Sotomayor’s Nomination: Today’s News

ABAJournal.com: “Sotomayor was Mature, Well-Liked, Listened to Others, Yale Classmates Say” Daily Kos: “Why I Oppose Sotomayor” Dallas Morning News: “Cornyn doesn’t rule out filibuster of Supreme Court nominee Sotomayor” The Hill: “Sessions: Sotomayor vote by recess doubtful” Latina: “National Council of La Raza the Latino KKK? “ Los Angeles…

Jun 1, 2009 10:43 PM CDT

Debt-Free J.D. Degree from NYU is Funded By Texas Law Firm

Thanks to a Texas law firm, two new graduates of New York University School of Law getting ready to start public interest jobs don’t have to worry about dealing with a crushing educational debt load. The 45-attorney Bickel & Brewer litigation boutique in Dallas paid for Thomas Fritzsche and classmate…

May 29, 2009 8:17 PM CDT

High-Profile Ex-Staff Attorney’s Lawsuit Against Covington & Burling Is Dismissed

A discrimination suit filed earlier this year by a high-profile former staff attorney against Covington & Burling and five current or former lawyers there has been dismissed. In a order (PDF) filed today, U.S. District Judge Reggie Walton of the District of Columbia dismisses the case without prejudice for want…

May 29, 2009 7:34 PM CDT

Sotomayor Made Shaw Pittman Apologize for Partner’s Questions

U.S. Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor forced a Washington, D.C., law firm to apologize for a partner’s questions during a recruiting dinner in her third year at Yale Law School. Sotomayor challenged questions about her Puerto Rican heritage posed by a partner at the firm then known as Shaw, Pittman,…

May 27, 2009 11:40 AM CDT

Switch from Nancy Drew to Perry Mason Laid Path for Sotomayor

A diagnosis of diabetes for a young Sonia Sotomayor changed the direction of her life. As a girl, Sotomayor loved Nancy Drew mysteries and wanted to be a police detective, the New York Times reports. But a doctor told her that would be a difficult career for someone with diabetes.…

May 15, 2009 1:44 PM CDT