Diversity

Clifford Chance Launches New Women’s Network

In the midst of calls for more diversity at major London law firms and a lawsuit by a former female attorney claiming that she was merely window-dressing, a United Kingdom-based behemoth has launched a women’s network. Headed by corporate partner Kathy Honeywood and litigation partner Elizabeth Morony, the new Clifford…

Apr 9, 2008 3:31 PM CDT

First Female Judge Named in United Arab Emirates

The president of the United Arab Emirates has appointed the federation’s first female judge. Acting in his role as the ruler of Abu Dhabi, the wealthiest of the seven member-states of the UAE, President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan yesterday named Kholoud Ahmad Jouan al-Dhaheri as a new member of…

Mar 26, 2008 4:50 PM CDT

Top Lawyers to Consider Diversity Initiatives at Upcoming Summit

More than 100 general counsel and law firm managing partners plan to focus on specifics when they meet next month in Arizona on improving diversity in the profession. The conference, the Call to Action Summit, will be the second major national meeting designed to prod the profession to increase hiring…

Mar 21, 2008 5:12 PM CDT

BigLaw ‘Ghetto’? Former Staff Attorney Raps Covington’s D.C. Office

A former staff attorney at Covington & Burling’s office in Washington, D.C., contends that the law firm is improving its diversity profile by hiring black lawyers for low-level “ghetto” positions. And, if that’s true, the Wall Street Journal Law Blog suggests, Covington may not be the only BigLaw firm to…

Mar 18, 2008 5:30 PM CDT

More Law Firms Focus on Pipeline Projects

More law firms are funding pipeline projects in an effort to find promising minority students at an earlier stage. The goal is to reach high school and college students, spurring an interest in the law, the National Law Journal reports. But at least one observer says law firms could do…

Mar 12, 2008 3:26 PM CDT

Practicing on Faith

In an unassuming office park in a quiet Chicago suburb, six lawyers are planning a revolution. The six are American women of the Muslim faith, and they have started what they believe is a first-of-its-kind law firm. They hope to change the way others think about their religion and culture,…

Feb 28, 2008 9:55 PM CST

What Do Women Lawyers Really Think of Each Other? Answers May Surprise

Would women lawyers prefer to work with men or other women? The answer may depend on the age of the female lawyer you’re asking, an ABA Journal survey has found. Of more than 1,400 respondents who answered the question, 58 percent said the gender of their colleagues made no difference,…

Feb 5, 2008 3:29 PM CST

What Women Lawyers Really Think of Each Other

We asked who they’d rather work with—men or women. The answers were surprising

Feb 1, 2008 3:24 PM CST

Women Take Majority Status at Ohio Firm

After 40 years in business, a Toledo, Ohio, law firm is getting attention because a majority of its attorneys, including shareholders, are women. “It’s just something that happened naturally over time,” Cary Cooper, one of the founders of Cooper & Walinski, told the Toledo Blade. “Dick [Walinski] and I always…

Jan 30, 2008 6:13 PM CST

Women Lawyers Bill at Lower Rates, Compared to Men, Survey Says

Updated: A survey of a little over 5,000 small and midsize law firms found that women attorneys, regardless of experience and practice area, bill at lower rates than men. “The average billing rate for women was $224 per hour, compared with $245 per hour for men. The highest hourly rate…

Jan 25, 2008 6:38 PM CST

Law Grad Writes Book on Fellow Muslims

Individuals Melody Moezzi contacted about publishing her first book wanted the Emory University law graduate to interview a terrorist. But for Moezzi, that was just one more reason to write the book she wanted to write, about ordinary young Muslims like herself for whom their religion is not and has…

Jan 18, 2008 6:12 PM CST

Big Drop in Minority Law Students, Columbia Site Says

Nationwide enrollment of African-American and Mexican-American students in U.S. law schools is down significantly since 1992 and could drop further. According to statistics reviewed by individuals at Columbia Law School and the Society of American Law Teachers and discussed on their website, law school enrollment by members of these racial…

Jan 17, 2008 9:43 PM CST

Former Michigan Law Prof Fights Alleged Gay Bias

A cutting-edge breach-of-contract case brought by a former law professor denied tenure at the University of Michigan could have an impact on gay bias claims and education law nationwide, depending on its outcome. Because there is no law in Michigan protecting employees from discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation,…

Dec 20, 2007 8:09 PM CST

Bar Chief’s Glass Ceiling Theory: Assumptions and Slights

Lorelie Masters has her theory about why so many women leave law firms or fail to advance into partnership positions. She attributes the problem to “the soft bigotry of low expectations,” or, in the words of Legal Times, the theory of assumptions and slights. Masters, president of the Women’s Bar…

Dec 13, 2007 1:36 PM CST

Mintz Levin’s Bold Diversity Stroke Crumbles

When Mintz Levin Cohn Ferris Glovsky and Popeo hired a predominantly minority practice group in 2005, newspaper accounts touted the “bold stroke” that doubled the firm’s number of minority partners from six to 12. The move gave Mintz Levin a large corporate diversity counseling group in Washington, D.C., and an…

Dec 12, 2007 1:14 PM CST