Women in the Law

Texas Lawyer and Estranged Husband Dead; Possible Murder-Suicide Investigated

Updated: A 52-year-old San Antonio lawyer and her 53-year-old estranged husband have been found dead in a field near a pickup and a firearm on real estate they owned near Canyon Lake in Cornal County. Both had been shot. Arden Specia-Spencer and her husband, Mark, had been separated for a…

Dec 14, 2010 12:26 AM CST

1st Black Woman Headed to Ohio Supreme Court, Which Will Have 4-3 Female Majority

Born to a teenage single mother in Ohio who worked two jobs to provide for the family, Yvette McGee Brown has soared far above what might have been predicted for her based on where she started in life. McGee Brown earned her law degree at Ohio State University in 1985…

Dec 10, 2010 9:44 PM CST

Lawyer Accused of Kicking in Door, Battery of Boyfriend and Officer, Plus Carrying Knife in Bra

An Indianapolis attorney is facing three felony charges after allegedly taking the law into her own hands when she suspected her boyfriend might be with another woman. Police said Olubunmi Okanlami kicked in the front door of her unidentified boyfriend’s home as he was sleeping inside and went on the…

Dec 9, 2010 9:21 PM CST

Suit Claims Reed Smith Managers Doled Out Work Based on Sexual Liaisons

Updated: A nonequity partner at Reed Smith’s Pittsburgh office claims in a lawsuit that women lawyers there are paid less than men and given work based on actual or hoped-for sexual liaisons. The suit by JoEllen Lyons Dillon says she never participated in sexual shenanigans at the firm, which paid…

Dec 7, 2010 1:22 PM CST

Fired Associate Sues Akin Gump, Alleging Bias and NALP Lie

An African-American associate laid off from Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld claims the law “showcased” her at minority events to create a false image of diversity, even as it was transferring her assignments to white lawyers. The racial discrimination suit by Tameka Simmons claims the firm cited pretextual economic…

Dec 6, 2010 12:00 PM CST

Barrier-Breaking US District Court Judge Is Nominated for Seat on 6th Circuit Court of Appeals

An award-winning, barrier-breaking federal district court judge has been nominated by President Barack Obama for a seat on the Cincinnati-based 6th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Bernice Bouie Donald, who became the first female African-American bankruptcy judge in the country in 1988, and has been a federal district court judge…

Dec 2, 2010 1:16 AM CST

Jail is ‘Like Freedom,’ Ex-Lawyer Says, Now That She’s Facing Her Addiction and Depression Issues

Now serving six months after making headlines in her South Dakota community for allegedly leading police on a high-speed, booze-fueled chase and taking at least $20,000 from a client trust account, a former Sioux Falls lawyer says she is seeing the light at the end of the tunnel. After admitting…

Nov 29, 2010 8:24 PM CST

New Era of Tolerance as 2nd Transgender Judge Takes to Bench This Week

It appears that a new era of tolerance may be dawning as far as diversity on the bench is concerned: Days after a San Francisco-area county claimed to have elected the first transgender trial judge in the country, another transgender judge has been appointed to sit on the municipal court…

Nov 18, 2010 9:58 PM CST

BigLaw Practice May Be Less Attractive to Women, Expert Says

The percentage of women lawyers in the nation’s 250 largest law firms has declined, and one expert suggests the reason may be that BigLaw is becoming less attractive. Women associates and partners made up 29.2 percent of lawyers in the top firms, down from 32 percent in 2006 and 30…

Nov 15, 2010 4:52 PM CST

Pfizer GC Offers Tips to Women Lawyers: Don’t Worry About Being Perfect, and Have Fun

Women lawyers tend to think they need to be perfect, and, in contrast to their male colleagues, they are often overly critical of themselves. But mistakes are inevitable, and it’s important to be able to learn from them and move on without agonizing, says Amy Schulman, senior vice president and…

Nov 10, 2010 8:11 PM CST

About 25% of Law Firms Are to Blame for High Minority Attrition Numbers, Study Says

Recent NALP statistics showed a slight decline this year in law firm diversity, but a new study suggests that some firms are more to blame than others. According to Building a Better Legal Profession, much of the decline can be attributed to about a quarter of firms that lost more…

Nov 9, 2010 1:08 PM CST

Have Law Firm Structural Changes Created a ‘Pink Ghetto’? Study Raises the Question

A new survey suggests that women lawyers have not benefited from structural changes in the nation’s largest law firms that created “nuanced stratifications” of lawyers. An example can be found in two-tier and multitier partnerships, where women lawyers appear to be less successful than in one-tier firms, according to the…

Nov 9, 2010 11:59 AM CST

Ex-New York Associate Sues Clifford Chance, Alleges ‘Blatant’ Discrimination Against Blacks & Women

A former associate at Clifford Chance in New York hesitated to sue the firm. But after being unemployed for several years after she and five other U.S. associates of the London-based international megafirm were laid off, Karen Ramdhanie apparently felt she had no other choice. Now 48, she alleges that…

Nov 2, 2010 5:59 PM CDT

‘Maternal Wall,’ Sex Bias Block Advancement for Women Lawyers, Utah Study Finds

A new survey finds a “startling amount” of sexual harassment and sex discrimination occurs in Utah law firms. The gender bias has a “consistent, negative impact on the advancement of female attorneys” in Utah law firms, according to an executive summary (PDF) of the survey by the Women Lawyers of…

Nov 2, 2010 11:00 AM CDT

Justice Ginsburg Says Nine Women on Supreme Court Would Be Enough

Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg has a vision for a U.S. Supreme Court where women hold sway. Ginsburg and retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor appeared at a women’s conference in California, where they were interviewed by ABC’s Diane Sawyer, ABC News reports. O’Connor said she attended a recent Supreme Court argument…

Oct 27, 2010 4:12 PM CDT