Women in the Law

How to Start Your Own Law Firm: Just Do It, Successful Solo Says

It doesn’t necessarily take a lot of money to start your own law practice. But it does take determination. The one most critical factor in establishing a solo practice is deciding to do it, attorney Deborah Blommer tells the Wisconsin Law Journal. She has taught a course at Marquette University…

Jan 22, 2009 6:38 PM CST

Racing Unknown, a 32-Year-Old Lawyer, Speeds Into Marathon Spotlight

A few years ago, while working for a Washington, D.C., law firm, attorney Kelly Jaske began running recreationally with some colleagues. They were much faster than she was, but her competitive drive helped the Harvard Law School graduate start catching up, reports the Oregonian. In 2007, she moved to Portland,…

Jan 22, 2009 5:59 PM CST

NY Times: Caroline Kennedy Says No to Hillary Clinton’s Senate Seat

Citing the need to focus on health concerns regarding her uncle, Sen. Ted Kennedy, Caroline Kennedy reportedly has decided not to seek appointment to a U.S. Senate seat. “On Wednesday she called [New York] Gov. David A. Paterson, who will choose a successor to Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton,” recounts the…

Jan 22, 2009 1:21 AM CST

Allen & Overy Bans American Associate’s Racy Online Novel

Updated: A senior associate at Allen & Overy has stopped publishing her online novel after the London-based magic circle firm apparently told her that it was too racy. “While an unidentified Allen & Overy spokesman would not directly comment on the action taken against associate Deidre Dare and her Web-published…

Jan 21, 2009 5:18 PM CST

1st Female Chief Justice on Louisiana’s Supreme Court

As the longest-serving member of the Louisiana Supreme Court, Justice Catherine “Kitty” Kimball is set to make history today when she becomes the state’s first female chief justice. In her new leadership role, she succeeds Justice Pascal Calogero, who retired after 36 years on the court, reports the New Orleans…

Jan 12, 2009 6:36 PM CST

Women Shun UK Judgeships Because of Fusty Image

Women solicitors in the United Kingdom are reluctant to apply for High Court judgeships because of concerns about an unattractive lifestyle. A judge’s job is considered to be “fusty, old-fashioned and underpaid,” Times Online reports. The conclusions were from a study done over concerns that many top lawyers don’t want…

Jan 8, 2009 6:18 PM CST

Yes We Can

When Chere Estrin, the publisher of Know, a magazine for paralegals, was doing research for a story she came across innumerable statistics and articles about female lawyers.

Jan 1, 2009 7:10 AM CST

Wear Stilettos, ‘Embrace Feminity,’ Freshfields Urges Women

Put your best professional foot forward by wearing a skirt and stilettos, not pantsuits, a renowned London-based international law firm reportedly is telling its women lawyers and other female staffers. In fashion advice that appears likely to be controversial, Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer, a member of the so-called “magic-circle,” has “gently…

Dec 23, 2008 6:50 PM CST

Traffic Ticket, Friends and True Grit Helped Single Mom Become Lawyer

Latina Alston freely admits that she has made some mistakes in life, and, at not quite 30 years old, she is raising three children although she has never been married. However, she has also accomplished a feat that others with far more money and far fewer family responsibilities have failed…

Dec 23, 2008 4:59 PM CST

Are Midcareer Female Attorneys in Crisis?

Corporate midcareer women are in big trouble, and that includes female attorneys, says a career and life coach who specializes in women’s empowerment issues. “After devoting years to building successful careers, most of them feel that their professional lives and identities no longer work,” says Kathy Caprino, author of the…

Dec 22, 2008 10:48 PM CST

Ex-Law Student Led Battle Against Prevalent Sexual Harassment in Eqypt

Despite a conservative culture based on Islamic law, sexual harassment is prevalent in Eqypt. And women there, who have been reluctant to pursue criminal complaints in a society that makes it difficult for them to do so, are starting to fight back, reports the Los Angeles Times. A 27-year-old former…

Dec 17, 2008 8:58 PM CST

Caroline Kennedy Wants Hilary Clinton’s Senate Seat

After a lifetime of avoiding the spotlight, the sole surviving child of former President John F. Kennedy has decided to cast her hat into the political ring in which her family has been so prominent. Caroline Kennedy, 51, a 1988 graduate of Columbia Law School, has decided to seek the…

Dec 16, 2008 12:31 AM CST

Will Caroline Kennedy Bring Another Piece of Camelot to the Senate?

Rumors are hot that New York Gov. David Paterson spoke to the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy about filling the senate seat once held by her uncle, Robert F. Kennedy. Caroline Kennedy, a 1988 Columbia Law School graduate, is considering replacing Sen. Hillary Clinton, according to ABC…

Dec 5, 2008 9:39 PM CST

Skadden Partner to Take White House Post

Skadden Arps partner Christina M. Tchen, one of Barack Obama’s top fundraisers, is expected to head the Office of Public Liaison for the White House. The Chicago Tribune’s blog, The Swamp, reports that Tchen was active in Obama’s campaign for Senate and raised between $200,000 and $500,000 for his presidential…

Dec 5, 2008 9:07 PM CST

No Women on NY High Court’s Nominee List

Of the seven judges on a New York chief judge short list passed to the governor by the State Commission on Judicial Nomination, not one is a woman. And that has Gov. David A. Paterson and Attorney General Andrew M. Cuomo a little peeved. Both issued statements Wednesday saying they…

Dec 3, 2008 8:47 PM CST