Women in the Law

‘Supreme Courtship’ Seats Another Woman Among the Nine

Lawyers looking for some holiday reading this weekend might want to consider Christopher Buckley’s latest comic political novel, Supreme Courtship. The book, which was vetted by three law professors, revolves around the president’s nomination of a new justice to the U.S. Supreme Court. She is Perdita “Pepper” Cartwright, a Texas…

Aug 29, 2008 7:25 PM CDT

Law School Offers Re-Entry Course for Those Returning to Law

American University’s Washington College of Law will help lawyers who have left legal careers with a new course that helps them get back into the job market. The six-day re-entry program has four parts, executive director Linda Mercurio told The BLT: The Blog of Legal Times. First, participants set goals.…

Aug 29, 2008 1:45 PM CDT

How Michelle Obama’s ‘Savvy Sacrifice’ Helped Her Husband

Working as an associate at a powerhouse international law firm based in Chicago, Michelle Obama had what many would have considered a dream job for a lawyer. But she gave up the Sidley Austin job to pursue a public interest career. This “savvy sacrifice” has provided her husband, presumptive Democratic…

Aug 25, 2008 6:28 PM CDT

New ABA Guide Helps Law Firms Objectively Evaluate Female Associates

Law firms often lament the difficulty of retaining female attorneys, as the number of women partners continues to lag. But even those who mean well can fall victim to unconscious stereotyping, making it more difficult for women to rise through the law firm ranks, according to a book recently published…

Aug 21, 2008 11:53 PM CDT

Drinking Problem Put Lawyer on Path to a Successful Practice

Roughly 15 years ago, Hartford attorney Mary Alice Moore Leonhardt went out to lunch with a paralegal from her law firm. During the meal, the woman confessed that she had a drinking problem. This was familiar territory to Moore Leonhardt, now 52, a recovering alcoholic who hasn’t taken a drink…

Aug 21, 2008 10:26 PM CDT

U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones is Dead, Following Stroke

Hours after U.S. Rep. Stephanie Tubbs Jones was falsely reported yesterday to have died from a stroke, she did indeed pass away. She was 58. Her family announced in a written statement that the Ohio Democrat died at 6:12 p.m. yesterday, reports the Washington Post. Tubbs Jones had apparently suffered…

Aug 21, 2008 3:34 PM CDT

Does Lack of Chutzpah Account for Dearth of Articles by Female Law Profs?

The top law reviews are printing fewer articles by women than men, according to a study by a Brooklyn Law School professor. She says the reason may be gender bias, a suggestion that is provoking some debate among bloggers. Professor Minna Kotkin analyzed articles in the top 15 law reviews…

Aug 21, 2008 2:47 PM CDT

Are Professional Women Managers Sabotaging Those Who Follow?

A post at Legal Blog Watch asks whether women lawyers are their own worst enemies in the workplace. The post notes a recent international study that found professional women do less than men to draw attention to their accomplishments. Those who do manage to crack the glass ceiling tend to…

Aug 20, 2008 6:09 PM CDT

Is Your Firm on Working Mother’s Best of 2008 List?

Noting that the legal profession is in a “work/life crisis” with 78 percent of associates leaving firms by year five and nearly half of women lawyers leaving the profession altogether, Working Mother magazine has released its 2nd annual list of the 50 Best Law Firms for Women. The August/September issue…

Aug 12, 2008 11:33 AM CDT

Firm’s Rejection Created Opportunity for Roe v. Wade Lawyer

Sarah Weddington may never have taken the case setting a landmark precedent on the right to abortion if her job interview with a Dallas law firm had gone more smoothly. The law firm had never interviewed a woman for an associate position, Weddington told an ABA awards luncheon on Sunday,…

Aug 10, 2008 8:35 PM CDT

Female GCs at Fortune 500 Cos. Double in Last Decade

The number of top women lawyers at Fortune 500 companies has risen to 92 from 44 when the Minority Corporate Counsel Association first started counting nearly 10 years ago. The state with the largest number of female GCs is New York, which has 14, followed by 11 in California, eight…

Aug 7, 2008 11:07 AM CDT

Ex-ABA Prez Mathis Takes Break to Become CEELI Institute Exec

Former ABA President Karen Mathis is taking a one-year sabbatical from her law firm partnership in order to serve as CEO and executive director of the CEELI Institute in Prague. Starting Sept. 1, she will be in the Czech Republic, working in her new role. Her clients at McElroy, Deutsch,…

Aug 6, 2008 6:38 PM CDT

Lawyer Who Says She Was Chastised for Not Being Sweet Is Allowed to Sue

A federal judge in Manhattan says a managing partner’s remark that a female lawyer wasn’t sweet enough could be construed as discriminatory animus supporting the woman’s bias and retaliation suit. The ruling allows fired lawyer Catriona Collins to proceed with her suit against intellectual property law firm Cohen Pontani Lieberman…

Aug 5, 2008 1:21 PM CDT

Family Lawyer Also Runs Waxing Studio

When she’s not handing divorce and child custody cases at her family law firm in Ocala, Fla., Ami DiLorenzo can often be found at the South Beach Waxing Studio. That’s because DiLorenzo owns the business, at which a former paralegal, Tracey Bisnett, is the licensed esthetician who administers the treatments…

Aug 4, 2008 5:23 PM CDT

A Law Firm Ditches the Lockstep System and Retains More Women

A law firm that replaced lockstep promotions with a system based on competency has seen the percentage of women lawyers leaving the firm drop below that of men. Husch Blackwell Sanders had an average annual attrition of about 30 percent when it had the old lockstep system. Under the new…

Jul 31, 2008 11:04 AM CDT