Women in the Law

Biden’s initial US attorney picks include historic firsts

President Joe Biden and his administration on Monday nominated eight lawyers to lead U.S. attorney’s offices, most of whom would be the first Black or female prosecutors to lead their districts.

Jul 27, 2021 12:48 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Webinar considers legal profession’s caregiving bias; animal rights lawyer pleads guilty

Webinar will consider caregiving bias in legal profession The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession will examine how the legal profession can ensure the success of mothers and caregivers in a July 28 webinar titled “Motherhood and Caregiving Bias in the Legal Profession: Dismantling the Systemic Barriers to Equity.”…

Jul 19, 2021 4:26 PM CDT

Women’s success in legal careers: Lack of advancement is not a ‘woman’ problem, it’s a ‘profession’ problem

A June 29 ABA Journal column by Susan Smith Blakely titled “Are women lawyers paying enough attention to upward mobility?” offered opinions that are antithetical to the core beliefs and principles of the American Bar Association.

Jul 6, 2021 6:45 PM CDT

Are women lawyers paying enough attention to upward mobility?

“More seasoned women lawyers know that getting the job and demonstrating potential is only the beginning. While developing leadership skills and climbing the promotion ladder is the goal for many women lawyers, they must be strategic.”

Jun 29, 2021 10:13 AM CDT

Saying yes has been part of this law school dean’s strategy during the COVID-19 pandemic

Leadership involves taking in a variety of viewpoints, says law dean Hari Osofsky, and recognizing what students, professors and administration want is a good way to guarantee people that they are being heard.

Jun 28, 2021 8:48 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Senate confirms Biden appellate judge; how SCOTUS justices supplemented their 2020 income

Senate confirms Biden’s first appellate judge On Monday, the U.S. Senate confirmed U.S. District Judge Ketanji Brown Jackson to the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. Jackson is President Joe Biden’s first affirmed appellate judge and will replace Merrick Garland, who is now the U.S. attorney…

Jun 15, 2021 3:41 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: An unusual SCOTUS lineup; suit says Google is a public utility

SCOTUS rules for defendant in career criminal case Two conservative justices supported liberal U.S. Supreme Court justices Thursday to rule that a crime of recklessness is not a “violent felony” requiring a longer sentence under the Armed Career Criminal Act. Justice Elena Kagan wrote a plurality opinion favoring defendant Charles…

Jun 10, 2021 4:09 PM CDT

Meet Mary Ryan, the newest member of the ABA’s Board of Governors

Mary Ryan never aspired to be on the ABA’s Board of Governors, despite serving in other leadership roles in the association throughout her career. But after Kevin Curtin, the senior appellate counsel in the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts, died suddenly in December, someone needed to step in as the board’s District 2 representative.

Jun 8, 2021 10:12 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Kristen Clarke confirmed as DOJ civil rights chief; SCOTUS chief justice speaks to law grads

Senate confirms Kristen Clarke The U.S. Senate on Tuesday confirmed Kristen Clarke to head the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division on a 51-48 vote. Clarke was president and executive director of the Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law. She is the first woman and first Black woman to…

May 26, 2021 4:31 PM CDT

How to handle tough conversations on whether to return to the office

The question is on every lawyer’s mind these days: When will management beckon me to return to my law firm office? And the related questions also weigh heavily: Do I want to do it? Can I do it? Will I do it?

May 26, 2021 9:53 AM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Law school cuts John Marshall name because of slavery link; 2 appellate nominees advance

Following scholarship about John Marshall’s support for slavery, law school removes his name The name of John Marshall, a former U.S. Supreme Court chief justice who wrote seven majority opinions rejecting freedom for slaves, will be removed from a Chicago law school. The John Marshall Law School was a private,…

May 21, 2021 3:33 PM CDT

Former New Jersey judge who aimed to increase diversity on the bench dies at 75

A former New Jersey judge who helped create an organization to address the needs of Black students, graduates and practicing attorneys after the Newark, New Jersey, riots in the late 1960s has died.

May 14, 2021 9:12 AM CDT

Why do female lawyers leave law firms? ‘Blatantly unfair’ compensation often cited, new ABA report says

Compensation systems that are “blatantly unfair” and “rife with gender bias” were most often cited as the reason female attorneys left their law firms, according to a new ABA report based on focus groups and interviews with experienced female lawyers.

May 3, 2021 3:45 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Lawyer for accused Capitol rioter says ‘biatch’ less offensive; charge dropped against Boies Schiller partner

Lawyer for accused US Capitol rioter says ‘biatch’ is less offensive A lawyer for accused U.S. Capitol rioter Richard “Bigo” Barnett of Gravette, Arkansas, has said his client didn’t use the B-word to describe House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a note that he left for her. Barnett, photographed with his…

Apr 27, 2021 4:28 PM CDT

How should the legal profession navigate a post-COVID-19 world? ABA group has recommendations

Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the ABA initiated one of the largest national surveys of its members, seeking to understand both how they had been affected and how they expected their practice to evolve in the future.

Apr 26, 2021 8:00 AM CDT