Working Mother’s list of best law firms for women marks progress over 5 years

The number of female lawyers promoted to equity partner has increased by almost 25% in the past five years, according to Working Mother Media’s latest list of best law firms for women.

Sep 9, 2020 2:20 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: Justice Ginsburg officiates wedding; more women and minorities join GC ranks

Justice Ginsburg officiates wedding U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg officiated at an outdoor wedding Sunday, about a month and a half after revealing that she was receiving chemotherapy for liver cancer. The bride tweeted a photo showing Ginsburg at a lectern in her judicial robe, without a mask.…

Sep 2, 2020 4:27 PM CDT

Meet the 2020 Margaret Brent Award honorees

Updated: Despite the distance between them, an appellate judge from Washington, D.C., and four attorneys from around the country came together virtually Thursday to receive the 2020 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards.

Aug 27, 2020 1:41 PM CDT

ABA releases a cookbook to mark centennial of 19th Amendment’s ratification

“The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex,” reads the 19th Amendment, which was ratified on this day 100 years ago.

Aug 18, 2020 1:00 PM CDT

What do women have to lose if the Affordable Care Act is struck down?

The ACA has extended coverage to more than 20 million people while providing protections for women who had faced discrimination from insurers and struggled to obtain coverage. In the coming term, the U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear California v. Texas, which casts doubt on the future of women’s ability to obtain affordable insurance.

Aug 18, 2020 11:18 AM CDT

Commission learns of ‘heartbreaking’ diagnosis after investigating reports of judge’s erratic behavior

A New York judge has agreed to retire after a commission investigating reports of her erratic behavior learned that she has been diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease.

Aug 13, 2020 1:19 PM CDT

Do some states really prohibit bringing tampons and pads to the bar exam?

There are many things the National Conference of Bar Examiners thinks test-takers should not bring to a bar exam in the interest of test security—but tampons and sanitary napkins are not on the list, says Judith Gundersen, the NCBE’s president and CEO.

Jul 23, 2020 12:47 PM CDT

We need to reckon with feminism’s contributions to mass incarceration, says law professor

As a law professor at the University of Colorado Law School, Aya Gruber has seen her Millennial students wrestle with a problem that she has long struggled with herself: How to fight both gender-based violence and overpolicing.

Jul 15, 2020 1:30 PM CDT

Philly courts have ‘culture of nepotism, mistrust and racial tension,’ report says

Philadelphia courts have a "culture of nepotism, mistrust and racial tension" that hampers opportunities for employees of color, according to a report leaked last week to the Philadelphia Inquirer.

Jul 14, 2020 11:55 AM CDT

Harassment is ‘embedded within the culture’ in many legal workplaces, new study finds

Sexual harassment still affects female lawyers at all levels, including judges, partners, general counsels and law professors, according to a study released Tuesday by the Women Lawyers on Guard, a national nonprofit organization that focuses on equality and justice.

Jul 8, 2020 2:25 PM CDT

Majority of minority female lawyers consider leaving law; ABA study explains why

Seventy percent of female minority lawyers report leaving or considering leaving the legal profession, according to an ABA report on the challenges that they face.

Jun 22, 2020 4:19 PM CDT

Afternoon Briefs: State chief justices on racial inequality; court worker fired for tearing down signs in video

State high courts, chief justices issue racial injustice statements A growing number of state chief justices are issuing public statements following the death of George Floyd. Many of the statements deal with the legal system’s role in perpetuating racial inequality. “We are part of the problem,” wrote Chief Justice Bernette…

Jun 18, 2020 4:33 PM CDT

Judge refuses to sanction women suing Jones Day for gender bias

A federal judge in Washington, D.C., has refused to sanction former female associates who filed a $200 million lawsuit against Jones Day for alleged gender bias.

Jun 10, 2020 10:29 AM CDT

New study looks at the prison system’s failure to address women’s health and safety behind bars

Jun 1, 2020 1:20 AM CDT

New York bar reports minor increases in women’s court participation since 2017

Not much has changed in the three years since the New York State Bar Association released a landmark report highlighting the scarcity of female attorneys in lead roles in court cases in the state, according to a new study published Thursday.

May 29, 2020 1:20 PM CDT