Women in the Law

Burford Capital $50 million litigation fund headed by women and female-owned firms

The Equity Project aims to enable female litigators to become leaders in significant matters, claim origination more easily, and nab new business by offering clients alternative fees.

Dec 1, 2018 12:35 AM CST

Michelle Obama got this advice after confiding to her mother that she hated being a lawyer

Careers

Nov 14, 2018 7:30 AM CST

Stop stabbing in the front: Bring balance and civility to work

Anger and frustration have been stirred up from many corners. Yet, while it’s not surprising that emotions run hot when the stakes are high, there is a fundamental takeaway from this current cultural climate: We need new ways of relating to each other.

Nov 6, 2018 6:30 AM CST

Making It Work: Erin Johnston

Erin Johnston is a litigation partner in the Washington, D.C., office of Kirkland & Ellis. Johnston is chair of the D.C. office’s Women’s Leadership Initiative. She has received Kirkland’s Pro Bono Service Award multiple times.

Nov 1, 2018 1:55 AM CDT

Lawyers on balancing motherhood or choosing a child-free life

Motherhood is more demanding than ever. Parents spend more time and money on child care. They feel more pressure to breastfeed, to do enriching activities with their children, and to provide close supervision. And women underestimate the costs of motherhood. This was the recent finding reported in a New York…

Nov 1, 2018 1:25 AM CDT

Meet Justice Kavanaugh’s four female law clerks, a hiring first

Justice Brett Kavanaugh joins the Supreme Court on Tuesday with a staff of four female law clerks. It’s the first time any justice on the court has hired a clerking staff consisting only of women, report the New York Times, the Washington Post, Above the Law and the National Law…

Oct 9, 2018 10:15 AM CDT

Former LeClairRyan partner who sued for gender bias asks court to confirm $1M arbitration award

A former LeClairRyan partner who claimed the firm unfairly favors males in compensation decisions has asked a federal court to confirm a $1 million arbitration award that includes more than $700,000 in attorney fees.

Oct 4, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

I am a woman who left the law

I graduated with honors and landed an associate position at a respected, multistate law firm. I practiced for several years, then quit. I am one of the many female attorneys who show promise but never achieve “success,” leaving many asking “Why?”

Oct 2, 2018 6:02 AM CDT

Law firms embrace blind recruiting to promote diversity—but does it work?

Could the resume become an anachronism? At some law firms, particularly in Canada and the United Kingdom, hiring partners have embraced blind recruiting, removing identification details from candidates’ resumes and applications to eliminate potential bias and promote diversity.

Oct 1, 2018 1:05 AM CDT

More law firms join ‘best for women’ lists, but statistics are stalled

More firms than ever before vied for a spot on the 11th annual Working Mother Best Law Firms for Women 2018 list. Yet women still face career challenges in large law firms.

Oct 1, 2018 12:15 AM CDT

Harassment survey respondents see no change ‘till everyone believes’

Thanks to the #MeToo movement, conversations about sexual harassment are happening now with much more frequency, but respondents to a recent survey expressed serious doubt that recent news has created grass-roots effects.

Oct 1, 2018 12:10 AM CDT

Female partner who sued Proskauer regarding compensation joins Polsinelli

Connie Bertram, the Proskauer Rose partner who agreed to dismiss her gender discrimination lawsuit against the firm last month, is now a shareholder with Polsinelli Law.com and Above the Law have reports. An action in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia alleged that Bertram was paid millions…

Sep 17, 2018 2:15 PM CDT

Immediate-past ABA President Bass will leave Greenberg Traurig to launch diversity institute

Immediate-past ABA President Hilarie Bass will leave her position as co-president of Greenberg Traurig at the end of the year to focus on a new institute she founded.

Sep 12, 2018 3:45 PM CDT

May I finish? The case against interrupting

Recently, a colleague called to ask me for my “feedback and insight” on a case. He then proceeded to interrupt me every time I opened my mouth. Eventually, he finished and, apparently satisfied with his own “feedback and insight,” he ended the phone call and thanked me for my help.

Sep 11, 2018 6:00 AM CDT

Race and gender bias is rampant in law, says new report that also offers tools to fight it

A new report details the endemic bias women and minority lawyers continue to face compared to their white male counterparts, but it also offers some tools to disrupt the status quo.

Sep 6, 2018 8:26 AM CDT