Why the No. 5 law firm in France is gender-balanced at the top levels

The French law firm TAJ is led by a man who takes gender balance seriously. The law firm has a 50/50 gender balance in equity partnerships, governance committees and all other levels, according to an HBR Blog Network post by Avivah Wittenberg-Cox, CEO of the gender consulting firm 20-first. TAJ…

May 29, 2014 11:15 AM CDT

U of Chicago law student leader dies after wrong-way traffic crash; driver is charged in DUI case

A third-year law student who was a popular leader at the University of Chicago died last week following a wrong-way traffic crash in which a driver is now facing felony charges. Laura LaPlante, who was president of the school’s Federalist Society chapter and known for her organizational skills and her…

May 5, 2014 4:45 PM CDT

Billing rates lag for female lawyers; are ‘backroom assessments’ to blame?

Billing rates for female lawyers lag those of male lawyers, according to a study of $3.4 billion in legal work from more than 3,000 law firms. Among partners, billing rates for female lawyers were about 10 percent lower on average than those of their male counterparts, the Wall Street Journal…

May 5, 2014 12:27 PM CDT

MoFo starts Twitter feed to promote its female lawyers

May 1, 2014 9:20 AM CDT

George Clooney is engaged to high-profile human rights lawyer

Perennial bachelor George Clooney, 52, is headed to the altar with a high-profile human rights lawyer. Although the Hollywood leading man and his 36-year-old fiance Amal Alamuddin have not commented on widespread reports of their engagement, the London law firm for which Alamuddin works has made an announcement, reports Reuters.…

Apr 28, 2014 3:45 PM CDT

Who’s bringing cupcakes? Too often, female lawyers are expected to do office ‘housework,’ book says

Women are saddled with more household tasks than men, but the problem doesn’t end there. Too often, female lawyers and other professional women are expected to do office “housework,” according to University of California at Hastings law professor Joan Williams, who is director of the school’s Center for WorkLife Law.…

Apr 17, 2014 12:01 PM CDT

Should you self-promote in your blog posts? | Finding a lawyer via Google vs. social media

Real Lawyers Have Blogs’ Kevin O’Keefe noted a post at Business 2 Community titled “10 ways businesses can blog better.” Tip No. 7 was that business blogs should append a “call to action” at the end of every blog post—a “call to action” being a sentence or two describing your…

Apr 11, 2014 1:35 PM CDT

Women are squarely in the picture where law and technology combine

When Alison Monahan, founder of the Girl’s Guide to Law School website, went to a high-profile legal technology conference last year in Silicon Valley, she noticed something missing on the roster of speakers: women. “There was really only one woman speaking the entire day,” she says. “I thought, ‘Really? That’s…

Apr 1, 2014 10:40 AM CDT

Fifth LexThink.1 stresses greater collaboration for lawyers to avoid irrelevance

Collaboration is important for lawyers if they wish to avoid becoming irrelevant. That was the main takeaway from the fifth annual LexThink.1 event. Founded by Matthew Homann, CEO of Kendeo, and held on the eve of ABA Techshow, LexThink.1 welcomed a dozen speakers to the stage at the Chicago Hilton…

Mar 27, 2014 4:37 PM CDT

‘Dirty old man’ federal judge hits ‘third rail’ with his fashion advice for women lawyers

U.S. District Judge Richard Kopf acknowledges he “touched the third rail” in a blog post entitled “On being a dirty old man and how young women lawyers dress.” Some thought the comments so “strange and bawdy” that they wondered if Kopf’s Hercules and the Umpire blog had been hacked, the…

Mar 27, 2014 2:53 PM CDT

Are parents better off as solos, or at firms? | Why law-app developers are ignoring Android

Washington, D.C., solo Carolyn Elefant—who has one daughter in high school and another “on the cusp of college”—writes at Above the Law that her working for herself rather than for a law firm worked out for her and her family. But is being a solo always the best way to…

Mar 21, 2014 1:45 PM CDT

New OnRamp program offers $125K fellowships to 10 lawyers returning to workforce

Four law firms will be offering one-year paid fellowships this year to lawyers who want to return to the workforce. The OnRamp fellowships are among several programs that are designed to help highly educated professionals return to jobs after time off to care for parents or children, the New York…

Mar 20, 2014 10:45 AM CDT

‘Teaching while woman’ and battling disrespect, law prof has some advice

University of Georgia law professor Mehrsa Baradaran confesses her first few semesters teaching law were disasters. Then at Brigham Young University, Baradaran wanted to run a democratic classroom without imposing draconian rules or shaming her students into submission. There would be no cold-calling and no bans on laptops. “It turns…

Mar 13, 2014 11:20 AM CDT

Lean in or recline? Law prof’s essay sparks response

Georgetown University law professor Rosa Brooks takes a stand for work-life balance in an essay that suggests too much leaning in can lead women to burn out and drop out of the workplace. Brooks uses Sheryl Sandberg’s book Lean In to make her point. Sandberg, chief operating officer at Facebook,…

Mar 13, 2014 10:50 AM CDT

ABA scholarship and other programs broaden inclusion in all areas of the law

Mar 1, 2014 11:00 AM CST