Stay-at-home moms return to law practice with help of training program, internships

After years away from law practice, it isn’t easy to return to a legal career, especially in the midst of a difficult economy. But Pace University has helped about half of those who completed an 11-week training session and an 11-week internship over the past five years re-enter the legal…

Feb 19, 2013 8:22 PM CST

Hard-hitting lawyer is world’s 8th-ranked woman welterweight boxer

By day, Aleksandra Magdziak Lopes, 32, is seemingly simply a hard-working young attorney. But the New England Law School grad has another gig in addition to her work for Babanikas, Ziedman & King in Brockton, Mass., reports the Patriot-Ledger. Currently the eighth-ranked female welterweight in the world, according to the…

Feb 11, 2013 1:51 PM CST

Women partners shelve work-life balance talk, say money and power needed for real change

Sullivan Hill managing partner Madeline Cahill-Boley doesn’t want to talk about work-life balance. Neither does Lisa Borsook, executive partner of Canadian law firm WeirFoulds. Nor does Patricia Gillette, a rainmaking partner at Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe, whose book of business ranges from $5 million to $10 million. Although greater acceptance…

Feb 4, 2013 2:55 PM CST

Divorced matrimonial lawyer shares ‘survival tips’ with clients in new book

When Kristi Skordahl, a matrimonial attorney, got divorced from her husband, she wound up in a apartment with a single place-setting and a litter box for her cat, she says. But she made the best of the situation, getting a retail job while she reapplied for the bar exam since…

Feb 1, 2013 4:25 PM CST

Muslim women lawyers aim to reconcile traditional beliefs with secular society

Feb 1, 2013 11:09 AM CST

Shattering the glass ceiling: Initiatives under way to end gender inequity in the legal profession

Feb 1, 2013 10:40 AM CST

Threat of cyberattacks must be recognized and responded to, ABA president urges lawyers

Feb 1, 2013 7:50 AM CST

Linguist sees gender gap in reactions to managers’ humor

A linguistics expert who spent time observing management interactions at seven U.K. companies found the women she observed typically failed to get laughs when they told jokes. The study by Aston University professor Judith Baxter found that more than 80 percent of quips by senior female figures were met with…

Jan 23, 2013 12:00 PM CST

Only one woman has made partner in 25 years at BigLaw firm’s Miami office

Linda Leali didn’t have a lot of role models during her 12 years as an associate at the Miami office of White & Case. Only one woman has made partner in the firm’s Miami office in 25 years, the Daily Business Review reports. A magna cum laude law grad from…

Jan 16, 2013 11:30 AM CST

Sotomayor: I wanted to be a cop, but learned from ‘Perry Mason’ that I could be a lawyer

As Sonia Sotomayor was growing up in a housing project in the Bronx, she wanted to become a police officer. But after a childhood diabetes diagnosis made that career an impossible dream for her, she realized, watching Perry Mason on television, that an alternative career as a lawyer had similar…

Jan 14, 2013 8:16 PM CST

Video: Banner Week for Financial Prosecutions; BigLaw Partners’ 2013 Predictions

Editor’s Note: We’re experimenting with using more video on ABAJournal.com and will be bringing you this short weekly legal news brief from Bloomberg Law for the next few weeks. Thanks for the feedback so far. Please note that adding video would not mean eliminating text-based stories. Rather, we’re exploring adding…

Dec 13, 2012 6:46 PM CST

Continued Dip in Number of Female Associates Is ‘Significant and Troubling Trend’

The percentage of female associates in law firms has fallen slightly for the third year in a row, even as women made small gains in partnership ranks, according to NALP, the Association for Legal Career Professionals. Women made up 45.05 percent of associates in an “incremental but steady slide from…

Dec 13, 2012 1:30 PM CST

In Upcoming Memoir, Sotomayor Tells How Fear of Early Death Affected Motherhood Decision

A new memoir by Justice Sonia Sotomayor, scheduled for publication in January, explains a primary reason she opted not to have children: a fear of early death. Sotomayor has struggled with diabetes since childhood, and she says the fear of dying early was a big factor in her decision against…

Dec 11, 2012 1:04 PM CST

Letters: A Storied Career

Dec 1, 2012 11:00 AM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Actor’s Morality Play; What ‘Lincoln’ Left Out; Profs re ‘Fiscal Cliff’

To Be or Not to Be Immoral Many people have watched Two and a Half Men actor Angus T. Jones’ video testimonial for religious group the Forerunner Chronicles in which he calls Two and a Half Men “filth” that no one should watch. E! Online reported this week that the…

Nov 30, 2012 2:30 PM CST