Women in the Law

Even Single People Give Up Pay for Work-Life Balance; Ex-BigLaw Lawyer Is an Example

Anne Marie Bowler gave up the big paycheck at a large law firm six years ago because she wanted more control over her time. Bowler, now 36, started her own firm with another colleague who had just returned from maternity leave, the Wall Street Journal (sub. req.) reports. Today she…

May 23, 2012 11:23 AM CDT

Young Solo Hated Law School But Likes Her Job; Stay True to Your ‘Lawyering Personality,’ She Urges

Sona Tatiyants hated law school, but she’s glad she got her law degree. It opened the door to a satisfying career as a sole practitioner handling estate planning matters, she says in a guest column at the Forbes blog She Negotiates. Nonetheless, there are things she would do differently if…

Apr 27, 2012 6:14 PM CDT

Top Family-Friendly Law Firms Named; Six Firms Get Bounced from List

Yale Law Women has announced this year’s top 10 family friendly law firms, and the new list differs significantly from last year’s. Only four law firms on the 2011 list are back this year. Six law firms on last year’s list that didn’t make the overall list this year are:…

Apr 27, 2012 12:20 PM CDT

Around the Blawgosphere: Lawyer Runs Down Stolen Phone; Bankruptcy Judge Notes ‘Epic Fail’

The Force Was with Him Three teens swiping cellphones in San Francisco picked the wrong target last week. They also targeted the wrong device, solo David Newdorf told Legal Pad’s Ginny LaRoe. Newdorf was restrained by one teen while another took his “crappy two-year-old Motorola Droid” rather than his iPad…

Apr 20, 2012 1:30 PM CDT

Given a Chance to Become a Partner of a 400-Attorney Law Firm, Lisa Ridgedale Opts to Go Solo

Invited to become a partner at a 400-attorney law firm, Lisa Ridgedale made a gutsy career move. She hung out her own shingle as a securities and commercial litigation sole practitioner. Despite two children, a mortgage and a self-employed partner, the 40-year-old tells the Vancouver Sun, she resisted an initial…

Apr 19, 2012 4:07 PM CDT

As Nonprofits Look to Hire In-House Lawyers, General Counsel Offers Tips to Those Who Want the Job

Once a BigLaw litigation associate, Lesley Rosenthal found a way to land a job many lawyers only dream of. Now the general counsel in charge of a small legal department at the Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts in New York, the former Paul Weiss Rifkind Wharton & Garrison attorney…

Apr 17, 2012 10:54 PM CDT

Justice Sotomayor Offers Career Advice for Women Lawyers Facing Slights

Justice Sonia Sotomayor offered career advice to law students on Thursday, including advice on how women lawyers should deal with slights. Starting out, a judicial clerkship is the best way to learn the law, Sotomayor said. Sotomayor said she wishes she had clerked for a judge after law school graduation.…

Apr 6, 2012 12:32 PM CDT

Law Prof Remembers His Nana’s Key Role in Securing Conviction of Lucky Luciano

Yale Law School professor Stephen Carter remembers his grandma as “Nana from New York,” a woman who loved books and emphasized good table manners. “Nana” was Eunice Hunton Carter, the first black female prosecutor in the New York District Attorney’s Office, according to a Chicago Tribune column by John Kass.…

Feb 23, 2012 5:23 PM CST

Fifty-Something Law Grad Found BigLaw Job a Tough Gig But Has No Regrets About Earning a JD

After a career in television production, Barbara Griff decided to go to law school. In her fifties when she graduated in 1996 magna cum laude from Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, she has no regrets about earning her juris doctorl degree. However, she found the BigLaw job she got…

Feb 10, 2012 12:06 PM CST

Panelists See Progress for Women of Color at Corporate Legal Departments, But Barriers Still Exist

Many large corporations are making significant progress in bringing diversity to their legal departments and creating opportunities for women of color to advance, but a panel of women lawyers in corporate leadership positions told a packed audience today that women also need to take control of their careers if they…

Feb 4, 2012 2:22 AM CST

Thompson & Knight Names First Female Managing Partner

In 1973, Emily Parker walked through the doors of Thompson & Knight as the firm’s first female attorney. Now after a career at the firm, which has seen her serve as a practice group leader, hiring partner and on the firm’s management committee, Parker will secure another first. On Feb.…

Feb 3, 2012 2:32 PM CST

NAACP Legal Defense Fund’s Christina Swarns Talks Race and Gender in Capital Defense Work

Fresh from her most high-profile victory to date—the case that pulled Mumia Abu-Jamal off death row—Christina Swarns sat down with the Washington Post to discuss her life’s work and being one of the few black women doing capital-defense cases. Swarns, who is director of the criminal justice unit at the…

Feb 2, 2012 4:25 PM CST

Around the Blawgosphere: Takes on Apple’s iBook Author; Volunteer Job Requiring 5 Years Experience?

Launch’s Legal Fallout A big tech story this week was the Apple’s launch of iBooks Author, a free tool allowing users to create textbooks, which the company says will “reinvent textbooks” by allowing iPad users to access texts that are interactive and constantly updated and available at a relatively low…

Jan 27, 2012 2:30 PM CST

Lawyer Who Backs Easier Bar Admission for Military Spouse JDs Is Contest Finalist

A lawyer who founded a support network for military spouses with law degrees is one of 30 finalists in a competition for military spouse of the year. Mary Reding, co-founder of the Military Spouse JD Network, is one of five finalists in a category for spouses of National Guard members.…

Jan 20, 2012 11:30 AM CST

NALP Sees Decline in Part-Time Lawyers at Law Firms for First Time in 17 Years

The percentage of lawyers working part-time at law firms declined slightly in 2011, the first drop since the National Association for Law Placement began compiling the figures in 1994. In 2011, 6.2 percent of lawyers were working part-time, compared to 6.4 percent in 2010, according to a NALP press release.…

Jan 19, 2012 3:54 PM CST