Top 10 Family Friendly Law Firms Named; Survey Finds More On and Off Ramp Programs

Yale Law Women has released its annual list of the top 10 family friendly law firms. Debevoise & Plimpton and Steptoe & Johnson made the list last year, but they are off this year. In their place are Covington & Burling, which made the 2009 list, and Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw…

Apr 29, 2011 11:43 AM CDT

3 Law Firms Open New Offices in Southern States

Three law firms have announced that they are opening new offices in southern states: Cleveland-based McDonald Hopkins is bringing in a onetime general counsel to a former Florida governor to head its new Miami office, reports Crain’s Cleveland Business. Raquel “Rocky” Rodriguez, who served in the administration of ex-Gov. Jeb…

Apr 26, 2011 9:06 PM CDT

New Parents at O’Melveny Get Free Life-Transitions Coach

O’Melveny & Myers is helping new parents transition back to their legal work by providing a free life- transitions coach. O’Melveny officially launched its “Momentum One” initiative on Friday after trying it out in a pilot program last year, the Recorder reports. Coaches from AbilTo will work with associates, partners…

Apr 19, 2011 1:03 PM CDT

After Latest $450K Poker Win, Yale Law Student Says She May Practice Only Part-Time

Unlike many professional poker players, Vanessa Selbst has a potentially lucrative second career to fall back on should she ever experience a run of bad luck. With only one more year to go at Yale Law School, she has a law license—and the civil rights practice that motivated her decision…

Apr 18, 2011 9:41 PM CDT

BigLaw Email Bans Short Skirts and Stiletto Heels, Asks Women to Please Brush Their Hair

Reportedly horrified by the sight of a number of female trainees showing too much leg and looking like they were ready for a night of “clubbing” rather than a day at the office as the weather warmed up, one of the United Kingdom’s renowned magic-circle legal partnerships has laid down…

Apr 11, 2011 10:01 AM CDT

Are Female Lawyers Worth $50 an Hour Less Than Men? Average Billing Rates Show Gap

A recent survey has more evidence of a gender gap in the legal profession. The average hourly billing rate is $259 for women lawyers, while the average is $312 for male lawyers, according to the survey by ALM Legal Intelligence. The Larry Bodine LawMarketing Blog summarized the findings. For males,…

Apr 8, 2011 6:16 PM CDT

In the Last Four Years at Debevoise, the Majority of New Partners are Women

For the last four years, the majority of new partners at Debevoise & Plimpton have been women. The law firm has announced 15 new equity partners from 2008 to 2011, and nine have been women, the Careerist reports. The percentage of females attaining partnership outpaces that of other large law…

Apr 1, 2011 12:56 PM CDT

Female Judicial Candidates Are Held to Different Standards, Sotomayor Tells Students

Female federal judiciary candidates are treated differently than their male counterparts, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor told a group of law students yesterday, and women jurists need a thick skin. “There are expectations about how women and men should behave,” she said. “I am probably a bit more aggressive,…

Mar 8, 2011 2:39 PM CST

Friends and Family Mourn Former Local Bar President and Divorce Client, Killed During Court Recess

A former county bar president was remembered at a Fresno, Calif., memorial service earlier this week after she and her divorce client were shot and killed at a restaurant during a court recess. The coroner’s office confirmed that lawyer Judith Leslie Soley and her client, Sandra Williamson, both 65, died…

Feb 24, 2011 2:12 PM CST

Women Lawyers Are ‘Focused Way Too Much’ on Mentors, BigLaw Partner Says

An Orrick partner isn’t all that impressed with formal mentoring programs at law firms. Patricia Gillette says such programs don’t work, for the most part, especially for women, the Careerist reports. Firms mean well, Gillette said, but female associates are often assigned to women partners even though they don’t have…

Feb 16, 2011 4:10 PM CST

Fired NY Associate Sues Firm, Claims ‘Hostile and Demeaning’ Environment

A Canadian woman who worked as an associate in the New York office of a Toronto law firm claims in a lawsuit that the partner who supervised her encouraged a “hostile and demeaning” environment for women. The suit by Jaime Laskis, 34, claims that she was fired from Osler, Hoskin…

Feb 16, 2011 1:40 PM CST

NAACP Hires ‘Trailblazing’ Solo as General Counsel

Solo practitioner and ‘10 Legal Rebel Kim M. Keenan has been tapped as general counsel of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People. Keenan—the youngest attorney and second woman to hold the position—was selected, in part, for her dedication to “redressing the inequities still impacting women and people…

Feb 11, 2011 7:05 PM CST

Myth of Difficult Female Lawyer Bosses May Relate to Brain Wiring, Assistant-at-Law Says

Do women lawyers make more difficult bosses than male lawyers? There is a myth of cranky female lawyers, according to a legal secretary who identifies herself as the “Assistant-at-Law,” and it may relate to brain wiring and female relationships. Writing for Texas Lawyer, the Assistant-at-Law lays out her theories. “Women…

Feb 8, 2011 1:59 PM CST

Letters: Kudos for Comic Book

Feb 1, 2011 10:00 AM CST

Firms’ Re-Entry Programs Open Doors

Feb 1, 2011 8:06 AM CST