Gloria Allred Will Be on TV Even More in New Courtroom Show

High-profile lawyer Gloria Allred is joining the bench—in a new television show called “We the People with Gloria Allred.” A press release calls Allred “the most famous attorney practicing law in the nation” and says she will continue to practice. The syndicated show will be produced by Entertainment Studios Inc.,…

Jan 26, 2011 12:05 PM CST

Louise Raggio Dies, Fought Laws Requiring Husband’s OK for Wife’s Legal Transactions

A trailblazing Dallas lawyer who helped change discriminatory Texas laws has died. Louise Raggio died Sunday at the age of 91, the Dallas Morning News reports. She was instrumental in repealing Texas laws requiring a woman to get her husband’s signature before filing legal documents, borrowing money or transferring land.…

Jan 25, 2011 3:40 PM CST

Women Lawyers Argue About 15% of Supreme Court’s Cases; Do They Dislike the Verbal Jousting?

The female litigator who has argued more Supreme Court cases than any other living woman says both sexes have the same ability to argue, but there is a difference. Women seem less inclined to enjoy the verbal jousting, says Lisa Blatt, who made her 30th appearance before the court on…

Jan 20, 2011 1:30 PM CST

Miss America, 17, Maps Out Career Plan: Law School First, Then SCOTUS and US Presidency

The newly crowned Miss America, at 17, hasn’t yet graduated from college. But Teresa Scanlan’s got big career plans above and beyond the beauty pageant world, reports People. After college, she wants to go to law school. Then she hopes to make it to the U.S. Supreme Court. After that,…

Jan 18, 2011 7:14 PM CST

‘Babe’-Loving NY Lawyer Suspects Female Justices Helped Nix His Ladies Night Appeal

A former Cravath lawyer who says he hates feminists but appreciates a “babe” suspects the three female justices on the U.S. Supreme Court voted to deny cert in his ladies night lawsuit. In September, the New York City-based 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals dismissed Roy Den Hollander’s equal-protection suit…

Jan 14, 2011 4:29 PM CST

Can Law Firms Offer Same Flexibility as Accounting Firms? Probably Not, Law Prof Says

Summers off and sabbaticals at 40 percent pay are among the perks granted at several large accounting firms, which have increased their focus on flexible working conditions. At Ernst & Young, for example, accountants arrange to cover for others’ personal commitments, even during crunch time, the New York Times reports.…

Jan 13, 2011 12:21 PM CST

ABA Prez Condemns ‘Unfair’ Trial of Iranian Civil Rights Lawyer Sentenced to 11 Years

Sentenced to 11 years in prison and barred from practicing law or leaving the country for 20 years, an Iranian civil rights attorney known for her representation of women and children is being punished for expressing her views to the media, some supporters say. Convicted of “activities against national security”…

Jan 13, 2011 12:28 AM CST

Warm Smile and Calm Spirit Helps Former Legal Secretary Make Transition to Nursing Field

Corrected: Laid off for a year from her former job as a legal secretary, Janet Studenski wasn’t going to take a chance of missing the news if she was hired for the overnight hospice job she’d been seeking. So she even carried her cellphone into the bathroom, reports the Charlotte…

Jan 12, 2011 8:26 PM CST

Are Premature Work-Life Balance Concerns Sabotaging Women Lawyers’ Careers?

Facebook’s chief operating officer has raised a work-life balance issue that could apply equally to women lawyers. Sheryl Sandberg spoke about three reasons women aren’t making it into top leadership positions, the Careerist blog reports. The three reasons: 1) Women literally don’t take a seat at the conference table. Too…

Jan 12, 2011 1:28 PM CST

Percentage of Part-Time Lawyers Trails Rate of Other Professionals

The percentage of lawyers working part-time at major law firms has risen from 2.4 percent in 1994 to 6.4 percent in 2010, but the rate is still lower than that of other professionals. The percentage of part-time professionals in specialties such as engineering, architecture and medicine was 13.5 percent in…

Jan 6, 2011 3:16 PM CST

Small Firm Offers Pay-As-You-Go, A La Carte Legal Services

Paying an attorney on an a la carte basis, only for the specific legal services that you can afford, may not be ideal for a client. But it’s better than going without representation altogether because you can’t afford standard legal fees of nearly $300 per hour, say two young lawyers…

Jan 4, 2011 12:20 AM CST

Sign Skills Help Criminal Defense Lawyer Win Business, Explain and Comply with Deaf Culture

Having become fluent as a youngster in American Sign Language has helped a young criminal defense attorney with normal hearing acquire clients. Although she has been licensed to practice only a little over a year, Amber Farrelly Elliott, 34, is routinely appointed to represent all deaf clients in class A…

Jan 3, 2011 6:34 PM CST

Kudos for Solo Mills

Jan 1, 2011 10:30 AM CST

Senator Who Fought for Gay Rights Cites BigLaw Single Life, Fire Island Trips

New York’s junior senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, has earned some new-found respect in her hard-fought battle to repeal don’t ask, don’t tell. At least one gay-rights advocate had worried early on that Gillibrand was courting gays for political reasons. But the BigLaw lawyer-turned-politician tells the New York Times she had realized…

Dec 23, 2010 2:10 PM CST

Forget Marble Floors: Flat Fees Fill Ex-BigLaw Partner’s Client List at New IP Shop

A former partner of Drinker Biddle & Reath credits a flat-fee billing structure for her new intellectual property boutique’s rapid acquisition of clients and a solid book of business. Many of those she now represents followed Kathryn Doyle, who formerly headed Drinker Biddle’s life sciences practice, to her new shop,…

Dec 18, 2010 12:20 AM CST