Chadbourne plans vote on ouster of partner who filed $100M gender bias suit

Chadbourne & Parke is scheduling a vote on whether to oust a partner who filed a $100 million class action claiming the law firm has “a culture of discrimination against female attorneys.” Chadbourne announced plans for a vote Wednesday, the Am Law Daily (sub. req.), Bloomberg Big Law Business and…

Apr 6, 2017 3:08 PM CDT

Interruptions of female justices has increased with their representation on SCOTUS, study finds

Women justices on the Supreme Court are interrupted more often than men are, and the disparity has grown as more women joined the court, a new study has found. The 2015 term marked the “apex of inter-justice interruptions,” according to the study authors, who wrote a summary of the study,…

Apr 6, 2017 10:06 AM CDT

ABA President Klein reaffirms commitment to endangered LSC

ABA President Linda Klein reaffirmed the ABA’s commitment to the Legal Services Corporation, calling on ABA Techshow attendees to do what they could to help persuade Congress to fund the under-fire nonprofit corporation.

Mar 18, 2017 2:52 PM CDT

Chadbourne gave bonuses to 44% of male and only 28% of female partners in 2015, says equal pay suit

Male partners at Chadbourne & Parke on average earned 40 percent more than their female counterparts in 2013, according to information filed in an Equal Pay Act lawsuit against the firm. The memorandum of law (PDF) filing supporting plaintiffs’ request for collective action includes information that previously was redacted. In…

Mar 6, 2017 11:15 AM CST

Female First-Chairs: Firm’s founders chip away at male litigation domination

According to a 2015 report by the American Bar Foundation and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, which sampled 2013 filings in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, women in private practice at large and small law firms accounted for only 16 to 25 percent of first-chair appearances.

Mar 1, 2017 11:37 AM CST

Learning to say no—and say so

As a young professor in an MBA program, Kathleen Reardon was at an assignment meeting and got a task no one wanted, including her.

“I don’t think I can do that” was her response. Another colleague pulled her aside immediately.

“Don’t ever say that. When they ask you to take a junk job, your answer is no,” he told Reardon, the only female professor in the group.

Mar 1, 2017 11:36 AM CST

Grit and a growth mindset are linked to success

Possessing grit influences several factors for lawyers: overall quality of work, the point when in-house counsel join in a decision-making process, and seniority and tenure within an organization, according to a recent study by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession.

Mar 1, 2017 11:35 AM CST

Farewell to a Friend: Janet Reno worked closely with the ABA

Janet Reno’s death in November was felt acutely in the ranks of the American Bar Association. Several ABA leaders described Reno, who worked as U.S. attorney general from 1993 to 2001, as a great friend of the association. In many ways, the feeling was mutual.

Mar 1, 2017 1:15 AM CST

Heather Gerken, known for federalism scholarship, is first woman to become Yale law dean

Yale law professor Heather Gerken will become dean of the law school beginning July 1. Gerken will be the first female law dean and first federalism scholar at Yale Law School, the Volokh Conspiracy, a blog published in the Washington Post, reports. She also is an expert in election law…

Feb 22, 2017 2:31 PM CST

Plaintiff in ‘Roe v. Wade’ dies at 69; she later switched sides and opposed abortion rights

Norma McCorvey, who was the plaintiff in Roe v. Wade, has died at age 69. McCorvey died from a heart ailment on Feb. 18 at an assisted living facility in Texas, report the Washington Post and the New York Times. The source for the information was Joshua Prager, a journalist…

Feb 21, 2017 10:00 AM CST

Mayer Brown partner who dealt with personal tragedies backs a flexible path to partnership

A Mayer Brown equity partner who advocates for a flexible path to partnership cites her own experience as the reason why it is needed. Joanna Horsnail has dealt with her mother’s Parkinson’s diagnosis, her father’s terminal cancer, her son’s rare genetic disease and a divorce, Law.com (sub. req.) reports. Horsnail…

Feb 21, 2017 8:00 AM CST

Having grit and a growth mindset goes a long way for women lawyers, according to ABA study

Having grit influences lawyers’ overall quality of work; the point at which in-house counsel are brought into the decision-making process; and seniority and tenure within an organization, according to a recent study by the ABA’s Commission on Women in the Profession. The Grit Project’s study findings are expected to be…

Feb 3, 2017 3:35 PM CST

Activists team up with ABA to provide law school scholarships for women in Congo

Amanda Jones is a well-traveled writer and photographer who doesn’t shock easily. But a trip to the Democratic Republic of Congo in 2013 left a deep impression on her when she witnessed firsthand the horrific effects of sexual violence against women that have plagued the conflict-ridden country for about two decades.

Feb 1, 2017 1:10 AM CST

Morgan Lewis tax lawyer is in spotlight for helping Trump with asset trust

A tax partner at Morgan, Lewis & Bockius took center stage on Wednesday when she appeared at a press conference to explain the steps the president elect is taking to deal with conflicts issues related to his business. The lawyer, Sheri Dillon, is tax counsel for Donald Trump and the…

Jan 13, 2017 9:15 AM CST

These BigLaw firms had the best record for promoting women to partner

Three large law firms promoted only women to partnership in 2016. Five law firms promoted only men. Overall, 36.7 percent of the lawyers promoted to partner last year were women, according to partnership announcements at America’s top 100 law firms. Bloomberg Big Law Business did the analysis. The three firms…

Jan 12, 2017 9:11 AM CST