Women in the Law

How many women are among BigLaw’s new partners? At five firms, there are none

Women make up about 45 percent of new associate classes, but only about 30 percent of the 493 new partners announced so far this year by America’s largest law firms. At five law firms, none of the new partners are women, the Am Law Daily reports. By last Thursday, 51…

Jan 13, 2014 12:18 PM CST

Sotomayor to launch New Year’s Eve ball-drop countdown at Times Square

Following in the footsteps of Lady Gaga, the Rockettes, Colin Powell and Muhammad Ali, one of the U.S. Supreme Court’s best-known judges will push the ceremonial button on New Year’s Eve to launch the ball-drop countdown to midnight in New York City’s Times Square. Justice Sonia Sotomayor, a native of…

Dec 31, 2013 2:55 PM CST

Law profession needs R&D support, bloggers say | Year-end bonus etiquette

The Make More Rain Blog reached out to legal industry experts to get their predictions about the state of law firms, law firm technology and law firm business development. One prediction of 3 Geeks and a Law Blog’s Ryan McLead: “Firms will begin active research and development programs to improve…

Dec 20, 2013 2:45 PM CST

Pfizer’s GC is leaving; no explanation is given

Pfizer has announced that general counsel Amy Schulman is leaving the company, without giving a reason for the departure. The “sudden announcement” of the “surprise split” came in a press release, Corporate Counsel reports. Schulman had been slated to become president of a new Pfizer division on Jan. 1, but…

Dec 18, 2013 3:12 PM CST

Closeted BigLaw househusbands? Some ambivalence about changing gender roles

What’s all the fuss about househusbands? The number of women in finance with stay-at-home spouses has increased almost tenfold since 1980, the New York Times reported on Sunday. But the arrangement isn’t really new, according to the American Lawyer’s Careerist blogger, who also wrote an article in Time. “I’ve been…

Dec 11, 2013 3:02 PM CST

Hearsay: December 2013

4 The number of women now authorized to practice law in Saudi Arabia Source: Jurist, Oct. 7. $60,000 The amount of attorney fees that MTV’s 16 and Pregnant star Kristina Head was ordered to pay on behalf of celebrity blogger Perez Hilton after losing a libel claim against him. Source:…

Dec 1, 2013 10:10 AM CST

Southwestern Law School professor and evidence expert Myrna Raeder dies

Myrna S. Raeder, a longtime Southwestern Law School professor and ABA criminal justice section leader, has died. Raeder, 66, died Saturday of breast cancer at her Los Angeles-area home, according to a news release posted Monday on the school’s website. Raeder, who had taught at the school since 1979, was…

Nov 21, 2013 9:40 PM CST

Sotomayor says judiciary is ‘missing a huge amount of diversity’

Justice Sonia Sotomayor criticized the judiciary for a lack of diversity and the legal profession for a glass ceiling when responding to questions at a law school appearance on Tuesday. Sotomayor said the number of minority partners in law firms is “dismally small” while the lack of diversity on the…

Nov 21, 2013 3:27 PM CST

Do most litigators have ‘impostor syndrome?’ | Men vs. women on ‘having it all’

At Associate’s Mind, Alabama lawyer Keith Lee notes how many young professionals suffer from “impostor syndrome” in which the person feels as though they’re secretly unqualified for their responsibilities. Houston criminal defense lawyer Mark Bennett noticed the post and points out at Defending People that the syndrome (“you call it…

Nov 15, 2013 2:29 PM CST

Show ‘true grit’ and stop complaining, author advises women lawyers

Law students who let cynicism influence their decision-making may be holding themselves back, according to law school officials and an author interviewed by National Jurist magazine. Students with negative thinking may avoid writing competitions or applying for internships or jobs, the National Jurist says. Focusing on the negative can also…

Nov 14, 2013 11:44 AM CST

What happened to these ‘Great Expectations’ women lawyers?

Twelve years ago, 21 mostly newbie female lawyers at Debevoise & Plimpton talked to the New York Times magazine about their hopes for the future and possible obstacles ahead. A journalist and documentary filmmaker wondered what had become of these women, interviewed for a story in 2001 called “Great Expectations,”…

Nov 13, 2013 12:15 PM CST

Firms and attorneys foresee multiple benefits to supporting women’s business goals

Law firms and lawyers adopting Face-book COO Sheryl Sandberg’s philosophy—espoused in her Lean In book and Leanin.org’s Platform Partners project—see benefits for associates, clients and finances. “Sandberg’s topics trickle into all areas, including law,” says Joanna Horsnail, a Chicago-based Mayer Brown partner and chair of its women’s leadership committee, which…

Nov 1, 2013 7:10 AM CDT

BigLaw firm hopes to retain more female lawyers with expanded maternity leave policy

Holland & Knight is giving parents more generous leave time in hopes of attracting and retaining more female lawyers. The firm has expanded paid maternity leave from 12 to 16 weeks and paid leave for adoptive parents from six to 10 weeks, the Daily Business Review reports. The firm is…

Oct 29, 2013 4:17 PM CDT

Museum unveils life-size portrait of 4 pioneering female Supreme Court justices

The Smithsonian Institution has unveiled a life-size portrait of the four pioneering female justices at the U.S. Supreme Court. Painted by Nelson Shanks, the portrait went on view Monday at the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, reports the Washington Post (reg. req.) at its Reliable Source blog. Retired Justice Sandra Day…

Oct 28, 2013 10:30 PM CDT

BigLaw lawyer’s public-speaking tips for women (lose the quirky mannerisms, don’t giggle) cause stir

A memo filled with public-speaking tips for women was recently distributed to female associates at the U.S. offices of Clifford Chance, but some of the outraged recipients have given the advice more widespread distribution. Above the Law got a copy of the tips, which the blog dubs possibly “one of…

Oct 28, 2013 10:45 AM CDT