Flying Solo As A Woman Attorney

From Above the Law authored by Toni Messina:

“Retired federal judge Shira Scheindlin recently wrote an editorial in the New York Times titled, “Female Lawyers Can Talk, Too.”  It got me thinking.  When it comes to representing poor clients, people for whom the court appoints attorneys — I see as many female attorneys as men.  They either work for one of the big state or federal public defender organizations or are appointed as one-offs by the state or federal government. However, when it comes to getting hired to represent a defendant who has money to pay for an attorney — the men get the lion’s share of the work.

This is as true today as when I started working as a criminal defense attorney two decades ago.  The women get the court-appointed work, the men get retained.

Although the courts in general have become more women-friendly in recent years — there are many more women prosecutors, judges, court officers, and public-defense counsel than when I started — the number of women in private practice, either hired by law firms or working as solo practitioners, has not significantly changed since the early 1990s at least in terms of their representation as lead counsel in trial work.”

 

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Incoming 1Ls: Everything Is About To Change

From Above the Law authored by Kerriann Stout:

“The weather has been relatively cool where I live for the last few days. It has served as another reminder that within a matter of days, new bright-eyed and bushy-tailed 1Ls will be arriving to terrorize us start their first semester of law school. As I prepare for them to get here, I can’t help but wonder if they know that everything about their life is about to change.

I remember being absolutely terrified my first few weeks of law school. There was a constant stream of insecure thoughts: Am I good enough? Am I smart enough? Is this what I actually want to be doing with my life? What if I fail? As I fell into the stride of the semester, those thoughts subsided and were replaced by feelings of confidence.

But that wasn’t the most important thing that changed. When all was said and done, I left law school a completely different person than when I arrived. The shifts and changes happened gradually, and I was not at all prepared for it. I went to law school ready to work hard and be stressed. What I hadn’t expected was the extent of personal change I experienced. I wasn’t ready for it and no one ever told me to prepare for it. So, dear 1Ls, consider this your heads up.”

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In the Aftermath of Hillary Clinton’s Loss, More Women Want to Run for Office Than Ever Before

From Vogue authored by Patricia Garcia:

“The election of Donald Trump last November was a tough blow for many women who had hoped to finally see the first female president of the United States. Instead of witnessing an experienced female politician be sworn in on Inauguration Day, we were left to contend with a man who frequently makes misogynist remarks who was caught boasting about being able to get away with sexual assault, and an administration that has attacked women’s rights from the get-go. 
 
But seven months down the road, there appears to have been a silver lining to Hillary Clinton’s defeat: A record number of women want to run for office. EMILY’s List, the organization that helps mentor, support, and finance campaigns of Democratic, pro-choice female politicians, has reportedly been busier than ever. According to BuzzFeed News, EMILY’s List has experienced such a surge of women interested in running, it has had to expand its headquarters in Washington, D.C., and hire more than 25 staffers to help with the additional work.”

 

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Woman Killed During Charlottesville Protest Was A Paralegal

From Above the Law authored by Kathryn Rubino:

“Unless you completely unplugged and took up residence in a cave, you’ve probably heard about the alt-right protest in Charlottesville, Virginia, this weekend and the corresponding counter-protests that turned deadly. Horrific video footage shows a Dodge Challenger running into a group of protesters and then fleeing the scene, leaving 19 injured and one person dead. Police have already arrested an alleged Nazi sympathizer, James Alex Fields, in connection with the crime and charged him with second-degree murder, three counts of malicious wounding, and failing to stop at the scene of a crash that resulted in a death.

Authorities have now identified the sole fatality in the incident as Heather Heyer, a paralegal in the bankruptcy division of the Miller Law Group. It seems Heyer’s personality, rather than an extensive background in the legal industry, is what made her a valued asset to the team, as reported by the New York Times”

 

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Taylor Swift Wins Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against Former Radio Host

From NPR authored by Andrew Flanagan:

“A Denver jury found fully in pop singer Taylor Swift’s favor Monday, delivering a unanimous verdict in a trial over whether she was groped by a former radio host during a Denver meet-and-greet. Wanting the trial to serve as an “example to other women,” the star had sought a single dollar in damages, which she was granted.”

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Inside Zan TV: Afghanistan’s first all-female station

From The Guardian authored by Grace Banks:

“After a city-wide billboard campaign featuring a group of young women standing with arms folded, the women’s media network Zan TV launched in Kabul, Afghanistan, three months ago, with a panel discussion about the right to vote and a Facebook cover photo that read: “We mirror you all”. Zan, meaning “women” in Arabic, is the first TV station in Afghanistan to be made for and run entirely by women. It’s a radical initiative for a country where the television industry is run solely by men and where just 16 years ago, journalism and even access to education for women were banned. “We want women to have an active role in politics and society,” says Nasrine Nawa, 26, Zan’s director of news programming. “We’re empowering them to lead independent lives outside the home.”

Nawa’s mission is to train the next generation of female Afghan journalists. Fifty women aged 17 to 28 work for Zan; half are qualified, half are learning on the job. “Many trained journalists are jobless because most TV stations won’t employ women, so we do. We also want to train young women who might not have access to education because of where they live or their family,” says Nawa. Zan also employs 10 men to train women in operating cameras and editing film. It posts jobs on its Facebook page, which had an average of 8,000 likes a day in May.”

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How to ask someone to mentor you

From LAC Group authored by Kim Dority:

“When it comes to your career, mentors can be one of the fastest ways to get from where you are to where you want to be.

Mentors can help you identify and build up your strengths, recognize your weaknesses (and help with damage control), learn how to navigate office politics, figure out career questions, and generally be an advocate for your ongoing success.”

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Female Lawyers Can Talk, Too

From The New York Times authored by Shira A. Scheindlin

“As a Federal District Court judge in New York, I often encountered this courtroom scene: A senior partner in a large law firm would be arguing a motion. I would ask a tough question. He (and it was usually a man) would turn to the young lawyer seated next to him (often a woman). After he conferred with her repeatedly, I would ask myself why she wasn’t doing the arguing, since she knew the case cold.

In the 22 years I spent on the federal bench before stepping down last year, not much changed when it came to listening to lawyers. The talking was almost always done by white men. Women often sat at counsel table, but were usually junior and silent. It was a rare day when a woman had a lead role — even though women have made up about half of law school graduates since the early 1990s.”

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Law firms’ problem with women

From Law 21 authored by Jordan Furlong:

“The last time I wrote about women and the law, it took weeks for the flames to die down. Only a glutton for punishment would return to this topic again. Ahem.

So I’ve been collecting articles about the seemingly endless issue of the apparently insurmountable barrier to the full participation of women in law firms. Another article on that score, this one from The New York Times earlier this week, galvanized me to pull them all together and talk about them. To wit:

  • ‘A Bleak Picture’ for Women Trying to Rise at Law Firms (The New York Times, July 24, 2017): “Women are 50.3 percent of current law school graduates, yet they still make up just under 35 percent of lawyers at law firms, [according to the 2017 Law360 Glass Ceiling Report.] Most important, their share of equity partnerships — where the highest compensation and leadership positions are lodged — remains at 20 percent and has not changed in recent years, the report found.”
  • Study Shows Gender Diversity Varies Widely Across Practice Areas(The American Lawyer, April 17, 2017): “The majority of AmLaw 200 practices have an average female head count ratio of 30 percent. Practice areas with the highest compensation and focus within Big Law, such as banking, intellectual property and litigation, had the lowest percentages of women. Women made up only 35 percent of Am Law 200 litigation departments, 31 percent of banking and taxation practices and accounted for 27 and 23 percent of IP and M&A teams, respectively, [according to a study by ALM Intelligence, Where Do We Go From Here? Big Law’s Struggle With Recruiting and Retaining Female Talent.]
  • The Gender Pay Gap for Big Law Partners: 44 Percent (Bloomberg Business of Law, Oct. 12, 2016): ‘Of the 2,153 [BigLaw] partners polled [by Major, Lindsey & Africa], men earned an average of $949,000 per year while women brought in $659,000. The differences in partner billing rates ($701 for men and $636 for women) and hours billed (1,703 for men and 1,632 for women) remained relatively small. But the results show women still lag behind significantly in originations, pulling in an average of $1,730,000 versus $2,590,000 for men. … Lack of credit for origination is a common complaint leveled by women in BigLaw.’”
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Taylor Swift’s 10 Most Powerful Statements From Her Sexual Assault Trial Cross-Examination

From Glamour authored by Christopher Rosa:

 “Thursday (August 10) marks day four of Taylor Swift’s sexual assault trial against former KYGO radio host David Mueller—and it’s arguably the most important one so far. Why? Because Swift herself took the stand to testify against Mueller, and what she said is slowly making its way onto the Internet.

If you’re unfamiliar with the case, here’s a brief overview: According to Swift, Mueller allegedly reached under her skirt and grabbed her ass when the two were taking a photo together during a meet-and-greet on her Red Tour in 2013. Mueller sued Swift two years later for $3 million, claiming her allegations were false. Swift is countersuing for just $1. (More on that here.)

Mueller’s attorney, Gabe McFarland, cross-examined Swift, and multiple sources reported that she stood firmly with her initial statements throughout the entire process. According to Vulture, Swift forwent all formalities (like “sir”) and simply called McFarland by his first name. Her answers were direct, stern, and unwavering.”

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