New Talk Conversation Announcement: What is the role of the courts in making social policy?

New Talk is a new online forum designed to tackle tough policy issues directly, with ongoing commentary from leading experts and policymakers on the frontline of said issues.  The next question to be addressed by New Talk is, "What is the role of the courts in making social policy?"  The conversation begins Tuesday, July 8th and runs through Thursday, July 10th.

Experts scheduled to participate in this next conversation include: Michael Traynor, President, American Law Institute; Lord Hoffman, Lord of Appeal in Ordinary; Kenneth Feinberg, Principal, The Feinberg Group; Theodore H. Frank, Director, AEI Legal Center for the Public Interest; Mark Geistfeld, Crystal Eastman Professor of Law, NYU School of Law; and Phillip Howard, founder of Common Good and New Talk.

Ms. JD encourages its readers to participate in the online conversation!  Log on to www.newtalk.org to post your comments alonside the experts' dialog as the conversation unfolds.  Ms. JD also encourages its readers to continue the discussion on Ms. JD after the conclusion of the New Talk conversation.

Ms. JD has, therefore, created a General Discussion forum post especially for this purpose.  The forum topic can be found under the General Discussion category, entitled 'What is the role of the courts in making social policy?"  So debate away!

A Change of Scenary- 6.29

Another week and a half has gone by. It was not particularly busy at work. Susan and I went to Cape Town last weekend. We had an incredible time. The nicest part of being there was that we didn’t have to worry about walking around at night just the two of us.

Hollywood Myths and Truths

Ed. Note: This summer, Ms. JD solicited lessons learned from law students across the country. Many of the responses explored Hollywood’s interpretation of law school and the legal profession. From Legally Blonde to Law and Order—not to mention the 1970s classic The Paper Chase—students told us where Hollywood got it right and where Hollywood completely missed the mark.

A student at UC Davis School of Law says that the scary professor in The Paper Chase is not an accurate depiction of law professors:

When I decided to go to law school, my dad rented me The Paper Chase, a 1970s movie about Harvard Law, which featured an extremely intimidating Contracts professor. In visits to a couple of law schools we prospective students were made to read a case and were called on by a professor as an introduction to the Socratic method. These experiences TERRIFIED me. I just knew that I’d be called on in a class and have no idea what the answer was. It didn’t turn out that way though, as all my professors have been sympathetic to our fright, and none have made a point of embarrassing unprepared students, as happened in The Paper Chase.

Erin, a student at Harvard Law, agrees that The Paper Chase is not an authentic representation of law school:

Legally Blonde is probably a more accurate look at life at law school today than The Paper Chase. There may not be an Elle Woods in your 1L class, but these days you’ll have a better chance of sharing a power outlet with a Barbie look-alike than that crazy guy from The Paper Chase who made the 800-page outline. Plan accordingly.

A student at Quinnipiac University School of Law says that Legally Blonde is at least partially correct:

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules, by: Mona Harrington

Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules, by: Mona Harrington

Mona Harrington, a lawyer, tackles issues that face women lawyers head on in 'Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules.'  According to Harrington, women lawyers "are on dangerous ground," in that they are connected with the the male legal establishment and to women as a larger group, but are not at ease within either group.  This is an interesting premise on which to base her writing, and Harrington expands on this idea through the compilation anecdotes and experiences taken from interviews with more than 100 female attorneys. 

Harrington gives a great deal of attention to women in the corporate law setting, the effect that father-daughter relationships have on a woman lawyer, and women as litigators.  She also delves into familiar issues for readers of Ms. JD such as proper attire for women lawyers and the unique experience that women have as law students.

As one reviewer wrote, some of Harrington's "topics deserve further analysis, but Harrington provides much food for thought."  (Publishers Weekly)  This is an interesting read, however, for Ms. JD readers on many topics very close to home, with a few interesting analytical twists.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending June 27, 2008

Pennsylvania Bar Association Report Gives Snapshot of Women Lawyers' Progress

Australian Business Reports that Glass Ceiling Still Firmly in Place

Canadian Lawsuit Alleges Sexist Practices of One of Canada's Top-Tier Law Firms

Australian Firm Gilbert & Tobin Beats the Benchmark for Promoting Women

Breaking Free: In Pursuit of Setting a Work-Life Balance - Canadians are Downing Blackberries, Declining Overtime and Daring to Do Less

Private Profession in Australia is Still Excluding Women from Partnership Positions

Off to Prison Again- 6.20

            Went to prison again yesterday. This was quite different than the last time. TP had assigned me to an appeal matter regarding armed robbery. There were two accused who had both been convicted and sentenced to the minimum which was 15 years in prison. I had done the research and read through the record and the judgment and in my opinion there was reasonable doubt. The judge agreed with me and hence the granting of an appeal.

Appeal Issues- 6.19

I want to address the issue of appeals. Some of my feelings on it might result from inexperience or ignorance, so I want to give that disclaimer. But many of the cases I have been working on have been appeal issues and it has developed a sense of confusion and frustration towards appeals.

7 Truths that Every Working Woman Should Know Before Having a Child -- Part VII

Finally, the 7th and final installation of the series that I started many months ago and haven't been able to bring myself to finish.  Way back in November, I promised to tell you the truth about the seven things that I wished I would have known about being a mom -- information that I thought would be helpful to professional women that are not yet moms but are contemplating starting a family.

I hope that my series was information and helpful, even if it was personal and only one girl's opinion and advice.  (I've put links to the other six posts below.)

The thing that I promised to write about last was: "You'll be the Same Person But Now You'll Just Have a Kid".  I've been putting this off because, well, the myth is self-explanatory.  However, with a lot of thought I think I have nailed the reason why this is a myth -- besides the obvious reaons like how could you possibly be the same person if you are only getting sleep in 1.5 hour increments or painting you two-year old daughter's toe nails with peel-off polish instead of getting a pedicure of your own in your free 30 minutes on a Saturday afternoon!  The truth to counter this myth is that the center of your life changes when you have a child...

When Being Smart Isn't Enough

Current Debt: $183,542.33Current Income: $0/month

Women Supervisors: The Danger of Micromanaging

Lately, I’ve started to wonder if women are more likely to be ineffective managers than men. I think, after mulling it over for a few days, that women (who we already know have to work harder to get into positions of power) might have perfectionist complexes that go past the objective and into the subjective, which might make them difficult to work under.

For example, I have a friend who has been complaining to me about his boss (a woman). He says that she likes to be kept “in the loop” on everything he does, including minor emails, and that she will often correct him in front of others or send clarifying emails following his emails that mostly say the same thing he said but in different words. (i.e. he’ll send out an email that says “We’re meeting in the conference room at 10. Please bring your case materials” and she’ll send an email that says “Just to clarify, all the members of the team will be meeting. Please bring your drafts of the memo.”) He can’t stand his boss. At first, I thought he was just chafing to work under a woman or that, if anything, this particular woman was a bit of a micromanager.

I had the issue in my head though, so I started noticing things around my own office. Last week, I had to get a few documents approved by one of my female supervisors, and she made me go back and forth with several minor, subjective changes (i.e. I wrote “individuals” and she wanted “people”). I thought of my friend and started to wonder whether female supervisors feel the need to vouch more for their employees than male supervisors, which then leads to a painful degree of micromanagement. In my case, the document was not that important, and I was actually signing my name to it, so my supervisor wasn’t publicly linked to it at all. Why, then, the need to have me make several superficial wording changes?

Getting back into work after taking some time with your kids

I recently attended a symposium on work-life balance where the keynote speaker was Deborah Epstein Henry.  She was there to talk about her FACTS program.  In a portion of her talk, Debbie mentioned some current initiatives at Big Firms aimed at helping with the work-life balance concerns of women.  Most that she mentioned, I was aware of already because of blogs like Ms. JD.  Most were programs seemingly aimed at making the unbearable billable hours requirements more bearable or aimed at creating reduced-hour alternatives for lawyers.  However, she also mentioned that some firms are putting into place initiatives aimed at bringing back their "regrettable losses" -- i.e. attorneys that leave the firm that the firm wishes would have stayed and that may be in a position to come back at some point in the future.  One such program is the "Sidebar" initiative at Skadden and, frankly, I am not sure how I missed it. (JDBlissblog.com covered it last month here.)  You can find some information on it on Skadden's Women's Initiatives page here even though I think the program is not just for women.  According to the site:

Through Sidebar, attorneys in good standing may decide to leave the firm for any number of personal reasons for up to three years (more than the six-month maximum permitted under a leave of absence), with the expectation that they will return to the firm at the end of that period consistent with the needs of the firm and their department. The firm expects and encourages Sidebar participants to remain connected, for example, by attending certain firm-sponsored events and gatherings and continuing legal education programs.

This is not intended to be a plug for Skadden but more of a head's up to other law firms.  I think this is genius.

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: Flux, by: Peggy Orenstein

Flux: Women on Sex, Work, Love, Kids, & Life in a Half-Changed World 

One of the great discussions that women today have, not only on the Ms. JD forum, but also among friends, at work and with their families is how they are going to "have it all."  And, perhaps more importantly, what "having it all" means for them. 

In 'Flux', Peggy Orenstein explores these questions and more, through a narrative based on a compilation of conversations she has had with over two hundred women, at varying stages of life.  Ranging in age from twenty-five to forty-five, these women have shared with Orenstein their personal opinions, struggles, and triumphs concerning such varying topics as, well, sex, work, love, kids and life.

Ms. JD Reader, be advised, this book is not exclusively about women lawyers.  This, however, can be a refreshing quality.  Not that one gets tired of hearing about women lawyers - this is posted on Ms. JD, after all.  Rather, it is somehow comforting to know that women in diverse professions are facing the same issues.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending June 20, 2008

Allegheny County Bar Association's Gender Equality Unit Targets Pay Disparity

Cynthia McClain-Hill, Esq., Top L.A. Lawyer, Noted Public Policy Counselor, Chosen to Lead the United States' Largest Organization of Women-Owned Businesses

International Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA) Donates Food Items and Money to Orphans in Nigeria

New Brooklyn Bar Association President Diana Szochet Reflects on a Life of Involvement

Commentary: Expanding Work-Life Balance Issues - Fathers Seek Work-Life Balance Too

Jurist Sandra L. Lynch's Career of Firsts Hits a Milestone as She is Being Sworn in as Head of Appeals Court

An Assertive Judge in the Suburbs- 6.15

It has been a while since I have written and there is good reason for that. I kept putting it off and then when I was planning on doing it, I got the horrible stomach bug that Susan had suffered just a week earlier. I didn’t go to work on Thursday or Friday and while both those times would have been good to write, that would have necessitated sitting up which was not an appealing notion at the time.

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book

Ed. Note: KHernan881, a regular contributor to Ms. JD, has agreed to sub-in for the regular Ms. JD Summer Book Series writer this week with the following review of The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book. Ms. JD's regular series should be back next week.

The Young Lawyer's Jungle Book: A Survival Guide, 2nd Edition by Thane Josef Messinger is the subject of this week's book review -- a little off track of what we've been reading so far this summer but hopefully, you'll find it useful nevertheless!

There are a bunch of advice books for new lawyers out there.  This one came highly recommended to me by a senior associate acquaintance. So I read it, admitedly in small doses about a chapter at a time until I could get through the whole thing.  I will say that I read it slowly not because it wasn't interesting but, let's face it, this is a professional advice book, not a novel, and you can only take so much advice in one sitting.

Overall, I think this was a worthwhile read for a new associate in a big law firm.  Mr. Messinger gives very practical advice in a no-nonsense kind of way. He tells it how it is in manner that isn't apologetic or politically correct.  (It is perhaps a little male-focused as he hides a little bit from the issues when he discusses gender politics in firms or gender diversity in the profession.)  By and large, I think the advice is sound and something that was worth the effort and time and would have been valuable before my summer associate job or a great read between the bar and starting work at the firm.  Some things are common sense but those things likely differ for each reader.