Justice Ginsburg on Sotomayor, Gender & the Court, & Roe

This week's New York Times Magazine features Emily Bazelon's interview with Justice Ginsburg. It's relatively juicy stuff, given how guarded the Justices generally are. Ginsburg talks about Judge Sotomayor, feeling alone - even ignored - at conference, and how she thinks precedents on reproductive rights and discrimination should and will change.

My favorite tidbits were explanations of the Justice's work-out routine and her quip that if the court were mostly women "[t]he work would not be any easier. Some of the amenities might improve." Another highlight involved the impact O'Connor's retirement has had on Justice Ginsburg's experience. 

Q: What has [being the only woman on the court] been like?

JUSTICE GINSBURG: It’s almost like being back in law school in 1956, when there were 9 of us in a class of over 500, so that meant most sections had just 2 women, and you felt that every eye was on you. Every time you went to answer a question, you were answering for your entire sex. It may not have been true, but certainly you felt that way. You were different and the object of curiosity.

The Justice flip flops a bit on whether gender impacts the substance of the justices' opinions, first saying she resists giving credence to the research on the effect of sex on judging, but then imagining that a majority-women court would decide discrimination cases differently than the current lineup does.

After the jump: Ginsburg's take on Sotomayor's "wise latina woman" comment and what appears to be a politically incorrect misstep of her own.

Book Review: Pioneering Women Lawyers

A choice excerpt from Pioneering Women Lawyers: From Kate Stoneman to the Present:

... I had the occaison to look at my personnel file and there was my resumé, complete with several notes stapled to it. I couldn't stand it - I had to look at what someone thought was important enough to attach to my resume when I was interviewed. One attachment was a copy of a newspaper article about a large international law firm in New York City being sued fr "sex discrimination" (this was even before "gender" was the politically correct term). The other was a handwritten note from the associate that reviewed resumés for the firm's recruiting partner (and a former law school classmate). The note said, "If we have to hire a woman, let's hire this one."

Roberta S. Karmel: Reflections on My Career

Life at the Center, a piece by Roberta S. Karmel in February's edition of Business Law Today, addresses, in large part, younger women lawyers:

I am often asked how I managed to achieve so many career milestones as a woman, and yet have such a large family. I honestly do not have a good answer to that question. A successful life is an odd mixture of good health, good luck, exploiting the opportunities that come one's way, and perseverance. Perhaps it is also having the courage to think for yourself, and not succumbing to the conventional wisdom. For much of my career I was the only woman in the room, or, at best, one of the very few women, and I did not have any role models for the life I was leading. The only advice I can give to younger women lawyers, who are not quite so alone but who still experience many of my conflicts between career and family, and who still experience discrimination in the workplace, is do not be discouraged, but push on to realize your dreams.

Read the rest of the piece here.

Women of the Missouri Court: First Event to feature the only four women who have served on the Missouri Supreme Court

In all of Missouri’s history, only four women have served on the state Supreme Court.  The Women’s Law Association (WLA) at the University of Missouri School of Law hosted the first event ever to feature and honor these four women.  On Wednesday November 12, 2008 Judge Ann Covington, Judge Mary Russell, Judge Patricia Breckenridge, and current Justice Laura Stith sat on a panel together at the Law School to discuss the journey women have in the legal profession and future progress. 

The judges spoke for over an hour to a courtroom packed with law students and professors.  In all the years of statehood, Missouri has only had four women sit on its highest court.  Yet, all four of those women have been in my lifetime.  That has to provide tremendous hope and aspiration to young female attorneys and law students.  All four women attribute the newfound diversity in the state's judiciary to the Missouri Court Plan, a nonpartisan system of appointing judges, rather than by political appointment or election.

First Women: Joan Lukey

At some point in virtually every working day, a thought passes through my mind -- sometimes grabbing hold and refusing to depart quickly -- about the women who have been my professional role models and about the impact that they have had upon my life.

A few weeks ago, in September, I was elected as the first woman President-Elect of the American College of Trial Lawyers, a spectacular group of trial lawyers in the U.S. and Canada whose ranks one can only join upon invitation.  Next year, I shall automatically ascend to the Presidency.  To head this group of the very best trial lawyers in North America is the greatest professional honor I could ever imagine  -- even trumping my selection as the first woman "Best Oral Advocate" in the National Moot Court Competition in 1974! (Was I ever really only 24 years old?)  The moment the gavel came down upon my election, I immediately thought of the one woman, more than any other person, who had made my ascent possible: Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.

Ms. JD Summer Book Series: Sandra Day O'Connor, By: Joan Biskupic

Sandra Day O'Connor: How the First Woman on the Supreme Court Became Its Most Influential Justice, By: Joan Biskupic

In this biography of Sandra Day O'Connor, author Joan Biskupic takes the reader through the life of O'Connor, from her early days on the Lazy B Ranch through her time on the Supreme Court.  Biskupic portrays O'Connor as a sharp-witted, intelligent, and lively member of the Supreme Court. 

As a longtime court observer and journalist, Biskpuic is able to reveal much about O'Connor's life due to the use of the justices' once private papers.  The author specifically pays attention to O'Connor as the first female justice on the Supreme Court.  In one anecdote, Biskupic recounts a story of when the Supreme Court Justices were discussing a case.  During the discussion, Justice Scalia spoke out against affirmative action.  O'Connor replied: "Why, Nino, how do you think I got my job?

Must Read: ABA Commission on Women - Oral Histories of Women Trailblazers in the Law

The ABA Commission on Women has compiled the testimonials of 17 remarkable women, including Professor Barbara Babcock and Judge Dorothy Nelson - both Ms. JD contributors, and Judge Betty Weinberg Ellerin - one of this year's Honored Guests at Ms. JD's Student Leadership Summit closing banquet. The transcripts make for a long but inspiring read, repleat with colorful anecdotes about the barriers to early women lawyers.

Profile & interview with Michelle Obama, lawyer and "super juggler" [Clippings]

Yesterday the Wall Street Journal profiled and interviewed Michelle Obama (J.D., Harvard Law School, 1988). Hat tip to John J. Edwards III at the WSJ Juggle Blog, who suggests reading the pieces for the perspective of a "super juggling" two-lawyer family with kids.

Must Read: The Counselors by Elizabeth Vrato

In 1991, Hillary Rodham Clinton in her capacity as President of the ABA's Commission on Women in the Profession established the Margaret Brent Award "to recognize some of the women who were crashing through the glass ceiling and changing the world." Elizabeth Vrato interviewed 18 recipients and collected their stories in her book, Counselors: Conversations with 18 Courageous Women Who Have Changed the World.

Lisa Richette, An Uncommon Judge [Clippings]

A classmate just sent me a link to Dick Polman's profile of Judge Lisa Richette in Obit Magazine, with the comment that Richette was "an amazing, inspiring, rebellious judge."