Women Lawyers as World Leaders

Last week I had a bit of an epiphany about the need for more women lawyers to stay in the profession.  I was scrolling through some recent news items on women leadership in preparation for a speech that I will deliver at a law firm later this week.

One of those news items caught my eye.  It reported the results of the recent Women in the World Summit held earlier this month in New York City.  The women who attended the Summit demonstrated, among other things, their understandings of alternatives to aggression and the importance of consensus in solving world problems.  They proved once again that women have unique contributions to make and that their value at the highest levels of government and diplomacy cannot be overstated.

From the Seat of Power: Heidi Finger

Heidi Finger began her career at the Department of Labor after graduating from Wellesley College, and returned as an attorney after attending American University's Washington College of Law. She has litigated for the department on many issues including employment discrimination, fair labor standards and equal pay. Heidi retired from the Office of Federal Contract Compliance Programs in 2005, after serving in numerous capacities for the Department.

How did you come to work for the Department of Labor? I think it was all a lot of serendipity. When I first graduated from college, there were many fewer opportunities for women at that time then there are now. I gravitated to the government as a place that was open to me. I started in the Wage and Hour Division, enforcing minimum wage and overtime. They had a program that was brand new called the Equal Pay Act (now EEOC enforced) which was at the time tied to the Fair Labor Standards Act in DOL. I was lucky that the program had the only woman supervisor in the whole Department of Labor. It was a great opportunity and it was meaningful to me.

From the Seat of Power: Emily Krause

Emily Krause graduated from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 2007.  She received her undergraduate degree is from the University of Virginia. (Go Hoos!)  While in college she studied abroad in Vietnam, and resulting in a whirlwind semester of learning and exploring.  The gutsiest thing she did was buy a bicycle and ride through the streets of Hanoi (anyone who has seen the traffic there, then you knows what she means).

How did you come to work for the NRC? What earlier experiences led you to your current position? The NRC hired me right out of law school. After an initial on-campus interview, I was invited back for a full day of interviews at headquarters.  A few months later the NRC’s Atomic Safety and Licensing Board Panel – an independent office of administrative judges that conducts trial-like adjudicatory hearings -- offered me a two-year position as a law clerk and I jumped at the opportunity.  When my two years was up, the Office of Commission Appellate Adjudication picked me up, and I’ve been there ever since.  I now handle appeals of licensing board decisions.

From the Seat of Power: Nicole Heiser

Nicole Heiser is an attorney practicing employment law in the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Office of the General Counsel, General Law Division. Nicole graduated from the University of California, San Diego in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Psychology.  She attended the Catholic University of America Columbus School of Law. She is a member of the bar in California and Maryland.  Following graduation, Nicole joined the Department of Justice Honors Program as an Honors Attorney for the Federal Bureau of Prisons practicing employment and labor litigation. Nicole has been in her present position with the Department of Homeland Security since April of 2007.

From the Seat of Power: Angelia Talbert-Duarte

Angelia Talbert-Duarte serves as the Deputy Chief of the General Law Division in the United States Department of Commerce. She received her Bachelor of the Arts degree in psychology from Salisbury University in Maryland, and spent one year after graduation working for a family law firm.  Angelia received her juris doctor from the Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law in 1996. After graduation, she served as a Motions Clerk for the District of Columbia Court of Appeals, and  subsequently worked for two years in the Office of the General Counsel for the United States Postal Service. In 2001, she took a position as an Attorney Advisor for the United States Department of Commerce, where she now serves as the Deputy Chief of the General Law Division.

What factors led you to a legal career with the federal government? After graduating from college, I spent a year working at a small family law firm. It was a woman-owned firm and I had three wonderful female attorney mentors there. Based on that experience, I decided to attend law school. I spent my summers working for a private firm as well as the government. Ultimately, I chose to work for the federal government because it presented an opportunity to work on a variety of legal issues.  I did not expect my federal career to expand in the way that it has, but I continued for two reasons. Foremost, I really enjoy my current e practice area. Second, there is a great work-life balance which I really appreciate. Even though the financial benefits are not the same as you might find at a big firm, and the hourscan be long, there is a great satisfaction that comes with the work.

From the Seat of Power: Mary Beth Richards

Mary Beth Richards is a 1982 graduate of the Catholic University of America’s Columbus School of Law. She currently serves as the Deputy Executive Director of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC). Prior to this post, Richards served with five different chairmen at the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) since 1984. She acted as the Deputy Chief of the Common Carrier Bureau and the Deputy Managing Director, among other appointments. Richards is best known for helping to modernize the agency, and improving its efficiency. In May 2011, Richards was presented with the Federal Communications Bar Association’s Award for Outstanding Government Service, for her work as a mentor and her commitment to consumer protection.

How did you decide on a public service career?  I worked for a law firm right out of law school, and then really from the beginning wanted to work for the government. In August, I will celebrate my 28th anniversary with the government. I have worked in three agencies, and loved all of them.

From the Seat of Power: Ann Navaro

Ann Navaro is an Assistant Division Counsel with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in Cincinnati, Ohio. She graduated from Wellesley College with a degree in Latin American Studies. Ann attended the University of  Cincinnati College of Law. Ann previously served as a Trial Attorney in the General Litigation Section of the Environment and Natural Resources Division of the US Department of Justice from 1992 until 2006.

How did you select your law school? What factors initially influenced your career trajectory?  My interest in environmental issues was rooted in personal experience up through law school. I had spent a lot of time in the Canadian wilderness and was active in outdoor activities in high school and college. My interest in human rights was linked to my major at Wellesley, which was Latin American Studies.   I originally moved back to Cincinnati to see if I wanted to live there permanently, and also because the Cincinnati College of Law had a human rights institute. As happens with many people, I met my husband while I was in law school. He talked me into moving to Washington, D.C., because he wanted to work as a lobbyist. I thought that, given my interest in environmental and human rights issues, I could probably find something to do in the legal field there.  Also, Cincinnati wasn't quite right for us at that stage in our lives.

How did you find your first job at the Department of Justice? What did your work entail there?  When we first moved, neither of us had jobs yet, so it was an interesting time. It's not necessarily the career path I would recommend, but I took a job as a contract attorney through a firm that did support work for the U.S. Department of Justice.  The job ad asked for someone with an interest in wetlands. I had done an internship with the City of Truro on Cape Cod, working on their wetlands issues. So that was the hook. It was kind of luck and an accident-- I was in the right place at the right time. I started working in one of the Environmental Division offices at DOJ, and I loved the litigation work. I was eventually hired as a regular DOJ attorney, where I remained as a litigator in the environmental division for 14 years. I became a senior trial attorney handling high profile, national environmental cases.

From the Seat of Power: April Randall

April R. Randall is an attorney in the D.C. Office of the Attorney General. She attended the University of Baltimore School of Law, and upon graduating in 2006, clerked from the Honorable Sherrie L. Krauser, Circuit Court of Prince George’s County. She previously served as a staff attorney for the Sexual Assault Legal Institute. April graduated from Wellesley College in 2003, where she majored in economics and minored in psychology.

What factors led you to attend law school?  Before going to Wellesley I knew I wanted to go to law school. My mother was a paralegal at my Uncle Hal’s law firm in Washington, DC and I spent a lot of time there. I can’t really put my finger on it, but it set off a spark in me. Also, I am a very analytical and enjoy being intellectually challenged on a regular basis.

Although I knew I wanted to an attorney, I did not know what type of law I wanted to practice. Initially, I thought I wanted to practice corporate law in light of my economics major, but I quickly learned in law school that it was not for me. I have always been drawn to women’s issues, as well as those involving children. Therefore, after my clerkship, I joined the Sexual Assault Legal Institute.

What was your experience at the Sexual Assault Legal Institute?  It was a lot of fun, if you can say that. My colleagues and I got along splendidly and the director was great. It was a wonderful learning experience for a new attorney. I wanted to litigate and I did a lot of that at the Sexual Assault Legal Institute.

With that being said, it was very emotionally draining. My cases were horrific and very upsetting. The first case I had involved a teenager who was sexually assaulted by classmate. It was shocking! However, I knew that I was actually making a difference, especially since most of the clients could not afford legal services. I was an advocate for them and that is what meant the most to me.

An Interview with Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan

Lisa Madigan is the Illinois Attorney General. In 2002 Attorney General Madigan became the first female general elected to serve as Illinois Attorney General. She was elected to her third term in 2010. Before her election, Madigan served in the Illinois Senate and worked as a litigator based in Chicago. Prior to becoming an attorney, she was a teacher and community advocate. She also volunteered as a high school teacher in South Africa during apartheid. She has a bachelor’s degree from Georgetown University and her J.D. from Loyola University Chicago School of Law. 

Attorney General Madigan recently spoke with Ms. JD founding member and McGuire Woods attorney Jill K. Russell about her legal career. 

What made you decide to go to law school?

Okay, it’s a really long answer unfortunately.  I grew up around lawyers but truth be told it really wasn’t until I had spent a year teaching and living in South Africa after college and then coming back from that experience and working on the west side of Chicago, working with kids and law enforcement in particular to keep youth engaged in education and away from gangs that were involved in the drug trade that you know I looked up and having seen what people were going through in apartheid era of South Africa because all of my students and their families were Zulu. They couldn’t vote, couldn’t live where they wanted to live, repressed and censored, so seeing that is horrible immoral government.  You know seeing people, you know right here in my own city, still struggling without opportunities.  Not getting a good education, not having access to child care, quite frankly working with kids who have never even been downtown.  And you say, “hey, if I had a legal degree…a law degree…I’d be able to help more people pursue social justice issues…so, to me, that was the motivator.  I mean I had always kind of thought about going to law school but didn’t really get serious about going to law school until what I saw, what was for me, what a law degree would enable me to do.

Is that why you stayed in the profession, too?

Yeah, I mean I couldn’t have ended up with a better job and as attorney general, that’s what you’re doing, you know, 99% of the time, right?  You’re protecting people--some of the most vulnerable people among us…women, seniors and in this economy, the consumers…the home owners and you know it’s physical fraud, it’s financial fraud, it’s very satisfying work to be able to do.  So, yeah…it worked out.

What particular challenges do you think you face being a woman in the profession?

You know, it’s hard to say…I am one of a handful of elected female attorneys general in the country.  And, I am the senior most woman attorney general in the country probably by far at this point, but you know I’m not sure what challenges…I mean in some ways, in some ways you’re more accessible to people, so there’s a benefit to that.  But, I’m not sure what, I mean, I wouldn’t know what it would be like not to be a woman...what the challenges are…I certainly get taken seriously.  So, I’m not sure.

From the Seat of Power: Melanie Krebs

Melanie Krebs is a trial attorney in the U.S. Department of Justice Antitrust Division, Transportation, Energy, and Agriculture Section. Melanie graduated from Wellesley College, and spent time working as a paralegal and traveling in Portugal before law school. She attended the University of California Hastings School of Law. Following graduation, Melanie completed a year-long clerkship at the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces, a civilian appellate court which reviews appeals within the military justice system. She was subsequently hired by the Department of Justice in her current position.

What factors led you attend law school, and ultimately to the Department of Justice?  I had intended to move to California because I had a job as a consultant in the wine industry in Healdsburg, but when I got to the Bay Area, I completely changed course. I decided moving to rural California was not a good fit, and I moved to San Francisco to take a job as a legal assistant for a nonprofit. So even though I had not planned to attend law school after graduation, I enjoyed my job at the nonprofit and decide to apply to law school.

My current position is completely different from the clerkship I did after law school. The clerkship was all criminal military appeals. Now I do civil antitrust work, looking at mergers and anti-competitive conduct, mostly within agricultural industries. There is very little subject matter overlap. However, clerking was great in terms of getting experience writing, being able to draft opinions, and learning to think in a certain way.

What exactly does your current job entail?  I am a trial attorney for the Antitrust Division in the Transportation, Energy and Agriculture Section. We look to protect competition and consumers. I do a lot of merger review, and we try to make sure that firms are not able to engage in anti-competitive practices. My title is Trial Attorney but most of what I do is investigative. I don't really go to court despite my title; it's primarily investigative in nature.

Do you feel that your job affords good work/life balance?  I had a daughter about six months ago was on maternity leave for about three months, and I have been back for three months. I think the federal government is a good place to be if one has a family.