Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending January 18, 2013

Are you registered for the BIGGEST event Ms. JD has ever hosted?  Connect with hundreds of women around the country from the comfort of your home city, hear ABA President Laurel Bellows answer YOUR questions, and network locally.  It's pretty much the best thing since sliced bread.  Check it out today!

Dealing with your first semester grades?  Here's some tips on how to maximize what you take from them, good, bad, or just ugly.

Women's Initiatives in Law Firms - Why They Should Be Driving Women's Business Goals via The Glass Hammer

Congratulations to the Winners of the 2013 Chambers Women in Law Awards!

Young Lawyers Need to Realize Work Isn't Like School (there are no points for participation)

Heads Up SoCal Ladies: Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg is  speaking at TJSL on February 8th

Ms. JD President, Katie Larkin-Wong, recently moderated a panel for the ABA Young Advocates Committee on success tips for business development. The Committee recently published a summary of the tips! 

Despite a seemingly endless string of bad numbers coming out on women in law, Susan Smith Blakely is upbeat about 2013

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending January 11, 2013

In case you missed it, we've got viewing parties ALL OVER THE COUNTRY for Ms. JD's Event with ABA President Laurel Bellows.  To learn more about Building Her Power Base: A Conversation On Leadership And Entrepreneurship With ABA President Laurel Bellows or to register to attend any of our viewing parties or the live event, click here.

Looks like Obama could use some "Binders Full of Women"

In other Gender Gap News: Women breadwinners are still doing most of the housework

Some Good Advice from Cheryl Bachelder, CEO: Don't wast time trying to fit in, you can't and you don't need to

Headed to law school or know someone who is? Did you see our new joint project with the Levo League (@levoleague)? We're breaking down everything you need to know from deciding if law school is right for you to preparing your application and choosing your school! Catch the first piece in the series here.

Although we've apparently avoided the fiscal cliff, Chief Justice Roberts wants you to know the Federal Judiciary is doing everything they can to cut their costs.

Congrats to the MANY Ms. JD sponsor firms who have groups named to the Top Practice Groups of 2012 by Law360.

Facing the winter blues as you return to work or school?  Check out Forbes's 12 Tips for Staying Productive during the winter months.  Let us know if you implement them or if you have other favorites.

Our friend at Curvy CEO has a special week-long session on dressing for your body shape.  While we don't believe that clothes define the woman we do know how looking great can give you an extra boost of confidence.  So scroll over for some new tips!

And in the vein of latest depressing study to reveal discrimination: ATL is covering a new Yale study that shows women are discriminated against based on their weight.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending January 4, 2013

Happy New Year! We tend to shy away from fashion advice here at Ms. JD, but we would be remiss not to mention all the great holiday sales still going on for women's business attire!

Now for the good news: from Warren Buffett, Why Women Will Save the U.S. Economy

AmLaw Reports on the Depressingly Low Numbers of Women in Law Firm Management (subscription required)

As these problems persist, one thing is clear: tiered partnership structures discourage the advancement and promotion of women in to law firm leadership. (More on this from Vivia Chen, with subscription)

For the first time since 1994, Congress declined to reauthorize the Violence Against Women Act

And in legal ethics news, California offers an opinion on whether your Facebook and Twitter posts may violate attorney advertising rules.  All we can say is proceed with posting about work at your own risk! (That's probably a good rule of thumb anyway!) 

Jezebel asks, "Why can't breastfeeding get the same medical attention as erectile dysfunction?"

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending December 28, 2012

Happy New Year to Ms. JD Readers Everywhere! We hope this holiday season has brought a chance to relax and plan for a 2013 marked by accomplishment and new ambitions.

Congratulations Alice Nkom, Cameroon's first female attorney and Africa is a Country's Woman of the Year!

What are we teaching our children? Gender-based toy marketing is back with a vengeance.

This week in institutionalized discrimination: the Iowa Supreme Court has condoned the firing of an "irresistibly attractive" employee.

Forbes 2012 List of the Youngest Most Powerful People. And they're all men. Fail.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending December 21, 2012

Last week's tragic shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary in Newtown, Connecticut has launched a national debate about gun control and mental health policy in the United States.  Sadly, this editorial from National Review Online injected an ugly gender thread into the conversation.  Our take: The editorial is both unfortunate and inaccurate.  However, it cannot undermine the bravery and heroism of women like Victoria Soto, Dawn Hochsprung, and Mary Scherlach who died protecting their students.  Our hearts go out to the victims and their families.      

In other news, South Korea elected its first woman president this week - Park Geun Hye. And speaking of first women, congratulations to Senator Barbara Mikulski, the first female chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee.

One woman lit up Twitter this week to ensure reporters stopped ignoring the women in their stories about the Obama "game changers" from the campaign! The outcome is pretty amazing and may surprise you. (As an added bonus, the story is a who's who of twitter handles to follow if you think of yourself as a Politico!)

There seems to always be a little drama around final exams and this year is no different.  Check out this story from Brooklyn Law School.

For your career: The one tool everyone needs to be successful in business (and law is a business!) from FastCo. 

Are you an in-house woman or do you know one?  This is a game-changer for women in-house!  Cathy Lamboley offers six small group coaching sessions through the Center for Women and the Law.

Forbes announced the Law & Policy 30 Under 30 List.  Check them out and let us know who would be on your list!

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending December 14, 2012

When will there be enough women on the Supreme Court?  When there's 9 women! (according to Justice Ginsburg!)

There's a new club in the UK trying to combat the issue of women's under-representation in partnership - it's called the 30% club.  We'll see if it makes change.

Need to make an impression in the job market?  Try these Six Tips for Improving Your LinkedIn Profile.

Want to retain women in your firm?  The higher the number of female supervisors, the higher the probability of promotion for women and the less likely it is that they will leave according to research from UPenn.  So, let them lead!  Join our conversation about women's leadership on twitter by using the hashtag #SheLeads.

A reader alerted us to this piece that's a great read: Backwards and In Heels: Why Women Make Better Attorneys.

Congratulations to Ms. JD Sponsor Munger Tolles & Olson on their new partnership class - 75% of whom are women.

The Apps to Empower contest is seeking apps to inform, educate and women and girls. Enter your idea today!

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending December 7, 2012

Congratulations to Jackie Lacey, LA's first black D.A.!

Reporting from the WILL Academy in San Francisco: "Women's committees have pigeon-holed women lawyers into conversations about family and balance. It's time to fly the coop and focus on business!" - Pat Gillette

Why the focus on business? Because the wage gap persists. As Victoria Pynchon said, "If you ask for a 30% raise, all you're asking for is pay equity."

A former partner has sued Greenberg Traurig for gender discrimination.  The case is notable for having been found to have reasonable cause by the EEOC. That and other implications are discussed by the attorney who brought the suit, David Sanford.

Wendy Goffe, trusts and estates attorney on how working as a Nordstrom's stock girl during the holiday shopping season prepared her for a rigorous legal career.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending November 30, 2012

There's still time to register for next week's WILL Academy in San Francisco!

Want to help set the legislative priorities for the ABA's lobbying body? Click here to share your thoughts.

The New York City Bar Association's new numbers on women in law firm leadership reaffirm the reasons for advancing women to executive and compensation committees.

Enrollment is down at law schools across the country. Is it the economy? Or maybe all the bad press about law school grads struggling in the economy?

Have you finally stopped talking about the Anne-Marie Slaughter article on "Having it All"? Well then it's time to catch up on what she's been writing on the topic since then.

Despite the election of many more women to Congress in the last election, it looks like there won't be a single woman committee chair in the House of Representatives.

Don't forget to support your favorite legal blogs in this year's ABA Blawg 100!

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending November 16, 2012

California Women Lawyers is looking for a new Executive Director - this is a great opportunity for a recent grad interested in non-profit management. Interested applicants can send resume and cover letter here.

You don't want to miss this clip of Justice Sotomayor on Sesame Street.

Finals are right around the corner - get some last minute sage study tips from this Law School Toolbox twitter chat.

The NYC Bar Association reports "stagnation" in diversity in big firms. But when you read the report you'll think that a kind analysis since what the numbers reveal is not stagnation but decline.

Ms. JD Weekly Round-up: Week Ending November 9, 2012

So obviously the big news this week was the election. Whatever your politics we hope you'll celebrate the achievements of women on Tuesday night: Mazie Hirono became the first woman Hawaii will send to the Senate, as well as  the Senate’s first Asian-American woman member. Elizabeth Warren became the first woman elected to the Senate from Massachusetts. Tammy Baldwin became the first openly gay woman elected to the Senate.  Tammy Duckworth became the first disabled woman elected to the House. New Hampshire became the first state to be led by an all-female Congressional delegation. Tulsi Gabbard become the first Hindu elected to Congress. Hooray for women leaders!

Take some crisis management lessons from the response to Hurricane Sandy

We've criticized NALP for their failure to accurately report the number of women partners in large law firms, but this week NALP gets a pat on the back for resisting law schools' efforts to hide unflattering post-graduation employment information

This week U.S. News published its annual issue on the best law firms.  There's a great article on best practices for advancing and retaining women (at pg 34 here), but perhaps the most notable thing about the issue is that there isn't a single article about or by a person of color. Best? No way.

A departure memo on the reality of the work-life hampster wheel strikes a nerve

The Kindle edition of Kate McGuinness's book, Terminal Ambition, is free today through Saturday at Amazon: Click here if you are interested! If you don’t have a Kindle, there are free Kindle Readers available for computers, phones, and tablets here.