Arguendo: School's out (for summer)!

As my first year of law school draws to a close, I'd like to reflect on some of the themes that I'd hoped to address in Arguendo.

Race consciousness: Most of my classmates probably consider themselves to be socially aware and conscious of the ways in which race defines and orders our lives. I do remember two particular classes (both in my property course -- perhaps an unlikely candidate for such discourse) where my hopes for an insightful conversation were dashed. In the famed M'Intosh case, where the United States stripped native people of their lands, the conversation somehow veered into natural law and whether it is "natural" or construct belonging entirely to those whose legal traditions derive from merry old England. The undercurrent was that certain people (native Americans, in this case) have no natural law and have primitive social structures. The second conversation stemmed from a classroom discussion about the Fair Housing Act, and what one would need to show in order to make out a claim for disparate impact in facially-neutral housing practices. One particularly unreflective classmate suggested that such a claim could be made by showing that certain racial groups tend to have more children than whites, and are therefore more affected. Again, the undercurrent was one of disdain and superiority.

best Friends at the Bar

Law Graduates:  Leave the Cocoon Behind

I am feeling a little nostalgic today.  Yesterday, my daughter completed her last exam of law school.  The last class after four years!  She went to law school under the four-year plan because the job market was so bad most of the time that she was in school.  She chose to get good work experience during law school and go to school at night.  Good decision.  One year made a bit of a difference in the market, and she has a great future ahead of her.

So, I should be over the moon, which I am, but I also am full of other emotions as well.  Yes, I am the proud mother, the VERY PROUD mother.  But, I also have the emotions of a once-upon-a-time young woman law student.

I remember that graduation time can be a time of great celebration but also great insecurity for many law students.  If you are one of them, you need to acknowledge that insecurity, deal with it, and overcome it.  By all means, don't be surprised by it, and don't let it affect your time for celebration.

Best Friends at the Bar

The Law School Decision Tailored for Women

Recently, I was asked the following question by a young woman considering going to law school:

What do I need to think about or do before applying to law school to make sure that it is right for me?  

This young woman was concerned about the impact of a demanding career on her life, and she wanted some assurance that a law career would be a good fit for her.   My response to her also may be helpful to you.

First of all, I was delighted that she was giving all of this such serious thought before diving into law school.  Too often law school is a default response for recent college graduates, who cannot think of any other career paths that interest them.  Default decisions are not advisable in most situations, and they especially are not advisable when considering law school.  Law educations are very expensive, take three or four years of relentless dedication, may result in a lot of student loan debt, and the market for law graduates is not strong in this continuing weak economy.  So, the thoughtful approach is advisable, and this young woman seems to be on the right track.  Here is a summary of my answer to her.

Best Friends at the Bar

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY LAW'S WOMEN'S FORUM

I am so proud of my law alma mater, Georgetown Law.  Of course, I am proud for many reasons, but this week I am particularly proud after attending the Women's Forum held at the law school last Friday and hosted by some of my favorite folks there.  The Alumni Career Services Director Marilyn Tucker, the Director of Alumni Affairs Matt Calise, and  Associate Director of Alumni Affairs Sarah Myksin, joined forces and their considerable talents to produce a highly informative and successful Women's  Forum that is back by popular demand after four years.  Those of us who attended are lobbying for it as an annual event.

Best Friends at the Bar: Law School Women in Leadership Programs

POSTED ON JANUARY 20, 2012

Best Friends at the Bar: Law School Exams Are Upon You. Good Luck To All Young Women Law Students.

Editor's Note:  Ms. JD is excited to announce that Susan Smith Blakely, author of Best Friends at the Bar, will be speaking at Ms. JD: She Leadson October 5, 2012. This post originally appeared on the Best Friends at the Bar blog on April 23, 2011.

Here we are again with law school exams looming on the horizon.  I know this is not a favorite time of year for law students—-or for their families, for that matter.  As one significant other told me recently, “I always look forward to this time of year when I will be told not to talk to her or make a noise in the apartment for at least three weeks!”  Tongue in cheek, of course, but basically true.

You all dread exams, but I suggest that you be philosophical about it.  Yes, it is pure misery to face the library on a near 24/7 schedule, prepare those lengthy outlines, commit them to memory and then try to psyche out what the prof is likely to ask about.  Slave labor and tricks is what a lot of it seems to be.  But, when you peel off those layers of fatigue and misery and self-sacrifice—and the layer of guilt that might be there because you have procrastinated about this inevitable exam period for too long—-what you really find is preparation for the bar exam.  You can prepare early or late for that all-defining test, and you are better to prepare early.  Learn it well now and refresh your memory later.  It will be so much easier, and, in most cases, so much more effective.

Arguendo: Women and Law Journals

I overheard a conversation recently about the discrepancies between the number of women enrolled at my law school (~272) and the number of women on the flagship law journal (there are 107 staffers, and anecdotally, disproportionately few of them are women). 

I also heard some hypotheses as to why women are underrepresented on the main journal. Explanations included the following: (1) women don't perform as well as men academically, and poor grades hurt journal competition scores overall, so fewer women are selected; (2) law journals are seen as a vestige of Old Boys' Clubbery, and women feel unwelcome or out of place in that environment; (3) law review selection fosters competitiveness among peers, and women tend to shy away from these cutthroat situations; (4) women are less interested in the credentialing aspect of law reviews, and are more likely to engage in activities – such as clinics, externships, or even specialty journals – that demonstrate their commitment to particular topical areas.

In turn:

(1)   Women don't perform as well as men academically, and poor grades hurt journal competition scores overall, so fewer women are selected. Were this actually true, I would have much bigger qualms about an academic environment that systematically depresses women’s academic achievements to such a degree that they become virtually ineligible to participate in journals. Thankfully, this appears to be a non-starter. Based on (admittedly attenuated) evidence, women do just fine in the classrooms here, a fact that is born out by impressive career placements, clerkships, and teaching positions. The small sample size of my own section even suggests that grades, both impressive and underwhelming, are distributed across the class with little relation to gender.*

How a Single Mom Survives Law School

Editors Note: This post was submitted by Angela Cunningham, a Ms. JD Fellow and 3L at Northwestern Law School. The Ms. JD Fellowship is the result of partnership between Ms. JD and the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession. Fellows, who are rising 3Ls, are paired with an ABA Commissioner or Margaret Brent Award Winner as part of a year long mentorship. Applications for this year's fellowship close April 17, 2012 at Midnight.  For instructions on how to apply, click here.

As part of their fellowship, each Ms. JD fellow writes a post for the blog about an issue of importance to them. In addition to being a law student, Angela is a single mom and chose to write about her experiences to try to help others.  To learn more about Anglea and the other 2011 fellows, click here.

I was 20 years old when I had my son. I had just finished the first semester of my sophomore year and had plans to continue with my college education. Fast forward a few years, a bachelors and master’s degree and 4 years of work experience later, and I found myself wanting to be a lawyer. By this time, my son was 10 years old. I wasn’t sure how I would juggle single motherhood and law school, but I took a leap of faith, moved my son and myself to an apartment that was four blocks away from the law school, and went from there. Since I’m a few months away from graduating, I thought I would share some tips on how I managed to juggle two demanding roles.

Through Feminist Lenses: The Fairer Sex?

My 1L Contracts class has been eye-opening in several ways-- who knew you could be bound by a contract without signing your name? (Answer: probably all of you-- but not me until now!) But I also have learned a bit about something I didn’t necessarily bargain (har, har) for.

On the first day of class, my professor was cold calling around the room, asking our insights, like so many Contracts students before us, on poor old Hawkins and his hairy hand. Specifically, we were asked why simply refunding Hawkins the money he had paid for his surgery was not the best remedy. One classmate was called on. “It… wouldn’t be fair?” she said, voice wavering, face still flushed.

I knew what she was getting at. I waited for the professor’s response.

“It wouldn’t be…”—he made his voice high, feminine, girlish and wrinkled up his nose—“fair?” And then again, “What is fair?"

He then proceeded to describe the economic incentives of the case. In the margins of my classnotes, I scrawled: “more econ, less fairness, if called on.”

Why the high-pitched voice? Sure, the answer about “fairness” was vague, squishy, and lacked precision. But I think there’s something more going on here—it’s that in legal education, the concept of “fairness” is gendered and feminized.

The LLM Experience: My biggest critic or my ultimate saboteur?

With the semester ending and today being the last day of classes, things were hectic around the law school for me, especially with all my paper deadlines and my oral presentation. Yes, the horror!

If you read last post you already know that presenting is not my favorite task yet today I had to deliver oral arguments in front of a judge, counterparts and everything.

Aside from the fact that my client was in a difficult position and that the case was a bit complex, I decided to take the task with confidence and stoicism. Finally, in my head I can be as eloquent and graceful yet sharp as sitcom lawyers are. I was sure, I was prepared, I was a litigator, … until I got to the mock courtroom.

When I saw the room I started to freak out. My palms started to sweat. I got really nervous. Needles to say, it is not the first time that this happens to me. No matter how I trick myself into believing that I can present arguments embodying Alan Shore or Harvey Specter, I always break down in the end. The thing is, nobody notice it.

I arrived to the room. Freaked out. Got to my position. My co-counsel was first so I had some time to regroup and convince myself that I could do it. Is my turn. May I please the court, my name is and I am asking the court to grant this motion to dismiss. (pause)… awkward pause I should say. I was actually expecting the judges to interrupt me with questions but they did not. I keep going. Mr. Jenkins is not liable under corporate office doctrine because A… B… and, yes, regarding B asked a judge, what do you think about…. And I tried to listen carefully, understand the question. In my mind the answers were not good enough, not confident enough. Another question, another question. Another answer, another answer. I mumbled. My English betrayed me a couple of times. Answered B when I was supposed to say A. Left a couple of points of the case unaddressed. And ran to my seat when my time was up.

Now. What the judges saw: