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The Wage Gap Puzzle in the Legal Profession
By Anonymous • February 05, 2009 •Other Career Issues
The Glass Hammer has a piece on the wage gap for lawyers, The Wage Gap Puzzle in the Legal Profession: Why Women Lawyers Still Earn Less Than Men & What Can Be Done About It. Paying attention to the wage gaps for lawyers is useful because of the unique nature of the profession. First, the legal profession has experienced increased female participation for the last 30 years. Before 1970, few women entered the profession. Today, women make up more than 40% of law school enrollment and represent about a quarter of the legal profession. In addition, employers are well aware…
American Blogger Fired From Branch of UK Firm Over Racy Online Novel
By Staci Zaretsky • February 04, 2009 •Other Career Issues
Online novelist Deidre Dare, author of Expat, a "racy" story about life in Moscow, was forbidden by her firm to continue to publish her blog on or about January 17, 2009, "due to company rules," states an article by the United Press International. In a January 21, 2009, article by the ABA Journal, Ms. Dare stated that her blog was purely a work of fiction, noting that it did not involve lawyers or law firms, and stating explicitly that Expat is "most certainly not porn." Ms. Dare was subsequently fired from the firm on Friday, January 30, 2009, over the…
Women and Minorities Still Under-represented in Trial and Appellate Judicial Seats
By Staci Zaretsky • February 02, 2009 •Other Career Issues
According to a recent article in the ABA Journal, women and minorities are still under-represented in the trial and appellate judiciary seats of Arizona, Colorado, Florida, Maryland, Missouri, New Hampshire, New Mexico, Rhode Island, Tennessee and Utah. Today, white males are overrepresented on state appellate benches by a margin of nearly two-to-one. Almost every other demographic group is underrepresented when compared to their share of the nation’s population . . . . There are still fewer female judges than male, despite the fact that the majority of today’s law students are female, as are approximately half of all recent law…
Yale Law Women Sponsors “Opt Out” or Pushed Out? Conference
By Staci Zaretsky • February 01, 2009 •Other Career Issues
Yale Law Women will be sponsoring a two-day conference entitled "Opt out" or Pushed Out? on March 27-28, 2009. The conference will begin at 3:30pm on March 27th and end at 4:30pm on March 28th. “Opt Out” or Pushed Out will address the controversial phenomenon described by some as “opting out," the supposed trend of professional women leaving the workplace to devote their energies to family care-taking, full time. This conference will focus on the dynamics of the “trend” within the legal profession, inviting legal practitioners, professional students, and scholars to critically assess the structural, institutional, and societal reasons why…
Fashion Police Strike Again in BigLaw: 5th Year Associate Required to Undergo Makeover
By Staci Zaretsky • January 28, 2009 •Other Career Issues
In a recent article republished by The ABA Journal, attorney Tracey Batt recalls being embarrassed by the firm's request that she undergo a fashion overhaul. An office encounter with several superiors one day was her first warning that she not only was being arrested by the fashion police but was being sent to a full-scale rehabilitation program. "The firm had hired someone to take me shopping and to a high-end salon for a full makeover," she writes. "It was positively mortifying." Ms. Batt's original article was printed in New York Lawyer, and can be viewed here after free registration with…
A Sisterhood of Infighting?
By Anonymous • January 20, 2009 •Other Career Issues
A recent piece at the New York Times, A Sisterhood of Workplace Infighting, discusses the ways in which women undermine other women in the workplace. But while women have come a long way in removing workplace barriers, one of the last remaining obstacles is how they treat one another. Instead of helping to build one another’s careers, they sometimes derail them — for example, by limiting access to important meetings and committees; withholding information, assignments and promotions; or blocking the way to mentors and higher-ups. Why are we sometimes our own worst enemies?
Event Announcement - Hit the Ground Running: Practical Skills You Need to Succeed
By Ms. JD • December 16, 2008 •Other Career Issues
On February 7, 2008, the Law Student Project of the Women's Bar Association of D.C. Initiative on Advancement and Retention of Women is hosting a day-long practical skills session entitled Hit the Ground Running: Practical Skills You Need to Succeed. For registration information, please click on this link. This event will provide 3Ls with the tools necessary to hit the ground running when they begin legal practice. New research shows that this type of practical skills training is necessary because women lawyers have just 12 weeks to develop the relationships necessary for success when they begin their legal careers. Moreover,…
Part V in Series: A Junior Associate’s Networking Plan
By Peg Johnston • December 09, 2008 •Other Career Issues
Part V in my 7-part series is Pro Bono work. I, like most junior associates, took on a pro bono client early in my law-firm career. I took my first pro bono client/project based on typical factors: 1- a partner asked me to do it and 2- well, there is no second reason. Now, with a little bit of experience and having had the chance to work on a number of pro bono matters, I realize the networking and business development opportunity presented by carefully-chosen pro bono work. At the outset I want to clarify that pro bono work is…
Sue Magazine: For Women in Litigation
By Anonymous • December 01, 2008 •Other Career Issues
A new bi-monthly magazine, Sue: For Women in Litigation, is launching in January with the purpose of "demolishing stereotypes" and "acknowledging strengths." The cover story, written by Professor Laurie L. Levenson, Professor of Law at Loyola Law School, looks at what our world would look like if women wrote the laws. Other features include the 10 Top e-Discovery Hazards, Powerful Women in Litigation, and 5 Effective Themes for a Successful Trial. Sue is currently accepting subscriptions.