Professor Judith T. Younger, First Woman
By Judith T. Younger • March 13, 2007 •First Women
I’m delighted to be here in such distinguished company. I’m not sure that being a “first” is really as notable as being a “best” but in the spirit of this endeavor, I will admit to being the first woman dean of Syracuse College of Law. I may have been the first woman dean of a law school in New York State as well. I’m pretty sure that I was the first dean of any sex whose resignation from the deanship was covered on the front page of The New York Times. (N.Y. Times, April 8, 1975). I resigned because I…
Waste Not, Want Not?
By jessie kornberg • March 13, 2007 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
One of my female law professors told me that out of her group of female friends from law school (Harvard, Class of 1996), she’s the only one still working. At first I was just depressed. I mean why am I busting my butt when chances are I’ll probably just abandon the law in ten years time? My second reaction was to be pissed—not at social forces or institutions that influence these women’s life choices, but at these women! These women were gobbling up precious spots at Harvard Law School, which could have gone to other women who actually planned to…
Be Open to Change
By Deborah R. Schwarzer • March 13, 2007 •Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
By Deborah R. Schwarzer, Of Counsel, GCA Law Partners LLP I’m reluctantly realizing that I’m ancient. But with age comes history, experience and, with luck, perspective. When I attended the University of Chicago Law School in the early 80’s, women made up about 30% of the class. We weren’t pioneers; those in earlier classes served in that role. We weren’t all alike. And we didn’t have to wear those horrible blouses with the gigantic self-bows that women just a few years back had had to wear (I have incriminating pictures of my sister, also a J.D., in one of those).…
Gender and Study Groups
By Anonymous • March 10, 2007 •Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics
In the tumultuous life of a 1L, masking a sense of fashion and femininity should be the last thing on a woman’s mind. If women were equal to men, and their ideas held in the same esteem, perhaps it would be. It seems that despite a nation-wide effort to trump the pestilence of a patriarchal society, women are scrutinized more frequently than their male counterparts. Although during the first semester, I tried to hold onto my belief in the existence of gender equality, I could not keep the sexist reality at bay for too long. Like all 1Ls, I spent…
Dean of Yale Law School condemns ‘despicable’ sexist attacks on students
By Harold Hongju Koh • March 09, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
On March 7, The Washington Post ran a story about several of our students who have been personally targeted on an internet message board. While this message board purports to be about law school and law school admissions, it contains numerous sexist, racist, homophobic and other derogatory comments by anonymous posters. Some of these comments include the names and personal information of our students and other individuals, along with many false and hurtful assertions. The Law School and the University are deeply concerned about this situation and have been working on a variety of fronts to try to assist our…
A shift in focus from the “opt-out” to the “opt-in”
By Kalo Kagathia • March 09, 2007 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
Both Lawjobs.com (via law.com) and NYLawyer.com have recently reported new programs at Hastings and Pace University which are designed to bridge the gap and ease re-entry into the legal market for professionals who have taken a year or more off of work. Not surprisingly, most of the individuals enrolling in such programs are women who have taken time off to have/raise kids. Considering women remain the primary caregivers when it comes to the children in most families, and in the grand scheme of things - this whole "break" of sorts is a fairly new concept as our society slowly evolves…
Role Models and Moms Judging Moms
By Peg Johnston • March 07, 2007 •Other Career Issues
There is a post and string of comments on www.wsj.com/juggle about working moms and whether or not they are role models for their children. While the post is insightful it really throws the question open to the readers. The comments are the nitty gritty of that discussion. Here is my take. Moms choose to work for a variety of reasons. For some it is necessity in the sense that they need the money. For others it is more personal, more sensitive and may have to do with their need to connect with their adult colleagues, their relatively short amount of…
Profile: Judge Kim Wardlaw
By Amelia Hansen • March 07, 2007 •Guest Bloggers and Profiles of Women in the Law
Wardlaw Cut a Fast Track to Center of 9th Circuit By Amelia Hansen Daily Journal Staff Writer February 08, 2007 PASADENA - A turn of turtles inhabits Kim Wardlaw's chambers. Sparkling and vibrant, the small figurines appear on the judge's bookshelf and desk. They are unlikely visitors in a world filled with legal documents and books. "They remind me to slow down, to be thoughtful," Wardlaw said. "They remind me that everything doesn't have to be done today." In Aesop's terms, Wardlaw is certainly more hare than tortoise. Appointed to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals by President Clinton…
When Law Students Attack
By Jill Filipovic • March 07, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
This article in the Washington Post and this post by Ann Althouse, both of which are about students on law school message boards posting pictures and nasty comments about female law students, struck a nerve -- because I'm one of the women they're talking about, and my pictures have been posted on their site. The WaPo article is about AutoAdmit, a law school-oriented message board that is, essentially, a massive toilet of racism and sexism (not linking to the site -- google if you're interested). I've written about AutoAdmit before, when I found out that they were posting numerous pictures…