Ways Around the Old Boys Club: Networking, Committees, Working Groups
By Vanessa Gonzalez-Vinas • June 11, 2007 •Mentoring and Networking
As a woman entering the legal profession I look forward to applying the skills I have learned both academically and socially in the workplace. I have had the opportunity to witness women in different situations succeed and I have also learned from past mistakes that I've made in various social settings with regard to gender equality. Historically, the legal profession is a field dominated by men, but that is slowly changing. There are certain advantages that men have because of this historical dominance and that includes the "ol' boys network" for finding jobs and being promoted. However, I don't want…
Opting out?
By Tiffany Bartz • June 11, 2007 •Curriculum and Classroom Dynamics
A feminist law student transfers from Boalt Hall to the University of Arizona, and she couldn't be happier.My law school career began at the University of California, Berkeley's Boalt Hall School of Law. My experience there as a woman was both positive and disappointing. Although sixty percent of my incoming class was female, only about ten percent of the students who spoke in class were female. I was encouraged that so many women were entering the legal profession, but discouraged that the gender disparity, at least in regard to verbosity during class, continued.I transferred to the University of Arizona at…
International Human Rights Lawyering: Can I do my own gender justice?
By Anonymous • June 11, 2007 •Nonprofits and the Public Interest
My first year of law school has taught me there is no law. At least, there is no law that is not first experienced by and filtered through the participants to a case or a suit. Each complaint tells a story of men and women who have suffered. Sometimes they lose money, other times rights, and in the worst of cases, the victims lose their dignity and lives. Women experience "The Law" much differently than the men who construct it, and their stories must be told.I study public international law. It is not sexy. The worst crimes are still being…
Why do we equate “being a good parent and spouse” with “not being a good lawyer”?
By Anonymous • June 11, 2007 •Balancing Private and Professional Life
When I first entered law school, I never thought that my gender would in any way impede my success in the legal profession. I had not previously experienced any educational discrimination regarding my gender, and so far the past has remained true throughout law school. I did well in all of my classes, voiced my opinions, and was treated equally regarding class discussions. However, a guest speaker who visited during the middle of second semester changed my view of the role my gender would play in my legal career after law school. The guest speaker's topic of discussion was what…
Reflections on glass ceilings
By Maria T. Schneider • June 11, 2007 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
"So, that's it... you hate men." Andrew stared down the table at me, challenging me with his words, his facial expression and his hand gesture."No," I responded slowly, "I don't hate men, I--" he jumped in and cut me off..."But I thought you were a feminist...???"As I reflect on what it means to me to be a female in the legal profession this conversation, and so many others like it, spring to mind. What does it mean to be a female in the legal profession? I suppose the simple answer is: the same thing it means to be a female…
In Memoriam of Veronica Mars
By Anonymous • June 11, 2007 •Women and Law in the Media
My favorite television show was cancelled a few weeks ago. As unlikely as it seems, my feelings about that occurrence at times mirror my feelings about being a woman entering the legal profession. You see, my favorite television show is "Veronica Mars." About a young, intelligent, persistent female detective, it is well written, realistic and, most of all, the one show on television with a strong, young, female role model. Its cancellation makes me question television's commitment to female viewers. Ironically, the CW Television Network replaced the show for part of its final season with "The Pussycat Dolls Present: The…
Demanding a more livable profession: why women who want it all aren’t the problem
By lawblogger • June 05, 2007 •Other Career Issues
Many of you likely saw the post by Peter Lattman on Law Blog last month on the MIT Workplace Center report: Women Lawyers and Obstacles to Leadership. As basically yet another study documenting women lawyers’ exit from the workforce, the study itself was less interesting to me than the comments after Lattman’s post. Among them, “Backwards” writes, “Something is backwards when it’s a ‘crisis’ for women to leave law firms in deference to their roles as mothers. I ask you: which job is more important, being a lawyer or being a mother?” Does this comment imply that working mothers are…
How to Play Your Cards
By Anonymous • June 04, 2007 •Other Issues
In my opinion, the most challenging thing about being a career woman is learning how to play your cards. I simply mean this: there are certainly stereotypes which precede women in the workplace -- submissive, peacemaker, courteous, docile, prim, proper, ladylike, etc. And it's true that there's a time and a place to correct such assumptions, but it's also true that there are times when such assumptions might work in our favor in terms of gaining an advantage for our clients. For example, a woman who is naturally abrasive, when representing a client in a particularly rural town in a…
BigLaw fit for women?
By K Hernan • May 29, 2007 •Firms and the Private Sector
I want to take a minute to go against the grain and ask the seemingly counter-intuitive question about women in the profession: Could Big Law be the best place for us to practice law?I was asked by a new acquaintance last week if I thought I could handle the "negative work environment" of the big firm. My response was that I think I actually prefer a negative work environment. More about that perhaps-unusual answer in a future post. For now, I'd like to explore why I think that big organizations are better for women. The idea for this blog was…