Unity Dow, First Female Judge of Botswana’s High Court, Also an Author
By Anonymous • December 30, 2008 •Other Issues
Unity Dow, Botswana's first female High Court judge, "considers that in writing novels she is 'reclaiming the voice' to speak out on human rights and women's issues." Dow has published three novels to date: Far and Beyon', The Screaming of the Innocent, and Juggling Truths. Dow's books have a strong focus on women's struggles for equality and justice in Botswana. Prior to being appointed to the High Court, Dow was a human rights activist and lawyer. In those roles, she helped to advance important laws concerning child support, rape and married women's property rights. Dow has also established a women's…
Equal Justice Works on Student Debt
By Anonymous • December 22, 2008 •Other Law School Issues
Ed. Note: The following post will be of interest to Ms. JD readers entering law school, attending law school, or those readers already working. Whether a student, an attorney at a private firm, or an attorney working for government or a public interest organization, the following links provide information to those readers about planning for student loan debt and the pay-back process. Several recent posts on Equal Justice Works discussing student loan debt caught my eye: Equal Justice Works and American University’s Washington College of Law have teamed up to launch an all-new podcast: The Student Debt Relief Series. The…
Ex-Law Student Leads Landmark Battle Against Sexual Harassment in Egypt
By Anonymous • December 17, 2008 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
"A recent study by the Egyptian Center for Women's Rights found that 83 percent of Egyptian women and 98 percent of foreign women experience public sexual harassment in [Egypt]..., including explicit comments, groping, men exposing themselves and assault," reports the Los Angeles Times. A 27-year-old former law student, however, has fought back by pursuing a complaint in a landmark case. The young woman, who was groped by a truck driver, was urged to file a complaint by her father, documentary filmmaker Noha Rushdi Saleh. The truck driver was sentenced, in October, to three years of hard labor. Although women are…
Does Looking Sexy Advance Your Career (and even if it does, should you care)?
By Anonymous • December 13, 2008 •Other Issues
Bitter Lawyer has a post by a very modest writer known at least to herself as "Law Firm 10" (yes, her nom de plume should give you a sense of where the article is heading) entitled Erin Andrews, Esq. Erin Andrews, TV sports reporter, is, according to Law Firm 10, a "(reasonably) stylish, non-overweight, attractive woman," and consequently "men love her and, surprisingly, even respect her," which Law Firm 10 credits as the reason that Erin Andrews' "career is blowing up." Question 1: why do we need men to love and respect us in order for our careers to blow…
Columbia Law School Graduate Caroline Kennedy in the Senate?
By Anonymous • December 09, 2008 •Politics and Government
The ABA Journal has picked up on an ABC News' The Note blog report that New York Governor David Paterson wants Caroline Kennedy, a 1988 Columbia Law School graduate, to replace Senator Hillary Clinton. Earlier this week, Robert Kennedy Jr. apparently also told a New York Times reporter, Jonathon Hicks, that "Caroline Kennedy would be the perfect choice if she would agree to do it." Caroline Kennedy, the only surviving child of President John F. Kennedy, if she were to take the position, would be filling the senate seat for which her uncle Robert F. Kennedy, served as senator. Additionally,…
New York Governor David Paterson Rejects All-Male Judicial Appointment List of Candidates
By Anonymous • December 07, 2008 •Politics and Government
On Wednesday, December 3rd, New York Governor David Paterson held a press conference where he critized a list of candidates for chief judge of the state Court of Appeals. "I don't accept," he said, "that there wasn't a woman in this state that was qualified to serve on the Court of Appeals." The list of candidates was issued by a state commission. Under state law, the governor technically must choose a candidate from amongst the commission's selection of candidates. By refusing to accept the commission's list of candidates, Governor Paterson is entering previously unchartered water. He has asked New York…
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.
Janet Napolitano: Obama’s Choice for Secretary of Homeland Security
By Anonymous • November 30, 2008 •First Women
Gov. Janet Napolitano of Arizona is President-elect Barack Obama’s choice for homeland security secretary. Napolitano received her Juris Doctor from the University of Virginia School of Law. After law school she clerked for Judge Mary M. Schroeder of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, and then joined Schroeder's former law firm, Lewis and Roca, where she became partner in 1989. Napolitano, a native of New York, rose to national prominence in 1991 when she was an attorney to Anita Hill, whose allegations of sexual harassment nearly derailed the Senate confirmation of Supreme Court judge Clarence Thomas.…
Hillary Clinton: The Trailblazer
By Anonymous • November 16, 2008 •First Women
Dubbing her a "trailblazing political pioneer," Hillary Clinton was named a 2008 Woman of the Year by Glamour Magazine. Although she did not reach the White House, Kati Marton writes that Hillary "won while losing." She continues to be a huge force on every topic she cares about, and her stature remains undiminished throughout the world. “Hillary has emerged as an international symbol of the endeavor to give globalization a more human face,” says Michelle Bachelet, the president of Chile. Hillary’s famous “18 million cracks” in the glass ceiling—the number of votes cast for her in the primaries—represent the closest…