From the Frontlines: Sexism Persists
By jessie kornberg • March 19, 2014 •Careers, Firms and the Private Sector, Issues, Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
When we first started Ms. JD, one of the most powerful realizations was that there were pervasive, persistent currents of gender bias influencing all our law school experiences. Not until we all started sharing our experiences with one another did we realize it. Only after checking in with other women at other law schools did the subtle differential treatment many of us were experiencing seem connected to our gender. Prior to that, the odd look from a professor was just an off moment, the assumption that I was an administrative assistant not a law student at the tax seminar was…
Are Female Attorneys More Responsible Members of the Profession?
By jessie kornberg • November 02, 2012 •Other Career Issues
We spend a lot of time on this site talking about the places in the legal profession where women are underrepresented. Well today I happened to glance through the November issue of California Lawyer and noticed the section of the magazine which described all the disbarments and other disciplinary actions taken by the California State Bar Association or California Supreme Court in 2012. Of the 117 disbarments, suspensions, and probations, only 6 (roughly 5%) were of women attorneys. Normally, when people ask me why I am so determined to advance women to positions of parity in the profession I talk about…
And Many More ... (Happy Birthday Ms. JD!)
By jessie kornberg • March 06, 2012 •Women and Law in the Media
Six years ago, when we first launched the site, each Ms. JD board member chose a tag line for their profile that was supposed to express why they wanted to be a part of Ms. JD. Mine was, "because I want an old girls club."Ms. JD has become that and I am so grateful to be a member. I am grateful because we really do have an incredible network that delivers precisely the kinds of benefits and support I was imagining when I used that phrase, but it's not just another version of the old boys club. The whole point of…
Pulling Back the Curtain on the 16%
By jessie kornberg • December 28, 2011 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
It's easy to get complacent about women's progress in the profession. It's easy because on the one hand things aren't so bad - after all you look around and see amazing women filling the junior ranks of the profession ready for advancement and success. And it's easier than not being complacent, because nothing ever seems to change anyway - we've been at the same 16% of equity partners, professorships, GCs, etc. etc. for more than a decade.And then you have lunch with a friend. And you hear about blatant acts of discrimination inflicted with no other purpose but to curtail…
UT Dean Sager Resigns Amid Allegations of Gender Discrimination in Faculty Compensation
By jessie kornberg • December 12, 2011 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Last week, Dean Larry Sager was asked to resign as the Dean of the University of Texas Law School. The law school community is in uproar over the allegations of a gender wage gap at the school and the disclosure of a series of forgivable loans from the Law School Foundation to various UT Law faculty, including Sager. Professor Stephanie Lindquist has been named interim dean. I don't know any more about the facts of this case than you will after having read the linked articles, so I'm in no position to comments on the merits of the allegations. But here are…
Reaching Gender Parity in My Lifetime: A Lesson in Basic Arithmetic
By jessie kornberg • December 04, 2011 •Firms and the Private Sector
Ahh, December. 'Tis the season to be announcing new partnership classes. And bemoaning the persistent gender gap in positions of leadership in our glorious profession.As you've no doubt heard, women represent a distinct minority of women partners at large law firms. And their scarcity serves as a proxy for the issues facing women in every sector of the profession, where women have represented a static below-20% in virtually every category of leadership (tenured faculty, federal judges, general counsel, etc., etc. ).Every year new partnership classes are announced. Sometimes they include women. Sometimes they include lots of women. Sometimes they do…
Gender Differences at the Deposition
By jessie kornberg • November 06, 2011 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
I participated in my first deposition last week. (At least) two totally harmless differences between the men and the women in the room were apparent.Unimportant gender difference number one: men have a different bathroom. The practical implication in a deposition where the propounding attorney is a woman and the deponent and opposing counsel are both men? Whenever things are getting interesting the male counsel defending the deposition can ask for a bathroom break, visit the restroom with his client, and spend 15 minutes in there coaching him on how to answer.Unimportant gender difference number two: men always announce they need…
Remembering Frank Kimball
By jessie kornberg • October 30, 2011 •Writers in Residence
Over the weekend the Ms. JD family received the sad and shocking news that Frank Kimball passed away. Frank joined our community as a speaker at Avenues to Advancement, Ms. JD's 2009 conference in Chicago. Since then, Frank was unendingly generous in his support of Ms. JD, writing blog posts, hosting events, touting Ms. JD to the hundreds of law students he spoke to each semester, and, of course, sharing lots and lots of pinot noir. For me, Frank was a cheerleader both personally and professionally at a moment when I needed it. Working from the west coast for a national…
Who Do You Expect Will Discriminate Against You?
By jessie kornberg • May 16, 2011 •Sexism, Sexual Harassment, and Other Forms of Discrimination
Above the Law's David Lat recently posted the news of a discrimination suit brought by an associate against Ropes & Gray. Before sharing the details of the suit, Lat introduces the firm:Of course, many top firms have excellent lawyers. The Ropes attorneys were also… nice. They were polite, and genteel, and not difficult to deal with (in contrast to some of their co-counsel). They met my expectations of what lawyers from an old white-shoe firm should be like.In light of this overall Ropes & Gray “niceness,” it’s a bit surprising to see discrimination claims lodged against the firm.Nice people don't…