Sexism, Women's Issues

The Pink Ghetto: Horror Stories About Sexism In The Law

Do you have a law school or law firm story you’d like to see appear in The Pink Ghetto?

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Given the huge response to our last post about the terrible treatment that women regularly receive in the legal field, we decided to turn these horror stories into a recurring feature on Above the Law.

Welcome to The Pink Ghetto, a series where we take a look at some of the most appalling stories from one of the most sexist industries in the world: the legal profession. These are real e-mails and messages we’ve received from real readers.

When you see things like this happening, say something. Together, we can inspire the change necessary to stop this disturbing behavior from being so prevalent in the law.

I work at a small firm, and I had a baby in September. Along with offering no benefits other than a 401k, our firm did not have a maternity leave policy.

I was initially told no paid maternity leave. I told them that I would have to leave and find a new job after the baby because we rely on my income.

I was given 4 weeks no work, 4 weeks part time, all paid. In reality, I started working 1.5 weeks after the baby was born. I had to be in court 5 times in one week, 4 weeks after the baby came. And I started working full-time 6 weeks after giving birth. I billed over 180 hours during my “leave.”

I recently had a private performance review with the managing partner. He told me: “Great job, but we cannot give you a raise this year… since you had maternity leave.”

I understand this is illegal, but again, I need my job. It is so incredibly frustrating. I think women would be much more willing to remain loyal to their firms if more of them respected their women.

1. As a summer associate, at the firm holiday party I was asked by a partner, who proceeded to put his arm around my shoulder: “You’re a lesbian. Back in the day, we’d order strippers to the office around this time of year. I bet you would be in favor of that coming back, now wouldn’t you?”

2. As an associate, at a different office of the firm but again at a holiday party, I was asked by a partner to escort one of his clients around the office. That male client turned to me and said: “And maybe you’ll show me your office. We can close the door, and I can bend you over.”

No need for three strikes. I’ve left that firm now.

I’m a senior associate at a midsize firm. I had a call to take directly after a client meeting, and as I was walking down the hall from the conference room, I overheard one of the older male partners working on the matter assure our client (one of the partner’s close friends, from what I understand) that I was an “aggressive advocate” and that I’d stop at nothing to win his case.

When the partner thought I was out of earshot, he corrected himself by saying, “And by that, I mean that girl’s a crazy fucking bitch. I don’t think she’s too bright, but everyone else agrees those huge tits she’s got more than make up for it.”

It’s things like this that make me consider lateraling to another firm, but I’m so close to making partner it seems ill advised. Then again, why would I want to be a partner at a firm where my credentials are measured by my bra size instead of my accomplishments?

I attended a law school in the South. A tenured professor who taught several core classes never called on female students. Once, when one of my classmates got tired of waiting in vain to be called on, she interjected to respond to a question with the correct answer.

The professor rolled his eyes in disgust, grunted, said “no,” and then called on a male student, who parroted the same answer that had just been given. He praised my male classmate, and explained to my female classmate that she ought to study with the male classmate because he clearly had a better grasp of what was going on in the class than she did.

This went on for as long as I was a student there, but I’m not sure if he’s still teaching. I feel terrible for his students because they were deprived of a rich learning environment.

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I was in a settlement conference led by a magistrate judge in federal court. Those present at the conference were:

The magistrate judge – very old white man
My boss – older white man, senior firm partner
Me – Relatively young white woman
My client – relatively young white man
Opposing counsel – old white man, senior firm partner
Opposing second chair – relatively young white woman
Opposing party – relatively young white male

When the conference started, the magistrate judge gave a basic overview of the settlement process for our clients and explained that while each party may be passionate about his own case and believe he is in the right, going to trial is a risk. He said a jury looks at a case from a “reasonable man” perspective. He continued, “It’s a good thing it’s a reasonable man perspective, because who knows what a reasonable woman is.” Opposing counsel laughed and said, “Our client just got married, so he is learning that there is no reasonable woman.” The magistrate laughed as well and said, “There certainly is not.”

I could not believe this conversation was occurring and it felt so unbelievably humiliating. Worse, there was absolutely nothing I could do about it at the time.

Do you have a law school or law firm story you’d like to see appear in The Pink Ghetto? Please email me with “The Pink Ghetto” in the subject line (or find me on Twitter: @StaciZaretsky). You will be kept anonymous. Submissions are always welcome!

Earlier: Women In The Legal Profession Continue To Be Treated Like Crap

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