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Women Lawyers 'Speak Up' On RBG’s Birthday

We can’t think of a better way to have celebrate RBG’s birthday. Can you?

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Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg (Photo by Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

What do RBG’s birthday, The Ms. JD annual conference, and my Dad’s birthday have in common? Well, this year, they all happened on March 15th. If you are unfamiliar with Ms. JD, it is a nonprofit organization that is dedicated to the success and support of women law students as well as aspiring and early career women lawyers. That’s right. There was a women lawyers conference, hosted by a nonprofit whose sole mission is to support women lawyers, on the patron saint of women lawyers’ birthday. What could possibly be better than that?

This year’s conference was held at the University of Pennsylvania Law School and co-hosted by the Penn Law Women’s Association, and the theme was “Speak Up.” The conference featured numerous panels, discussions, keynotes, and breakout sessions. I had the pleasure of being a panelist on the Alternative Career Roadmap panel and of attending several other sessions. Here are a few of the highlights and my takeaways from this fabulous event.

The first workshop, “Finding your voice and using it,” given by Gail J. Cummings, of Gail J. Cummings Consulting, LLC, truly encompassed the conference theme. Gail encouraged us all to speak up for ourselves in our careers and gave concrete tips on how to do so. For example, we should eliminate unnecessary “I’m sorrys” from our vocabulary and know and demand that we be paid our value. My biggest takeaway from this session came in the form of a reminder of something I already knew: true courage is not about being unafraid but being afraid and taking action anyway, despite your fears.

Next up was the first breakout session. Attendees had the option of three panels: Law Firm Life: How to make the most of your billable hour as an advocate for your clients and yourself; The Alternative Career Roadmap: Use your degree in a field that fuels your passion; or The Public Interest Path: Advocating for yourself while working for the common good. I spoke on the Alternative Career Roadmap panel along with Monsurat Adebanjo, Director of Business and Legal Affairs at Brown Girl For The Arts Media, and Cheryl Solomon, Founder of Row House Yarn.

Together, we fielded questions about the trajectory of our careers, why we decided to branch out from the practice of law, how we ensure our financial security, and what practical steps someone should take when opening a business, among many other great questions. I was surprised to learn that several of the attendees were still law students and were considering opening businesses completely unrelated to the legal field. It was inspiring to hear the stories of my fellow panelists and of the aspirations of the the attendees. My biggest takeaway from this panel was that a law degree can serve you well anywhere you take it — including an online knitting company!

I knew the lunchtime Fireside Chat with E.J. Borrack, General Counsel, The Stilwell Group, Jannie Lau, Chief Legal Officer, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary, InterDigital, Inc., and Lisa Matson, General Counsel & Senior Partner, Penn Capital Management was going to be, well, on fire. However, as I don’t practice law, I wasn’t sure it would be relevant to me. Well, I was definitely wrong about that. These women are so badass and have had such interesting and challenging careers that it was impossible not to take away some great information. Some of the topics they spoke about were the balance (or the illusion of balance) in the context of law firms and in-house positions, the importance of women in management positions ensuring pay-equity for other women, and navigating a promotion.

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My biggest takeaway from this panel came from Jannie Lau. She shared a story about hiring a woman to work as a VP under her, and HR asked what she makes in her current position. Jannie told HR that it didn’t matter what the new VP makes now, rather they should base her compensation off of the job that she is being hired to do. Jannie explained that this is an important way to ensure women are being fairly compensated for the work they are doing. Her message clearly not only resonated with me, but the entire audience as well, who immediately broke out into applause.

Additional workshops and panels that I did not have the pleasure of attending covered topics such as personal branding, women working in tech, advice from women working as in-house counsel, women with legal careers in the military, negotiating for career success, and a conversation about what men can and should do to make the legal profession more inclusive with a few male allies.

In between the scheduled events, there were a few “inspiration breaks” where women shared their personal stories and, of course, a few RBG quotes. Overall, it was a wonderful day of women lawyers networking, connecting, and supporting each other. I can’t think of a better way to have celebrate RBG’s birthday. Can you?

Kerriann Stout is a millennial law school professor and founder of Vinco (a bar exam coaching company) who is generationally trapped between her students and colleagues. Kerriann has helped hundreds of students survive law school and the bar exam with less stress and more confidence. She lives, works, and writes in the northeast. You can reach her by email at info@vincoprep.com.

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