Gender
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Sexual Harassment, Women's Issues
We MUST Stop Sexual Harassment In The Legal Profession
It's very important that we rid the profession of this disgusting, but all too frequent, occurrence. -
Crime, Women's Issues
Criminally Yours: Women's Work
Women are as good at criminal defense work as men and it's high time we get recognized for it and hired more often. - Sponsored
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Gender, Women's Issues
Female Attorneys Continue To Be Held Back By Gender Stereotypes
How can we stop gender bias in the legal profession?
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Biglaw, Minority Issues, Women's Issues
Women Of Color Face 'Silent Hostilities' In Biglaw Firms As They're Pushed Out Of Practice
They often don't speak about these issues because to do so would be a "complete career killer." -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.24.16
* After being called to court by the judge on his bankruptcy case for flaunting cash on Instagram, 50 Cent posted a photo of himself in a room filled with money. When reached for comment, the allegedly bankrupt rapper had this to say: “I don’t know what you heard about me, but this judge will write a benchslap about me.” [New York Daily News]
* Republicans on the Senate Judiciary Committee have said that they will refuse to hold any hearings on a Supreme Court nominee to replace Justice Antonin Scalia until the next President is sworn in on January 20, 2017. In fact, they won’t even give President Obama’s future appointee the courtesy of a meeting. Lovely. [WSJ Law Blog; New York Times]
* According to a letter from Justice Scalia’s doctor, the late jurist suffered from a number of ailments that could have contributed to his sudden death, like coronary artery disease, obesity, and diabetes, just to name a few. Coupled with the fact that he was a smoker, all of his conditions were “quite dangerous.” Rest in peace, Your Honor. [Associated Press]
* “If you look at the women-of-color research, the numbers are abysmal.” Minority women are disappearing from Biglaw firms, and research has shown that it may be due to the fact that they receive less compensation than men and white women, they’re denied access to assignments, and they receive fewer promotions. [ABA Journal]
* Good riddance to bad rubbish: Robert Hosch Jr., the founder and former managing partner of Butler & Hosch — the large, Florida-based firm that seemingly collapsed overnight, leaving hundreds of legal professionals jobless and 60,000 foreclosure cases in limbo — has surrendered his license to practice law in Florida. [Orlando Sentinel]
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Fashion, Women's Issues
What Women Should Do When They're Told They Don't 'Look Like' Lawyers
Women lawyers don't need to change the way they dress to change the way they're perceived by society. -
Media and Journalism, Women's Issues
Advice For The Hesitant Woman Writer (Part II)
If you share your opinion and find your own voice, you’re inevitably going to ruffle some feathers. How can you handle it? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 02.01.16
* Republican presidential candidate Senator Ted Cruz has pledged to “spend whatever political capital is necessary” to create the most conservative Supreme Court in our country’s history. Uh-oh! Voters better elect him, or else we’ll be “one justice away from … unlimited abortion on demand.” [ThinkProgress]
* A shakeup at the top? More than 20 Schiff Hardin partners — including the firm’s former managing partner, practice group leaders, and an executive committee member — are leaving to start their own firm thanks to an apparent leadership dispute. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg]
* On the seventh anniversary of his signing of the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, President Obama took action to address the gender pay gap. Companies with 100 employees or more must now include salary info on their annual EEO reports. [New York Times]
* Boston Marathon bomber Dzhokhar Tsarnaev’s legal team filed the first of what’s sure to be many appeals: They’ve asked the First Circuit to overturn his conviction and death sentence, as well as an order that he pay more than $101M to his victims. [Reuters]
* For some reason, people are highly opposed to the ABA’s proposal to lift its ban on law students receiving pay for their credit-bearing externship positions. Yes, let’s continue to make indebted students pay for their experiential learning opportunities. [ABA Journal]
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State Judges, Women's Issues
Judge Gets Slap On The Wrist For Disrespecting Women
This judge needs an attitude adjustment. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.21.16
* Criminal defense attorneys have been painted so poorly by Hollywood for such a long time that Dean Strang and Jerry Buting, the defense attorneys at the heart of Making a Murderer, “never expected to be viewed as hero[es] for just doing our job.” [WSJ Law Blog]
* All in a day’s work: When Ted Cruz wasn’t busy “[making] a lot of people really angry” during his Supreme Court clerkship, he was watching porn with Chief Justice William Rennquist and Justice Sandra Day O’Connor. [New York Times]
* It seems like Ted Cruz has made prospective Biglaw donors angry as well. Although Sullivan & Cromwell hosted an event in his honor, his campaign contribution amounts from other firms are “humdrum,” with only one Texas firm on his side. [The Careerist]
* Thanks to a $25 million dollar donation from an alumnus, Villanova Law will now be known as the Villanova University Charles Widger School of Law. Hopefully a new name will make people forget about the school’s scandal-plagued past. [Philadelphia Inquirer]
* In light of last week’s sexism sanction from a federal judge, the editors of the ABA Journal want to know if you’ve ever heard sexist remarks while working as a lawyer. We’d like to know too. Email us for inclusion in our series on the subject. [ABA Journal]
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Media and Journalism, Women's Issues
Advice For The Hesitant Woman Writer (Part I)
The majority of what the public reads is being written by white men; this is problematic because it deprives the readers of diverse perspectives. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 01.11.16
* According to the latest report from the Center for the Study of the Legal Profession at the Georgetown University Law Center, in a battle of the fittest, Biglaw firms may be heading the way of the dodo bird thanks to their refusal to evolve. [DealBook / New York Times]
* The members of the most prestigious sorority around — the women leaders of America’s Biglaw firms — dine together every few months to discuss the challenges associated with being in charge in a profession that’s essentially still a boys’ club. [Big Law Business / Bloomberg BNA]
* The makeup of the Supreme Court and its justices’ past, present, and future rulings continue to be a big issue on the Election 2016 campaign trail, but what really makes this a true shame is that many U.S. citizens couldn’t name a single justice if they tried. [CNN]
* Why do Supreme Court justices love quoting Shakespeare so much? A study conducted by Scott and Ami Dodson found that Justice Antonin Scalia quoted The Bard most often in opinions, and perhaps it’s because some believe he was a lawyer himself. [Economist]
* Steven Avery, the defendant profiled in Making a Murderer, has a new lawyer who hopes to prove his innocence. Kathleen Zellner joins the Midwest Innocence Project to fight for his second exoneration after an allegedly wrongful conviction. [NBC Chicago]
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Sexism, Women's Issues
Women In The Legal Profession Continue To Be Treated Like Crap
No wonder so many women feel like they aren’t respected as attorneys -- they're not.
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AI’s Impact On Law Firms Of Every Size
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Biglaw, Minority Issues, Partner Issues, Women's Issues
The Top 10 Geographic Markets Where Women And Minorities Succeed In Making Partner
Diversity and inclusion have a long way to go in our industry, but these markets show signs of progress. -
Biglaw, Women's Issues
4 Ways Law Firms Can 'Lean In'
At the current pace of progress, we are more than one hundred years away from gender equality in the C-suite. -
Biglaw, Women's Issues
6 Reasons For Gender Differences At The Top Of The Legal Profession
Why does the gender imbalance in high-level legal positions persist? -
Biglaw, Pregnancy / Paternity
Taking Paternity Leave Can Be 'Damaging' To Your Career
If paternity leave is on the table, should you take it? Maybe not, according to this associate. -
Law Schools, Women's Issues
Stat Of The Week: The Pill = More Women Lawyers?
In 1970, women made up 10% of first-year law students. Today, just under half of first-year law students are women. Is it because more women are using birth control pills? -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.15.15
* After closing arguments in the Dark Knight movie massacre trial, the case against accused shooter James Holmes now goes to a jury. He’s facing 165 criminal charges, and if found guilty, he may be sentenced to death. [NBC News]
* A federal magistrate judge ordered the NCAA to pay almost $46 million in legal fees and costs to lawyers representing student-athletes in their antitrust suit against the organization, and he even likened the case to Game of Thrones in his decision. This is a monumental win. [Reuters]
* Last night, SCOTUS denied a stay of execution for Mississippi death row inmate David Zink, even though his lawyers cited Justice Breyer’s recent death penalty dissent in Glossip with high hopes that the Court would act in their client’s favor. [National Law Journal]
* For your information, the gender gap in the legal profession extends far beyond pay and partnership prospects. According to a recent study by the American Bar Association, about two-thirds of all attorneys who appeared in federal civil trials were men [WSJ Law Blog]
* Going to law school in an underserved community that isn’t overflowing with lawyers is great for résumés, because the University of New Mexico School of Law is seriously bucking the trend of its students having difficulty finding jobs after graduation. [KOB 4]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 07.09.15
* According to Justice Jeanette Theriot Knoll of the Louisiana Supreme Court, the SCOTUS decision in Obergefell was not only “horrific,” but it was also “a complete and unnecessary insult to the people of Louisiana.” Gee, tell us how you really feel. [Slate]
* The First Church of Cannabis filed a discrimination suit against Indiana and Indianapolis, claiming laws against marijuana use and possession are infringing upon its members’ beliefs. We’re sTOKEd to see the outcome here. [Indianapolis Star]
* In case you missed it yesterday, a federal judge upheld the TTAB’s prior ruling on the Washington Redskins’ name, and ordered that the team’s trademark registrations be canceled. The team is going for a Hail Mary at the Fourth Circuit. [Washington Post]
* Ex-associate Elina Chechelnitsky’s sexual harassment and gender bias lawsuit against McElroy Deutsch, filled with allegations of better bonuses for men and creepy flirtations, was settled out of court. You go, girl. [New Jersey Law Journal via ABA Journal]
* Crowell & Moring recently dropped a suit against a former client that had allegedly failed to pay almost one million dollars in legal fees. There’s no word on whether the conflict was ever resolved, but if it wasn’t, it’s nice to see the firm isn’t hurting for cash. [Legal Times]