Sexism
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Small Law Firms
The Impact Of Sexism In Law Firms On... Men
The opportunity cost of a more just and equitable distribution of domestic responsibilities is that men work and function differently in law firms than before. -
Biglaw, Sexism
Are Lawyers Considered 'Tainted' If They Sue Their Firms?
Filing suit against your firm may do damage to your career. - Sponsored
Early Adopters Of Legal AI Gaining Competitive Edge In Marketplace
How to best leverage generative AI as an early adopter with ethical use. -
Banking Law, Wells Fargo
Ex-Wells Fargo Employee Was (Allegedly) Told: 'Go And Shake Your Skirt To The Farm Workers So We Can Get Some Accounts'
Just another day at Wells Fargo.
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 10.04.16
* “[G]reed is not a component of the law of fiduciary duty anywhere.” Donald Trump’s campaign may have claimed he has “a fiduciary responsibility to his business, his family and his employees to pay no more tax than legally required,” but legal experts found that assertion pretty laughable, seeing as there’s no such thing as a fiduciary duty to oneself. [DealBook / New York Times]
* An attorney who serves as an advisor to the ABA’s Standing Committee on Gun Violence says he accidentally shot and killed his wife when his gun went off after hitting a speed bump. He claims he had the gun out because they were in an area where Black Lives Matter protests had been held and was afraid they were about to be carjacked. [People]
* For the first time since the days of Abraham Lincoln, the Supreme Court opened its new term with a vacancy on the bench certain to be filled in the upcoming presidential election. Without the late Justice Antonin Scalia’s voice, the Court is left split along ideological lines, with four conservative justices and four liberal justices. [Reuters]
* According to Chief Justice John Roberts, “judges are not politicians, even when they come to the bench by way of the ballot,” but that doesn’t mean elected judges behave as judicially as they’re expected to when retention elections are near. In fact, “[a]ll judges, even the most punitive, increase their sentences as re-election nears.” [New York Times]
* The EEOC has filed a suit against Denver Law, alleging that female full-time professors are paid less than their male counterparts. Nine female professors work at the school full-time, and on average, they’re paid about $20K less than full-time male professors. Denver Law says it stands by its “system of evaluation and merit pay.” [Denver Post]
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Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.30.16
* According to a labor relations suit filed in 2012, Donald Trump allegedly wanted to fire female employees of Trump National Golf Club in California, who he didn’t think were pretty enough. The suit was settled without any admission of wrongdoing. [Los Angeles Times]
* Biglaw mega-merger alert: Word on the street is that London-based firms CMS and Olswang will join with international firm Nabarro for a three-way merger that would create a combined entity with more than 3,000 lawyers. If the merger were to go through, the firm would have more than $1.5 billion in revenue. [LegalWeek]
* According to the results of this survey, corporate counsel don’t think too highly of millennials when it comes to loyalty. Almost 70 percent of baby boomers and Gen Xers thought millennial lawyers in their legal departments would leave in less than five years, potentially causing “major problem[s]” in terms of turnover rates. [WSJ Law Blog]
* How many women serve as lead counsel in New York state and federal courts and in mediation and arbitration? That’s what a new study being conducted by the New York State Bar Association’s Commercial and Federal Litigation Section hopes to find out, because “[o]nce you have a diagnosis, you can get to a solution.” [New York Law Journal]
* “Something is going wrong at this bank, and you are the head of it. You should be fired.” Wells Fargo CEO John Stumpf may be forfeiting $41 million in pay, but lawmakers were still pretty darn upset with him when he testified before the House Financial Services Committee at a hearing yesterday. [DealBook / New York Times]
* Phil C. Neal, former dean of University of Chicago Law School, RIP. [UChicago News]
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11th Circuit, ATL Redline, Justice, Racism, Sexism, Women's Issues
Wherein I Defend That Facially Racist Hairstyle Decision From The 11th Circuit
But make no mistake, this was a racist decision. -
Gender, Women's Issues
Tracking 10 Years Of Women's Progress In The Legal Profession
The legal profession has changed dramatically since 2006, but the group that it's changed the most dramatically for has been women. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 09.14.16
* “Your complaint claims that it must speak for us because we are too afraid to speak for ourselves. That is not how we see ourselves and certainly not how any of us believes our clients and colleagues perceive us.” Some female partners at Chadbourne & Parke are speaking out against the $100 million class-action sex discrimination lawsuit that’s been filed on their behalf. We’ll have more on this news update later today. [WSJ Law Blog]
* Davis Polk is so desperate to improve gender diversity at the firm that it has launched an alumni rehiring program to give women who have opted to leave the firm to raise children a pathway back to an associate-level position. Participants in the program will earn $190K for one year, and may be offered a permanent job. [Am Law Daily]
* Say hello to Michael Gerstenzang, who was elected as Cleary Gottlieb’s new managing partner. He’s been with the firm for his entire career as an attorney since the 1990s, and he’ll continue to maintain his private equity and funds practice during his time serving as the firm’s leader, or rather, its “listener in chief.” Congratulations! [Legal Week]
* The House of Representatives approved the Financial Choice Act, a bill meant to roll back portions of the Dodd-Frank Act, including the Volcker Rule and the Durbin Amendment. Critics had this to say: “This bill is so bad that it simply cannot be fixed. It’s clear that this is a rushed, partisan messaging tool.” [DealBook / New York Times]
* Sixteen years after the alleged fraud took place, ex-AIG chairman Hank Greenberg is standing trial. Although he’s accused of orchestrating multimillion-dollar transactions, David Boies of Boies Schiller says “[t]his case is devoid of any admissible evidence that ties Mr. Greenberg to anything improper in either of these transactions.” [Reuters]
* Deborah Broyles, global diversity director at Reed Smith, RIP. [Big Law Business]
- Sponsored
Legal AI: 3 Steps Law Firms Should Take Now
If 2023 introduced legal professionals to generative AI, then 2024 will be when law firms start adapting to utilize it. Things are moving fast, so… -
Sexism, Women's Issues
The Pink Ghetto: When A Biglaw Partner Asks You About Prostitution During An Interview
What was this partner thinking? -
Law Reviews, Law Schools
The Most Valuable Lesson Of The Florida Dean Controversy
Even the lower-tier schools have their moments. -
Hillary Clinton, LSAT, Sexism
'You Don't Need To Be Here': Hillary Clinton's First Experience With Sexism In The Law
She offers a very personal reflection on what it was like to take the LSAT as a woman in the 1960s. -
Law Schools
There's A Lot More To This 'Dean Calling Out A Student For Sexism' Story
Sexism allegations are only one piece of the puzzle. -
Non-Sequiturs
Non-Sequiturs: 09.02.16
Ed. note: Due to the Labor Day holiday, we will be on a reduced publication schedule today, and observing the holiday on Monday. Hope everyone has an enjoyable, restful, and long weekend. * Fans are demanding that Los Angeles bill the Rams for increased police expenditures. So… where will the Rams threaten to move next year? […]
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Biglaw, Women's Issues
Use Your Sense Of Humor To Overcome Sexism In Biglaw
Have you ever used this method to overcome adversity? -
Sexism, Sexual Harassment, Women's Issues
The Pink Ghetto: If You Look 'More Like A Dominatrix Than A Lawyer,' You'll Get More Callback Interviews
We're examining the way women in law school and law practice are treated based on their age and the way they look. -
Sexism, Sexual Harassment, Women's Issues
The ABA Passed This Professional Conduct Rule To Keep Women Lawyers From Suffering In Silence
Will this end sexism in the legal profession? That's doubtful, but it's a step in the right direction. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.12.16
* I climbed the Republican presidential nominee’s building using suction cups and all I got were these lousy handcuffs: Stephen Rogata, the Virginia teenager who attempted to scale Trump Tower earlier this week, has been criminally charged with reckless endangerment and trespassing. [New York Times]
* “We adopt policy that will be beneficial to all lawyers — we don’t adopt things just to be politically correct.” Many attorneys are up in arms about the new ABA professional conduct rule which prohibits discriminating against and harassing colleagues during the practice of law, but it was something that needed to happen. [Big Law Business]
* Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid has predicted “with some degree of credibility” that Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton will nominate Judge Merrick Garland if she wins the White House this fall. He doesn’t think Clinton will “rock the boat” with a new pick for Donald Trump’s “minions” to block. [Associated Press]
* Given the fact that 36.4 percent of lawyers surveyed qualified themselves as problem drinkers, attorney-counselor Patrick Krill has opened a consulting firm that will cater specifically to law firms, providing assistance for lawyers dealing with addiction and mental health issues. If you need help, please seek it out. [Law.com via ABA Journal]
* Who are 11 of the most successful graduates of Stanford Law School? Two are SCOTUS justices, one is a former Ninth Circuit judge, one is the executive director of the ACLU, four are business executives (one of whom invented “revenge litigation finance” to sue Gawker into bankruptcy), and the rest are public figures in politics. [Business Insider]
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Sexism, Women's Issues
The Pink Ghetto: It's Never 'Appropriate' To Ask If You Can 'Milk' A Breastfeeding Law Firm Associate
Many women receive treatment like this regularly, and it's appalling. -
Morning Docket
Morning Docket: 08.08.16
* Today, the ABA will vote on a proposed change to the model rules of professional conduct that would prohibit harassment and discrimination by lawyers while practicing law. This may put an end to sexism in the law, but critics say it will chill zealous representation. [DealBook / New York Times; Seattle Times]
* “[I]f the polls continue to show that vulnerable Republicans are experiencing backlash, there will be greater momentum to give Garland a hearing during the lame duck.” If Donald Trump continues to return unimpressive poll results, some say that Supreme Court nominee Chief Justice Merrick Garland could receive a hearing after all. [The Hill]
* “Changing our state’s election laws close to the upcoming election … will create confusion for voters and poll workers.” Last week, the Fourth Circuit struck down North Carolina’s voter ID law, and now, North Carolina plans to ask the Supreme Court to allow that law to stand via stay in light of the upcoming presidential election. [Reuters]
* Who are fourteen of the most successful Harvard Law School alumni of all time? Would it surprise you that five of them are Supreme Court justices, two of them are U.S. presidents, three of them are would-be U.S. presidents, two of them are business magnates, and only one is actively practicing law as an attorney? [Business Insider]
* Julie Kay, intrepid reporter on the business of law, RIP. [Daily Business Review]
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Sexism
Bank Of America Has Never Heard Of This ‘Bro Club’ Of Which You Speak
Most people with brains understand that when lawyers used the phrase “Bro’s Club,” they were not referring to an official club that meets regularly.