Former law firm associate Catriona Collins sued the law firm that had employed her, Cohen Pontani Lieberman & Pavane, claiming that she was passed over for work assignments and ultimately dismissed on the basis of her gender. Last week, the ABA Journal reported on Judge Kimba Wood’s Order denying (in part) the firm’s motion for summary judgment… Continue Reading
Category Archives: Women and the law
Subscribe to Women and the law RSS FeedA host of great articles in the latest issue of The Complete Lawyer
Posted in Coaching for lawyers, Leaving the practice, The practice, Women and the law, Work/life balanceThe latest issue of The Complete Lawyer features the theme “What’s Your Exit Strategy?” and includes articles that discuss exits including retirement, job changes, leaving the law, setting up a plan to ensure that your clients will be protected if you’re suddenly unavailable, and more. Here are a few highlights: Rob Hockett offers simple advice on… Continue Reading
What do women lawyers really want?
Posted in Women and the lawIf there’s one question that I hear more than any other, it’s probably “What do women lawyers want?” I’ll admit that the question usually causes me to sigh, because the truth for me and, I suspect, for many others is that women lawyers want pretty much what any lawyer wants: a strong practice, good clients,… Continue Reading
Wednesday Shorts 3/5/08
Posted in Leadership, Quick hits, Women and the law, Work/life balanceI almost titled this post “The Bad Blogger,” because that’s how I feel! I’ve been away from Atlanta (my primary home) for all but 3 scattered days since mid-January. I’m accustomed to travel, but doing this much of it all at once is truly a challenge. One thing I’ve learned is to be a little… Continue Reading
Monday Shorts 2/25/08
Posted in Quick hits, Women and the lawBlawg Review #148 Hosted by Brett Trout of BlawgIT, Blawg Review #148 is devoted to Internet Memes, complete with the requisite YouTube videos. Who could resist this? While considering a theme for this week’s Blawg Review, it struck me that lawyers do not spend as much time aimlessly meandering the web as would, for instance,… Continue Reading
An 18-year path to partnership? Maybe…
Posted in Women and the law, Work/life balanceThere’s an interesting (quite short) article today titled, Law Firms Let Women Forge Their Own Way. The story centers on a Gabrielle Higgins, who recently made partner at Ropes & Gray and was “pleasantly surprised” to discover that 7 of the firms 10 new partners were women. And if that 70% figure isn’t striking enough,… Continue Reading
Empowerment and Leadership: Tried and True Methods for Women Lawyers
Posted in Book reviews, Women and the lawEmpowerment and Leadership: Tried and True Methods for Women Lawyers is a 50-page booklet produced by the ABA Commission of Women in the Profession based on focus groups interviews with lawyers in over 100 law firms and corporations. The project was clearly directed toward prescribing steps to correct the gaping discrepancy between female representation in… Continue Reading
Tuesday Shorts 12/11/07
Posted in For new lawyers, Quick hits, Women and the law, Work/life balanceSurvival tips for new associates: David Dummer, an associate in the Dallas office of Weil, Gotshal & Manges, has written an article with 10 survival tips for new associates. Although the tips are not particularly revolutionary, they set a good framework for new associates and might serve as a reminder for more advanced lawyers. Some… Continue Reading
Women’s business development efforts
Posted in Client development, Women and the lawSteve Seckler of the Counsel to Counsel blog recently posted the Women Attorneys Business Development Study, prepared by Dr. Harry Keshet of Keshet Consulting. The report is 48 pages, and it should be required reading for women lawyers. I found one of the most encouraging findings to be the following. Predictors of High Originations … Continue Reading
Tuesday shorts: 10/9/07
Posted in Quick hits, Women and the lawA few things from the last week that deserve to be highlighted… Bruce MacEwen of Adam Smith, Esq. offers a fascinating interview with Bruce Stachenfeld of Duval & Stachenfeld, a New York-based firm that’s made the news recently with its unusual compensation plan. The firm pays first-year lawyers $60,000 and calls them “opportunity associates.” The… Continue Reading
Conscious disregard of value: women vs. the legal profession
Posted in Women and the law, Work/life balanceOne of the things I most enjoy about the blogosphere is the free exchange of ideas and thoughts. Recently, Stephanie West Allen and I have been discussing a trend reported by Canada’s leading newspaper The Globe and Mail in an article entitled “Office Stress Ruining Women Lawyers’ Lives.” (With thanks to Gerry Riskin of Amazing Firms,… Continue Reading
Top firms for women or leaving the law: it’s all about perceived satisfaction
Posted in The practice, Women and the law, Work/life balanceAs announced in a flurry of law firm press releases yesterday, Working Mother Magazine and Flex-Time Lawyers LLC have announced the top 50 firms for women, as measured through “groundbreaking programs to help women strike a better work/life balance and climb to the top” and “implementing penalty-free flex schedules and mentoring, networking and leadership programs.” Large firms… Continue Reading
Adam Smith, Esq.’s take on “The Women Partner Problem”
Posted in Women and the law, Work/life balanceI’m a fan of Bruce MacEwan‘s Adam Smith, Esq. blog, which studies the economics of law firms. Today, I’d like to call attention to a recent post that suggests a response to the issues of work/life balance. It’s probably news to no one that although men and women graduate from law school in roughly equal… Continue Reading