Law Students

AmLaw Litigator of the Week: Dianne Elderkin of Woodcock Washburn

Posted on July 05, 2009
After a year of naming Litigators of the Week, The American Lawyer selected their first female litagator to receive the honor: We can finally confess something that's been bugging us for several months. We've been picking Litigators of the Week for a little more than a year, and we've never selected a woman...

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending July 2, 2009

Posted on July 02, 2009
Brabbit Gets Women Lawyers' Top Honor Are Women in Politics Still Routinely Demeaned in the News Media, or is it All About Sarah Palin? Second Female Managing Partner Takes Helm at Caroll, Burdick & McDonough Orrick Gives the Boot to Lockstep-Associate Model EpsteinBeckerGreen Recognized for Commitment to Diversity Four New York Firms Slide Off A-List Another View: In Praise of Law Firm Layoffs Munger Tolles Tops AmLaw's A-List, Once Again read more

Law School Application Numbers Down for Women

Posted on July 02, 2009
The most recent statistics show that number of women applying to law school has dropped.  A Spring 2007 ABA article addressed this trend, noting that from 2005 to 2007 there was a 12.7 percent drop for women despite, as the Wall Street Journal noted, a recent increase in law school applications...

Top Michigan Court Rules that Judge has the Power to Ban the Muslim Veil from Courtroom

Posted on July 01, 2009
Michigan Rule of Evidence 611 has just been revised, giving judges the power to determine what witnesses should wear in their courtroom.  Recently, a divided Michigan Supreme Court approved this rule, despite protests from the American Civil Liberties Union that the rule should contain an exception for religion attire...

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Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending June 26, 2009

Posted on June 26, 2009
The (Happy) Female Breadwinner Female Lawyers Lose Out in Crunch Dem Women in Senate Push for Sotomayor; So Does a Liberal Law Group Work-Life Approach Encourages Women to Come Back On the New Howrey Program: A Chat with Chairman Bob Ruyak Judge Arnette R...

Putting on Heels

Posted on June 24, 2009
While getting ready this morning, I listened to a piece on NPR, Workers Dressing Better To Hold On To Jobs: The recession is changing the workplace in many ways. Financial Times columnist Lucy Kellaway says many workers are kicking it up a notch with dressier work clothes and more formal e-mails...

A Code of Ethics for Female Attorneys

Posted on June 24, 2009
Recently, I heard Adrienne Suarez deliver her Code of Ethics for Female Attorneys. Favorite excepts include: Number 4: Given the choice of being a mentor or a tormentor to a younger, less experienced female attorney, I actively choose to be a mentor...

The National Association of Women Lawyers 2009 Annual Awards Luncheon

Posted on June 23, 2009
The National Association of Women Lawyers (NAWL) will be holding its 2009 Annual Awards Luncheon on Thursday, July 23, from noon to 2 pm, at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York. The honorees include: Marcia Greenberger, Founder & Co-President of the National Women's Law Center; the General Mills Legal Department; LexisNexis; Holly Fujie, President of the State Bar of California; Nicole M...

I know a great au pair that needs a 6 month placement

Posted on June 23, 2009
I know an au pair from South Africa that is looking for a replacement family since her "host mom" just lost her job and cannot afford her.  I believe that she arrived in the US in January so she has until this coming January on her current visa...

Ms. Manners: Blogging from the Dinner Table

Posted on June 22, 2009
This weekend everyone's favorite style mavens at the New York Times weighed in on the propriety of smartphone interuptions during business meetings. As in "is it ok to check email on my iPhone during a potential pitch from a potential contractor?" To which I say, "SERIOUSLY?!?!" I mean how is there any debate here...

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending June 19, 2009

Posted on June 19, 2009
Sotomayor Nomination Focuses Attention on Belizean Grove Women Lawyers of Color Guide 'Sisters, Daughters' to Successful Careers Justice Ginsburg Cheered Over Sotomayor Nomination   Males Judges Advise Women Lawyers to Lose the Distracting 'Ally McBeal' Look Is Sonia Sotomayor Mean? Court Watch: Sotomayor's Dissents -- and Temperament read more

Sotomayor & the Belizean Grove: Are We Really Ready to Move Beyond Exclusivity?

Posted on June 19, 2009
Over the weekend, Judge Sotomayor resigned her membership in the Belizean Grove in anticipation of her Senate confirmation hearings. Ever since I heard the news, I've been trying to decide what I think about her membership and the negative reaction to it...

Finding a Safe Harbor Mentor

Posted on June 17, 2009
Ed. Note: The following article, by April A. Christine, comes to Ms. JD from the Los Angeles Lawyer. barristers tips BY APRIL A. CHRISTINE Los Angeles Lawyer March 2009  Finding a Safe Harbor Mentor  A PERFECT STORM OCCURRED in October 1991 when three storms combined into one off the coast of Gloucester, Massachusetts...

Bar Exam Tips

Posted on June 16, 2009
This is the time of year when people, some annonymous, some not, start posting their advice for studying for the July bar exam on various web sites such as Ms. JD.  I still read a number of these websites -- the same ones that I read when I was in law school...

ABA Nominations: light on the ladies

Posted on June 15, 2009
13 = nominations for ABA leadership under consideration 4 = number of female nominees (and three of the four are at-large, as opposed to Board of Governors spots) 0 = number of women of color nominees (actually all the nominees, both male and female appear to be white) So what is going on at the ABA? read more

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending June 12, 2009

Posted on June 12, 2009
Martha Minow Chosen as Harvard Law School Dean Sotomayor: In Her Own Words, on Tape The Palin Paradox: Women More Likely to be Elected in Male-Dominated Districts Adams: 'Wise Latina' Line Had a Point, and Not a Racist One A Study in Why Major Law Firms are Shrinking Odd Woman Out Get a Life?  Not If You Want to Be One of the Nine Women Dominate Higher Education at Every Degree Level; the Female-Male Degree Gap Grows Sotomayor Says She Was 'Perfect Affirmative Action Baby' read more

Ms. JD Public Interest Summer Scholarship Winner: Christina Calloway

Posted on June 12, 2009
Ms. JD is pleased to feature our second winner of Ms. JD's Public Interest Summer Scholarship, Christina Calloway.  Here is her winner essay submission: ?You?re getting old. You should get married soon before you are too old to have children.? At 26 years old and finishing my second year of law school, my grandmother said these words to me...

Ms. JD Proudly Announces the Winners of Ms. JD's Public Interest Summer Scholarship

Posted on June 10, 2009
Ms. JD is pleased to announce the two winners of our Public Interest Summer Scholarship: Sarah Mazzochi and Christina Calloway!  These women truly exemplify commitments to public interest law through their work, studies and life stories.  Thank you to all of those who sent in submissions - we received so many thought-provoking pieces...

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending June 5, 2009

Posted on June 05, 2009
Munger Tolles & Olson Breaks Ground on Innovative Child Care Center Debate on Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew IP Litigator Recognized for Work on Behalf of Women Lawyers Latina Lawyers Defend Sotomayor's 'Wise Latina' Speech Littler Mendelson Tops Ranking for Female Lawyers Sotomayor and that Dangerous Word "Better" read more

If there are enough women making enough money, maybe they won't notice they're all making less than the guys?

Posted on June 05, 2009
Last week, the Labor Department released data indicating that women are now receiving more higher education degrees at both the college and graduate level: Associate's Degrees: 167 for women for every 100 for men. Bachelor's Degrees: 142 for women for every 100 for men...

Conservative Radio Show Host Liddy on Sotomayor: "Let's hope that the key conferences aren't when she's menstruating..."

Posted on June 04, 2009
Conservative radio show host G. Gordon Liddy made a series of inflammatory comments regarding Sonia Sotomayor's nomination to the bench earlier this week.  He initially criticized her for making "racist comments" and then moved on to denigrating her gender, stating: "Let's hope that the key conferences aren't when she's menstruating or something, or just before she's going to menstruate...

SuperWomen JDs and What You Can Learn From Them: Featuring Katherine B. Edwards of Alexandria, Virginia

Posted on June 04, 2009
Bio for this week's Superwoman JD: Katherine B. Edwards has been practicing law for over twenty-five years and is known as one of the best energy attorneys in Washington D.C.  Kathie earned her J.D. in 1981 from the University of Texas and also earned a Masters degree from Memphis State University...

How Female Judges Decide Cases

Posted on June 04, 2009
Neil A. Lewis discusses the question of how female judges decide cases in his piece Debate on Whether Female Judges Decide Differently Arises Anew: Sandra Day O?Connor, the first woman to serve on the Supreme Court, is often quoted as saying that a wise female judge will come to the same conclusion as a wise male judge...

Taking a Break

Posted on June 01, 2009
Enough in these rough economic times, Anna Stolley Persky reports that taking a vacation is still a good thing. The necessity of relaxation doesn?t change based upon the economic climate,? says Manning, a principal at Manning Sossamon. ?The only difference may be how lavish that retreat is...

Making Waves

Posted on June 01, 2009
A recent New York Times piece, The Waves Minority Judges Always Make, looks at the persuasive force of minority justices. The first woman on the court, Justice Sandra Day O?Connor, often says that wise old women and wise old men reach the same conclusions...

The Secret of the Women in Black Robes

Posted on June 01, 2009
What do Sandra Day O'Connor, Ruth Bader Ginsburg, and Sonia Sotomayor have in common? Well, besides the obvious? They were all young fans of one fictional teenage super-sleuth: Nancy Drew. In a delightful New York Times article, Nancy Drew and the Secret of the 3 Black Robes, Mary Jo Murphy reports that all three women admired the young, courageous heroine: It doesn?t take a big clue to deduce that there?s something between Supreme Court women and Nancy Drew of River Heights, Somewhere, U...

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending May 29, 2009

Posted on May 29, 2009
Ed. Note: This week's Roundup focuses on the spectrum of media coverage of Sonia Sotomayor's Supreme Court nomination.  The articles highlighted below constitute by no means an exhaustive list of relevant articles. A Brief History of Presidential Spin on Female Court Nominees from O'Connor to Sotomayor Debate Over Who Sotomayor Is a Sensitive One Sotomayor Disclosure Form: Despite Gambling Win, Supreme Court Nominee of Relatively Modest Means A Latina Judge's Voice: Judge Sonia Sotomayor's 2001 Address to the 'Raising the Bar' Symposium at the UC Berkeley School of Law Legal Realism Informs Judge Sotomayor's Views read more

"A Latina Judge's Voice" & Embracing Bias

Posted on May 27, 2009
Much has been made of Judge Sotomayor's pointing out that she views cases with a perspective that reflects her gender, ethnicity, and experiences. To an extent her critics seem to have hit on something that should bother us all: an admitted bias in a judge...

Book Review: Pioneering Women Lawyers

Posted on May 25, 2009
A choice excerpt from Pioneering Women Lawyers: From Kate Stoneman to the Present: ... I had the occaison to look at my personnel file and there was my resumé, complete with several notes stapled to it. I couldn't stand it - I had to look at what someone thought was important enough to attach to my resume when I was interviewed...

Ms. JD Weekly Roundup: Week Ending May 22, 2009

Posted on May 22, 2009
Male Judges Advise Women Lawyers to Lose the Distracting 'Ally McBeal' Look Female Lawyers Fight Sexism The Woman's Lawyer: Leadership in Women's Issues Earns Kemp Smith Partner Kudos Supreme Stats: 106 White Males Among 110 Justices Federal Judges Grouse About Lawyers' Courtroom Attire Survey: Even in Bad Economy, Women Lawyers Move in Search of Work-Life Balance read more

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