We recently welcomed a new year and with it women lawyers have reached an important milestone. For the first time, women make up the majority of associates at U.S. law firms (50.3%), according to the National Association for Law Placement (NALP), which recently released its Report on Diversity in U.S. Law Firms.
The number of women lawyers in the legal profession is growing, albeit slowly. Women currently make up 39% of attorneys in the U.S., up just 5% in 10 years, according to the ABA. However, that may be changing. In 2023, for the first time, women associates outnumbered men at U.S. law firms (50.3%).
We have compiled ways that Illinois lawyers can recognize these important issues and celebrate Law Day 2024 in person and virtually. We encourage you to learn more about the Law Day theme alongside your Illinois legal community.
The jury was swift last week as it handed down a highly anticipated verdict against Ellen Pao after just two days of deliberation. Pao, a former partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, sued the Silicon Valley venture capital firm alleging gender discrimination when she worked there, and that the firm denied her promotion opportunities […]
As a millennial, I often hear the same complaint from my fellow millennial women lawyers: “Why is it so hard to find a female mentor?” Digging deeper, there are often two complaints. The first: there aren’t any female partners at my firm. The second: OK, yes, there are some female partners at my firm, but […]
You’ve all seen the cringe-worthy legal ads on TV, billboards, at the movies, in your Twitter feeds. Hire Lawyer X who is the most aggressive, obnoxious, etc. Many would say the ads are in bad taste. Should this be allowed by the lawyer ethics rules? Is it? Turns out the answer to these questions depends […]
Should civics be taught in U.S. schools? Steven Spielberg might say yes. In his new Cold War-era movie, “Bridge of Spies,” Tom Hanks plays a real-life insurance lawyer, James Donovan, who takes on a very unpopular pro bono case defending a Soviet spy. At one point in the movie when Donovan is challenged by a […]
It’s my favorite time of the year, Oscar season. I love both movies and awards shows so I have watched (and rewatched) every Oscars since, likely, birth. Now perhaps you’ve seen the hashtag around the Oscars this year, #OscarsSoWhite. Does that sound familiar? If it does, then it’s because it’s the exact same hashtag we […]
Lawyers are paid and trained to skate as close to rules as possible. Clients want lawyers to bless their actions as not violating any laws. In litigation, there seems to be a prevailing belief that whoever narrowly—or barely—complies with rules has an advantage. Maybe the rules shouldn’t allow that gamesmanship. Amendments to the Federal Rules […]
Two years ago, I was sitting in my living room, binge watching Netflix, when my phone rang. I looked down. It was my mother. Now this was surprising as my mother and I, living in two different countries, have an almost exclusive texting and Facetime relationship. I answered the phone quickly, worrying that some disaster had […]
For those of you who work in a courthouse or go to court on a regular basis: have you ever stopped to consider the administration of justice from the perspective of an average person visiting the courthouse for the first time? Perhaps someone visits to file a name change petition or deal with a traffic […]
