Women’s Entrepreneurial Plaintiffs Lawyers Network - wepln

11/20/2021

It’s frustrating how women are judged for their appearance constantly.

‘What does your outfit have to do with your ability?’ one follower wrote

05/05/2021

Like the struggle and sacrifices women must make to excel in all areas of their legal careers, this comes as no surprise:

The expectation that law students complete multiple clerkships before making it to the Supreme Court is just another hurdle for women and those that take on law school debt.

05/04/2021

A multitude of factors, including compensation systems "rife with gender bias" and hypercompetitive environments that erode collegiality, can cause experienced female attorneys to consider leaving the practice of law, according to a new report published Monday.

The research is the latest in a series of reports commissioned by the American Bar Association examining the systemic barriers women continue to face in the legal industry. It also comes on the heels of a separate ABA survey released last week finding that the COVID-19 pandemic was causing more women to consider working part-time or leaving the profession altogether.

https://www.law360.com/classaction/articles/1380753/pay-gaps-isolation-drive-veteran-female-attys-from-law?nl_pk=86560c96-eba4-4fb7-8a5c-e32034395432&utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=classaction&read_more=1

A multitude of factors, including compensation systems "rife with gender bias" and hypercompetitive environments that erode collegiality, can cause experienced female attorneys to consider leaving the practice of law, according to a new report published Monday.

04/19/2021

Law firms were slow to shift their work expectations during the pandemic, especially in its early days, according to a study by The Red Bee Group. In March 2020, as coronavirus concerns shuttered offices, only 10% of legal employers reduced their billable hour requirements. That's been hard on mothers, Scharf says.

"The push-pull of working mothers in particular between work and home is not new, but COVID has definitely exacerbated the problem," she says. "It's also raised very serious questions for legal employers who for the most part have not been very flexible in their expectations of associates and partners during the pandemic."
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When she was still at her firm, Emily started being radically honest during Zoom calls. Someone would ask, "How are you?" and she would answer, "I'm really worried about my son."

Her colleagues, especially men, seemed taken aback, she says, but "they didn't reject it either." She told other women at the firm to also reveal the challenges they usually try to conceal.

"Women just couldn't hide it anymore," she says. "We were so frazzled, and things were so extreme, that it felt better to say how we really felt or be more honest about what's going on. Women tend to think 'Don't let 'em see us sweat.' But people had no choice but to see us sweat."

Women in the legal industry cut down their hours, took leave, or quit when the pandemic toppled the precarious balance of work and life. Will the coronavirus exacerbate gender inequities in BigLaw, even when life returns to normal?

02/20/2021

Is your firm supporting working moms?

Claire Cain Miller says many working moms have scaled back on their hours or left the workforce entirely in response to new household burdens. "There were never the structures in place to help us."

11/29/2020

Keep shattering that glass!

Sarah Fuller became the first woman to play in a Power Five football game after kicking off for Vanderbilt in its game against Missouri on Saturday.

10/22/2020

Are you struggling during covid? You are not alone.

Women are dropping out of the workforce in much higher numbers than men. Valerie Wilson of the Economic Policy Institute explains that women are overrepresented in jobs that have been hit hardest by the pandemic and child care has gotten harder to come by. The situation is especially dire for Latina...

09/29/2020

Struggling in the wake of COVID, check out this women's panel:

09/21/2020

RBG blazed the path for all of us women attorneys. What are you thinking about her legacy and how it impacts you right now?

Female attorneys around the country say they're devastated by the death of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a woman they looked to as a role model for candidly speaking out about the struggles she faced as a female lawyer integrating her work and family life, which made her a relatable icon.

08/18/2020

We are having an informal zoom meeting on Wednesday 8/19 at 4pm EST. If you are interested in joining, please let us know!

08/03/2020

Despite the growing movement toward diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, female lawyers speaking at a New York City Bar Association and New York Women's Bar Association panel said they are still facing some of the same obstacles they encountered years go, but this time they are speaking up about them.

"When someone cracks a joke that isn't really funny, ... whether it's a racist joke or a sexist joke, whatever it is, calling them out on it," Anita Bowen, partner at Fabiani Cohen & Hall LLP, said at the Thursday panel.

As a woman, especially a woman of color, Bowen said she would often be mistaken as court personnel instead of a lawyer. However, that hasn't stopped her from being "true" to herself in the 26 years she's practiced as an attorney, she added.

"The real way to attack is the measured approach," Bowen said. "If you are extremely measured and you have credibility. I don't care how young you are, you're going to be respected and your points will be well taken."

Despite the growing movement toward diversity and inclusion in the legal profession, female lawyers speaking at a New York City Bar Association and New York Women's Bar Association panel said they are still facing some of the same obstacles they encountered years go, but this time they are speaking....