Women Lawyers--Back on Track

What Everyone Else Is Saying

It's time for a round up of what everyone else around the blogosphere has been saying about women and the law and women lawyers:

The good

• Rock the Cradle on the study that concluded that single women lawyers were the most "productive" while women lawyers with kids were the least:  It's our fault, installment #5,726

• Feminist Law Professors on a recent article regarding women lawyers: What Women Lawyers Want Is For You To Stop Asking What We Want (and Do Your Own Laundry)

• Ms. JD posts about the issue of whether long hair is unprofessional (Not at all, in my opinion, says this long-haired woman lawyer)

• The ABA Journal on maternity leave  for lawyers: More Law Firms Boost Maternity Leave to 18 Weeks

The bad

• The Legal Pad reports that women lawyers' salaries are decreasing.

The ugly

• Volokh Conspiracy readers can't help themselves.  When a women lawyer is as successful at what she does as Dahlia Lithwick, they simply have to characterize her as:  lacking objectivity, emotional, unqualified, unfit, laughable, illogical, snarky, bitter, mean-spirited, lacking common sense, dishonest, a useless hack, unimportant, unintelligent, "you're out, honey", ineffective, unpersuasive, screeching, squealing, giggling schoolgirl, clueless, "gossip columnist tool", a bad lawyer, :  Lithwick on Heller and Oh Those Hypocritical Conservative Justices.

What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what everyone else around the blogosphere is saying about women lawyers, women and the law:

The good:

• I love Quizlaw.  Not just because it's damn funny blog, but they also have posts like this one regarding Eliot Spitzer's wife, Silda.
• The Legal Ease Blog has a great post: Women's History Month: Great Women in the Legal Profession
• Law and Letters discusses a depressing Canadian study which concludes that: The four mechanisms suppressing the advancement of female attorneys that possibly explain the persistence of stratification and subordination are: 1) self-elimination, 2) over-selection, 3) relegation, and 4) direct exclusion.

The bad:

• It's always depressing when the comments disintegrate following a post about an important issue like the lack of female partners is discussed, such as this post at Above the Law.

The ugly:

• The "evolutionary" theories parroted in this Volokh Conspiracy post regarding the Spitzer scandal:  men can't help but to have sex with as many babes as possible, while women act unnaturally when they have more than one partner.  Ridiculous.  Some of the comments are just as bad as the post, if not worse.

What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what everyone else around the blogosphere is saying about women lawyers, women and the law:

The good:

• Over at Build a Solo Practice, LLC, Susan Cartier Liebel points out that many women lawyers are finding true independence through solo practice: More Female Attorneys Hanging Shingles for the Benefits of Solo Practice
• The Wall Street Journal Law Blog asks: Legal Academia — Family Friendly, or Not?
• Via Ms. JD comes an interesting post about lawyers marrying their own: The Green Monster: When Your Significant Other Is a Lawyer

The bad:

• I'm more than just a bit uncomfortable with the underlying (and unsupported) assumption found in both of these posts at the Beckner-Posner Blog which discuss the gender gap in education:  namely, that girl students are more docile, unaggressive and patient than boy students.  I think that the term "docile" is the term that troubles me most.

The ugly:

• Let's start with the title of this post over at the Legal Satyricon:  Who doesn't love Yale sluts?  Then let's move onto this comment: Then again, I wouldn’t really call any woman a slut (unless it was a term of endearment - some women giggle when you call them that).  A "term of endearment"?  Oh, I see.  Well, if that's the case, I'll be sure to try that one out on my kindergartner tomorrow when she gets home from school.  And who are these women giggling in response to that "endearing" language?  Must be some of those docile young things.  And, finally, the assertion that calling a woman a loaded term like "slut" doesn't harm her reputation is, quite simply, ludicrous.

What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what others around the blogosphere had to say about women lawyers:

The good

• From JD Bliss comes this interesting post about the rising importance of work/life balance to lawyers of both genders:  Work-life Balance: Helping Law Firms Recruit the Lawyers they Want

• An interesting podcast/videocast from Lewis and Clark Law School. "In this podcast, the Women’s Law Caucus hosts the annual Family Life Work Balance Panel. The panel will include a range of working parents who will be able to provide suggestions, insight, and guidance on navigating legal careers and balancing family life."

• Via the Research Digest Blog, we learn that when it comes to lawyers, Childless women are the most productive staff of all, study finds

The bad

• The  sad state of maternity leave in many BigLaw firms--even worse are some of the comments that follow this Above the Law post.

The ugly

• Via Quizlaw comes a report of a blawger with a severe Napoleanic complex.

• Some of the obnoxious comments following this Above the Law post which ponders the advisability of lawyers dating lawyers.

• Learn all about the damage caused to your feet by high heels over at Ms. JD: Wonder what damage your high heels are doing?

What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what others in the blogosphere have to say about the intersection of women, the law and sexism:

The good:

• Ms. JD contemplates the reality of being a lawyer with a uterus:  Legal recruiter answers the question: will taking maternity leave in my first few years as an associate derail my career?

• An interesting conversation continues over at the Lawyer Coach Blog:  Rainmaking for women lawyers - the best start is an early start

• The Wall Street Journal Blog, The Juggle, offers up an interesting post on the Obamas and how this dual lawyer power couple juggles evertghing:  The Obamas’ Supercharged Juggle

The bad:

• Ann Althouse's demeaning reduction of Heather Mills' role to that of a "poor girl."  The comments are less than stellar as well.

• Via the ABA Law Journal, Skadden, the sleeping giant of BigLaw, rose up and put a stop to the sexist hotties contest being held by the Skadden Insider Blog.  God forbid the male associates should be raked over the coals just like the women associates were.

The ugly:

• Some of the comments following this Above the Law post: Time for Winston Women To Go Burqa Shopping?

What Everyone Else Is Saying

Here's what others in the blogosphere have to say about the intersection of women, the law and sexism:

The good:

• From JDBliss, a great post about the other half and balance:  More Fathers Seeking Satisfying Balance Between Family Life and Work

• A great summary of an article about language and sexism--and, say it ain't so!--the law, from Feminist Law Professors: Language and Sexism

• Via Deliberations, comes this intriguing post about how we, as women, can be our own worst enemies:  When Women Judge Women

• The Legal Ease Blog discusses something that important for practicing and non-practicing attorneys, and in my opinion, especially women attorneys--stay in the loop:  Do Something! Stay in Contact

• Jordon Furlong, who happens to be a member of the other half, sums up the problem with law firms and the gender discussion quite nicely over at Law21: Women, law firms and semantics

The bad:

• Ann Althouse explains why sexist language isn't really sexist language since we use it so much in our society: NBC wimped out over "pimped out."

What Everyone Else Is Saying

As a regular feature, I'll be rounding up the good, the bad, and the ugly.  Mostly the good, though.

The good:

• A thoughtful commentary on the work/life/balance issue from Ms. JD: Who Will Listen?
• An interesting tidbit from Feminist Law Professors: Score Another One for the Difference Feminists: Having a Female Surgeon May Save Your Life
• Via Legal Sanity comes this interesting post about career customization and flexible hours: Career customization for lawyers

The ugly:

• Some of the comments to this Wall Street Journal Law Blog post: Biz Trip?  Take the Kids.