Category: News Feeds

Do we need even one more report on the difficulties that women have staying in the profession? Do we need the ABA to tell us what anyone in the profession with even the teeniest brains knows just by looking around and seeing the attrition of women who boogie out of Biglaw practice? I didn’t think we needed one, but I would be wrong. (Not the first time, and certainly not the last.)

Carolyn Elefant, in a post two years ago, wrote about the ABA Initiative to investigate why mid-career women lawyers are leaving Biglaw.

Here we are, two years later, and guess what? No, don’t guess. I’ll tell you. The ABA report has concluded that “men are from Mars, women are from Venus.” Did we need the ABA to tell us that?

And if you’re not familiar with the book, “Men Are From Mars, Women Are From Venus,” which was hugely popular in the 1990s (when many of our readers were barely in grammar school), the report nails what the problem is. Indeed, male lawyers are from Mars, and female lawyers are from Venus.

John Gray’s book asserts that men and women have differing ways of communicating (no surprise there), and so they need to understand those different styles. Gray’s book also talks about the different emotional needs that men and women have.

The ABA report, entitled “Walking Out of the Door, The Facts, Figures and Future of Experienced Women Lawyers in Private Practice,” is really nothing new after all the reports we’ve read over the past decade. The report suggests recommendations that “if adopted” (notice the use of “if”) could lead eventually to gender parity in Biglaw. However, I don’t think anyone alive today will still be alive to see that transformation unless the cryogenics business really takes off soon.

The report shows a huge disconnect between how male lawyers view aspects of law firm practice and life differently from their female colleagues. Some of the factors where men and women report differing levels of satisfaction include compensation (and how that compensation is determined), opportunities for advancement, workplace gender diversity, and firm leadership.

A few of the disparities in what the report terms “everyday building blocks for success”:

How many times has a male lawyer been mistaken for a lower-level employee? According to the survey, never, but 82% (!) of women lawyers said that they have been so mistaken. (And don’t get me started on how women lawyers are expected to plan parties, pick up refreshments, and other housekeeping duties.)

How many men have experienced a lack of access for opportunities for business development? According to the report, a mere 10%, while 67% of the women lawyers haven’t had that access. (Gee, another surprise.)

How about some more? Disparities in how committed women are to their careers, the perception of a hostile work environment, denials in salary increases and/or bonuses, being overlooked for promotion opportunities, lack of sponsors, loss of a desirable assignment. The list goes on.

Men and women have significantly differing views on why women choose to stay or go. Three of the biggest reasons for why women walk out the door: work/life balance (and let’s stipulate that women have just about all of the responsibilities for both children and aging parents), advancement opportunities, and marketing/business origination. There are others, but those three give you a flavor of why women leave.

The report gives an example of a classic Mars v. Venus situation: a large percentage of firm leaders and male partners believe that their firms do a good job to advance experienced women, however, to no woman’s surprise, “experienced women do not share that view.”

Everyone and anyone who has even a smidgen of interest in why experienced women leave should read the report. Men may well be surprised, but women will not.

What should Biglaw firms do differently? I’m not going to provide a list of the report’s suggestions (and I do have a word count limit). You can guess what most, if not all, of them are. The bottom line is pretty simple. “Change the law firm structure and culture so that firms can better address the needs of the many women they recruit and seek to retain.” Well, that’s easy. Not. Setting up policies and procedures is comparatively easy. Implementing them is more difficult. Compliance with them is the hardest part, and who is willing to devote nonbillable hours (at least currently) to be the “enforcer?”

There has to be commitment and not just lip service if this profession is ever going to look like this country. Women make up more than 50 percent of the population, they compose 50 percent of incoming law school classes, and then mid-career, women lawyers turn their backs on Biglaw, saying, in essence, “phooey.” Think about all the training and knowledge that Biglaw has provided only to see experienced women lawyers walking out the door. Not a very good return on the Biglaw firm investment.

---

Jill Switzer has been an active member of the State Bar of California for over 40 years. She remembers practicing law in a kinder, gentler time. She’s had a diverse legal career, including stints as a deputy district attorney, a solo practice, and several senior in-house gigs. She now mediates full-time, which gives her the opportunity to see dinosaurs, millennials, and those in-between interact — it’s not always civil. You can reach her by email at oldladylawyer@gmail.com.

Ed. Note: As the decade comes to a close, Above the Law presents you a special Trivia Question of the Day series in remembrance of the Biglaw firms we lost in the 2010s.

What now defunct Biglaw firm was founded in 1956 by four antitrust attorneys?

Hint: The firm had a 50+ year run, with 16 offices and over 500 attorneys when it announced its dissolution in 2011.

See the answer on the next page.

And in spite of the shocking information that the scope of Defendant’s noncompliance was grossly understated, and that they continue to violate the injunction, Defendants do not exhibit contrition.

—Lawyers at Housing and Economic Rights Advocates in Oakland and the Legal Services Center of Harvard Law School asking U.S. District Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim of the Northern District of California to reconsider (and increase) the $100,000 sanction levied against Betsy DeVos’s Education Department. Judge Kim issued the fine in October after it was revealed that DeVos had continued to collect on former students’ loans from the now-defunct for-profit Corinthian Colleges Inc., even seizing their tax refunds and wages, despite a June 2018 order forbidding further collection on loans that should have been forgiven. However, plaintiffs now say the records provided by the government at the time of her October ruling were “grossly inaccurate,” and that the estimation that the 16,000 violations as of the June 2018 order was “off by almost 300%.”

---

Kathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

In a long Washingtonian profile of Tiffany Trump, the Trump Organization explained that it could not facilitate an interview with Trump’s youngest daughter because “her school schedule is ‘quite hectic.’”

As a 3L.

Finding mendacity in the most mundane moments is truly what sets these people apart.

It’s not that Tiffany’s schedule isn’t hectic. Her security detail almost assuredly slows down every move. She has a well-publicized gig working with Shon Hopwood helping former prisoners — a job that reportedly involved her doing a little lobbying of her dad on sentencing reform. She has two cats. But none of these are “her school schedule.” Being a 3L isn’t what’s keeping her tied up. The article notes that she’s hanging out with her family on the regular, taking trips that most law students could never fit into their schedules. There’s only one way a 3L has a hectic school schedule and that’s if they’re dumb enough to do two years of law review. She did not.

But putting aside the weak sauce excuse the organization gave to avoid Tiffany’s interview, the profile of Tiffany’s life aims for an angle — set up in the headline itself — that it never really captures. But it failing to bring it home, it leaves us with an almost sadder message lurking between the lines.

“Tiffany Trump Is About to Finish Law School. And She’s Getting a Lot Trumpier,” promises the article’s title. But there’s very little to suggest the sociology and urban studies major has embraced gutting public school spending and kidnapping immigrant children. While her older half-brother has taken to sending around racist conspiracy theorists, Tiffany is apparently “Trumpier” mostly because she has a massive portrait of herself in her apartment and she’s spending more time with her siblings since their father’s campaign forced them all into the same room, which kind of misses the very heart of what the term “Trumpier” means in this era.

In fact, the whole piece leaves the distinct impression that Tiffany lives a bit like a hostage to a public relations image that she never invited and isn’t particularly comfortable with. It explains that her Instagram account has morphed from a normal rich kid’s into a testament to a family unity that never existed. There are asides about Tiffany maybe joining the family business in some vague capacity… despite having taken a career path that suggests the exact opposite. There are anecdotes about watching Barron play soccer and family getaways at Mar-a-Lago that apparently became a thing the exact moment it became convenient for her dad. Assuming these tales aren’t artificially hyped up — they are delivered in a conservative pundit’s Trump hagiography — they don’t paint Tiffany as “asserting herself deeper into the family fold” but a human being who cares enough to be present in the lives of her half-brother and nieces and nephews. Given the stage that the article set, Tiffany probably knows that she’s got limited time to build these relationships and she’s taking advantage.

Because despite its stated aim, Tiffany doesn’t come across as “Trumpier” by the end of the article. Instead, the mood of foreboding unintentionally laced throughout the piece is a sense that Tiffany might be aware that she’s going to be cast out when her dad can’t win Michigan again.

But when that happens at least she’ll have a law degree with no debt!

Tiffany Trump Is About to Finish Law School. And She’s Getting a Lot Trumpier. [Washingtonian]

---

Joe Patrice is a senior editor at Above the Law and co-host of Thinking Like A Lawyer. Feel free to email any tips, questions, or comments. Follow him on Twitter if you’re interested in law, politics, and a healthy dose of college sports news. Joe also serves as a Managing Director at RPN Executive Search.

Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Jennifer Kleier to our pages.

Not long ago, a friend shared an example with me that she believes illustrates the difference between mothers and fathers. The example went something like this: There is only one piece of cake left and three children. A mother cuts the cake into three equal pieces and gives one to each child, taking nothing for herself. A father cuts the cake into four equal pieces, gives one to each child, and takes one for himself. I later shared her example with my husband and he was, rightfully so, very insulted. The point of her example was to demonstrate how the mother is a better parent because she was willing to sacrifice, or be a martyr, for her children. To me, it’s the perfect representation of the idealistic and unfair expectations we place on mothers. I’ve found that quite often those same expectations extend to women as lawyers and it’s just as unfair.

I started my legal career in 2010 as a public defender. It was my dream job at the time because I saw it as an opportunity not only to gain valuable courtroom experience but to help others much less fortunate than myself.  I knew being a public defender wouldn’t be easy but had no way to appreciate the actual sacrifices it required until I was in the thick of it. It demanded long hours for little pay while representing clients who often don’t appreciate you, don’t respect you, and don’t listen to you. More often than not, my days ended with me exhausted, stressed, and unsure as to whether anything I had done that day actually made a difference. The more I sacrificed for my job the more I took on the role of a martyr, a view which was reinforced by others. I can’t tell you how often I would tell people what I did for a living and would hear a response such as, “Wow, that’s such a tough job. And it’s so impressive that you can do it.” Hearing someone acknowledge your sacrifices feels good. But it’s dangerous because it has the unfortunate side effect of creating a false feeling of superiority, devaluing the work that others are doing.

I gave birth to my first child a few months before my four-year anniversary at the public defender’s office. Coming back from maternity leave, I felt like I was drowning. Between work and being a mother, I was overwhelmed with trying to meet others’ expectations of me. I felt like my worth as a mom and a lawyer was being judged solely by the sacrifices I was willing to make. My physical and mental health began to decline and I knew I had to make a change.

In 2015, an opportunity presented itself and I left the public defender’s office for private practice. I joined a small, newly formed law firm where I was the only associate. The two partners in the firm were both male and had been practicing for decades. It was a much different work environment, yet I struggled to get rid of the martyr mentality. I continued to feel like I had to be everything for everyone, all the time. Since that’s an impossible task, I always felt like I was failing.

After giving birth to my second child in 2016, I finally began to realize that simply changing jobs wasn’t enough. I had to take affirmative steps to change my mindset. Every day presents new challenges but I have made significant improvements by employing the following techniques:

1) No longer expecting others to read my mind. I work hard to listen but also be direct about my feelings and needs.

2) Recognizing that I have choices and no longer expecting that I will be rewarded for suffering.

3) Identifying my unspoken expectations of myself and others and asking whether those expectations are reasonable.

4) Accepting that not everything will turn out the way I want and appreciating others regardless.

5) Seeking help from others.

6) Learning to set effective boundaries.

These strategies have been successful not only in my law practice but at home as well. When I employ them consistently, I give myself the opportunity to succeed versus constantly sabotaging myself.

I also came to realize that neither my clients nor my children need me to be superwoman. And that by feeding into the idea that they do, I’m doing a disservice to myself, to them, and others around me. I have sacrificed and made hard choices both for my children and my clients but its important that my needs and desires are respected too. By not making myself a martyr, I am teaching my children that while my love for them is unconditional, being part of a community requires a delicate balancing of everyone’s needs. Setting a good example for both my children and my clients will help them to be more successful in their future endeavors. And hopefully, just hopefully, everyone can enjoy a piece of the cake without any guilt.

Earlier: Mothers At Law: Achieving Meaningful Success In The Legal Profession

---

After graduating from the Brandeis School of Law in 2010, Jennifer Kleier served the public by working as a public defender for the Louisville Metro Public Defender’s Office. Jennifer entered private practice in 2015 and is a partner in Karem & Kleier Law. She practices in the areas of criminal defense, family law, personal injury, and estate/probate law. She is an active member of both the Kentucky Bar Association and the Louisville Bar Association. Jennifer helped to create the Louisville Bar Association’s Gender Equality Committee and currently serves as its chair. She is a City Councilor for Audubon Park, Kentucky, is a member of the 2019 Louisville Bar Association’s Leadership Program, and a member of the Women Lawyer’s Association in Jefferson County. She was also honored to be an associate member of the Louis D. Brandeis Inn of Court from 2016-2019. She’s a proud mom of two beautiful girls, two dogs, two cats, and married to a loving and supportive spouse. In her free time, she loves to hang out with her family, read, bake, and do just about anything active.

If you’re a York Capital Management or Southpaw Asset Management investor and were planning to use your year-end redemption check to pay for that Tesla wrapped in a bow or your weight in caviar or your new wife’s new assets, you might want to pull some boxes from under the tree and return them to Amazon.

York, founded by Milwaukee Bucks co-owner Jamie Dinan, told clients in a letter Thursday it was suspending redemptions from its nearly $2 billion Credit Opportunities fund for the year-end period and that it planned to start unwinding the fund…. The $1.2 billion Greenwich, Conn.-based Southpaw told clients in a letter earlier last week it plans to return 55% of the money they requested back for year-end. That figure doesn’t include money investors requested that the firm is tying up in a so-called “side pocket.”

* The lawyer for an indicted Giuliani associate is seeking to step down because of his client’s inability to pay his fees. [The Hill]

* Speaking of Rudy Giuliani, the former mayor is facing backlash for falsely claiming on Facebook that he is a “former attorney general of the United States” even though he never held the high post at the Justice Department. [Daily Beast]

* An attorney who was accused of assisting a jailhouse drug smuggling ring has been accused of a hit and run as well. The attorney may be a criminal lawyer… [WTAE Pittsburgh]

* A disgraced Massachusetts lawyer has been sentenced to two years in prison for tax fraud. [Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly]

* Harvey Weinstein may face criminal charges in Los Angeles as well as his pending criminal charges in New York. [LA Times]

---

Jordan Rothman is a partner of The Rothman Law Firm, a full-service New York and New Jersey law firm. He is also the founder of Student Debt Diaries, a website discussing how he paid off his student loans. You can reach Jordan through email at jordan@rothmanlawyer.com.