Women In Law Daily

“Mommy penalty” and “Daddy bonus” in law firms

womeninlawdaily — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 18:21:09 +0000

I haven’t heard of those terms before, but apparently they exist.

See http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=820&rssid=4

Glass ceiling?

womeninlawdaily — Tue, 18 Nov 2008 17:46:00 +0000

Interesting discussion in the comments on the new NAPL study here:

http://blogs.wsj.com/law/2008/11/17/women-in-biglaw-pounding-against-the-glass-ceiling/

I’m glad I’m not in Biglaw.

Spend X amount on your law degree…then stay home

womeninlawdaily — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 21:02:10 +0000

Between work, being pregnant and studying for my licence, I haven’t had much time to post, but a new study caught my eye. This study showed, among other professions, that 21% of Harvard women who became lawyers chose to stay home with their children .

The study is titled “Opt-Out Patterns Across Careers: Labor Force Participation Rates Among Educated Mothers” from the UC Berkeley’s Haas School of Business:

http://www.haas.berkeley.edu/news/faculty/Wolfram2.html

“Feminist Law Firm”?

womeninlawdaily — Tue, 22 Jul 2008 06:13:52 +0000

A law firm that only represents women? I can see both pros and cons with that idea…

http://www.law.com/jsp/law/sfb/lawArticleSFB.jsp?id=1202423108430

First trimester craziness continues

womeninlawdaily — Fri, 06 Jun 2008 17:55:58 +0000

This might not be news, but it appears that we working women like to share our trials and tribulations, so I’m going to occasionally post about my pregnancy and work days here.

I’m almost at 9 weeks. The nausea is horrible. I had an arbitration on monday and tuesday during which I was on mediation for the nausea and vomiting and had some relief. But then after that, the medication didn’t work as well and I threw up anyways. Plus I was so tired I had to take wednesday off. And so the work at the office continued to pile up…and up…and up.

Last night I had to finish drafting a factum for an appeal. I tried all day to do it but I had such horrible bloating that I had trouble focusing. “morning sickness” in the morning, afternoon and night! Finally at 10pm, my stomach settled down. So I bunkered down and wrote and wrote and wrote. It was 3 a.m. by the time I crawled into bed.

How can something the size of a kidney bean affect me so much???

I’m happy to report that my husband has been supportive during the pregnancy. He even listened to me go on and on about my appeal right before bed so that I could get it off my mind and sleep soundly. He’s an angel.

Working Women And Pregnancy

womeninlawdaily — Wed, 21 May 2008 19:25:32 +0000

Anyone reading this blog ever throw up at work due to nausea from pregnancy? Anyone have the experience of telling their boss the “great news” and asking the senior partner for maternity leave? Anyone have tips on how to juggle preparing for an arbitration, drafting a statement of defence, and holding a plastic throw-up bag in your hand, all at the same time?

Pregnant lawyers and working mommies everywhere, please comment with tips and stories!!!

Funding for maternity leave for small firms?

womeninlawdaily — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:09:47 +0000

Some ideas are just brilliant. Even me, critic of the year, can’t say bad things about this idea:

http://www.lawyersweekly.ca/index.php?section=article&articleid=682&rssid=4

Lawyers going on mat leave is a popular topic around the water cooler in law firms big and small. Let’s bring the issue out into the forefront and make things easier for the mommies!

Appointments and Disappointments

womeninlawdaily — Sun, 04 May 2008 17:00:33 +0000

Do you think you would make a good judge? What are the qualities that a judge should have? What skills are needed? Do female candidates have what it takes.

Here is a great commentary in The Herald by Alistair Bonnington, a soliciter advocate in Scotland. Don’t always believe it when people tell you that there just aren’t enough qualified candidates.

W.I.L.D. Woman: Bella Abzug

womeninlawdaily — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 02:51:28 +0000

Bella Abzug. What an inspiration!!!

We need more women worldwide to heed her call (used in her successful 1970 campaign):

“This woman’s place is in the House — the House of Representatives”

See Wiki and this tribute.

Chatelaine 80th Anniversary

womeninlawdaily — Thu, 10 Apr 2008 13:58:00 +0000

Congrats to Chatelaine magazine on their 80th anniversary issue. For those who have not heard of it before, Chatelaine is a magazine “for Canadian women.” I couldn’t find the piece I just read online, but in the magazine, there is a feature called “80 women to watch” which was a fantastic read. I found at least 3 lawyers/former lawyers in the mix.

It’s only $1.99 at the newstands this month, well worth the price!!

Or, go to http://en.chatelaine.com/english/index.jsp and browse around. They have a section (http://en.chatelaine.com/english/celebration/article.jsp?content=20080319_114414_6448) showing their past covers and I just LOVE the old illustrated ones. Bring those back!!!!!