The Evolution of Legal Career Options for Women in the United States
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White Paper The Evolution of Legal Career Options For Women in the United States Kimberly Lerman, Atlanta Talent Manager, Legility 1 The Evolution of Legal Career Options for Women in the United States The 1950’s 04 The 1960’s 05 The 1970’s 06 The 1980’s 08 The 1990’s 11 The 2000’s 13 The Start of the “New Law” Era 15 The 2020s and Beyond 17 Contents White Paper Author Let's change the business of legal together. Learn more at legility.com or call +1.888.LEGILITY (+1.888.534.4548) AUTHOR Kimberly Lerman Atlanta Talent Manager, Legility 3 The Evolution of Legal Career Options For Women in the United States Today, more than 50% of law school students in the U.S. are women. This is a significant milestone, because prior to the Civil Rights Movement many law schools refused to even admit female applicants. Some brave women were undeterred, matriculating at the schools that would admit them despite the grim prospects for female attorneys seeking employment with established law firms. For instance, when judicial pioneer to clients and the legal profession. What Burnita Shelton Mathews graduated struggles and challenges have pioneering from law school in 1920 no law firms in women atorneys before us endured and Washington, D.C. would hire her, so she overcome to get us to this point? built her own practice. When she was appointed by President Truman to the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia almost 30 years later in 1949, she became the first woman to serve The 1950s as a U.S. District Court judge. When it finally became more common Fortunately, legal career options for for law schools to admit women, many women have improved significantly of the female students found they were since 1920, but it has been a very gradual accused of atending only for the purpose process fraught with frustration for many of trying to find a husband. In addition, highly-qualified women. By 2020, seventy women ofen were discouraged from years afer Justice Mathews’ ground- participating in the classroom unless breaking judicial appointment, about the professor was discussing a case one-third of active federal judges are now that involved a woman. When Justice female. So while change has been slow, Sandra Day O’Connor graduated from women are successfully innovating and Stanford Law School in 1952 (afer having disrupting the traditional practice of law been a member of the board of editors to create opportunities in many working for the Stanford Law Review), women environments — which is of great benefit were not yet permited to serve on juries. The Evolution of Legal Career Options for Women in the United States 4 Even though the women’s movement started to take hold in the early 1960s, the employment prospects for female lawyers did not improve significantly during this decade. When Justice O’Connor applied for jobs with law firms afer graduating, she was The 1960s ofered a position as a legal secretary. Justice Ruth Bader Ginsberg graduated Even though the women’s movement from Columbia Law School, where she started to take hold in the early 1960s, was tied for first place in the class of the employment prospects for female 1959. Despite this accomplishment, lawyers did not improve significantly she struggled to find a job working as during this decade. For instance, now- a lawyer. Her first job was as a professor prominent atorneys such as Janet Reno where she was told she would be paid and Elizabeth Dole were rejected by major less than her male colleagues because law firms. Unfortunately, the educational she had a husband with a job. environment for women law students also did not improve significantly in the 1960s despite increasing numbers of female students at many schools. For instance, Janet Reno was one of 16 women admited to the Harvard Law School class of 1963, and at that time the only women’s bathroom on the campus was located in the basement. Elizabeth Dole was one of 24 women in a class of 550 students in the Harvard Law School class of 1965, and one of her professors sometimes asked the female students to sit at the front of the classroom and deliver a poem to the rest of the class. The process of geting admited into law school in the 1960s was also very diferent for women than for men. For instance, some women reported that during their law school admissions interviews they were told that if they were admited they would be taking a spot away from a man. The Evolution of Legal Career Options for Women in the United States 5 Since many law schools continued to Even though law firms began to interview be concerned that female applicants female candidates with some regularity were interested in going to law school in the 1970s, many women recalled the only to find a husband, many women felt interview process as being stressful in the burden was on them to convince the ways that their male classmates did not schools that they were truly commited experience. For instance, during the 1970s to practicing law. some female law students still felt as if Throughout the 1960s, law firms were they had to convince law firms that they able to meet their stafng needs by hiring were truly planning to practice law. Many only male graduates. That changed afer law firms seemed concerned that women 1969 because of President Johnson’s would leave the practice of law afer decision to abolish Vietnam War draf a short time to have children, so some deferments for most male graduate women felt compelled to promise their students, including law students, starting interviewers that they would not have with the incoming class of students children soon afer beginning work. Also, in 1967. As a result, the law school some male interviewers did not hesitate graduating class of 1969 was the last to share their hostility towards women class of the draf era in which men were lawyers during the interview process. able to defer eligibility for the draf by For instance, a woman who graduated atending law school. This reduced the from law school in 1977 told me that number of male law school applicants, a male atorney began her interview and then the number of male law school by saying, “I hate women.” In addition, graduates, making it harder for law women sometimes experienced sexual schools and law firms to meet their advances from their male interviewers, needs solely by relying on men. and this type of behavior also permeated the law firm work environment as well as client interactions. The 1970s In the 1970s, the employment prospects for female atorneys started to show signs of improvement, in part because the During the 1970s, Vietnam War draf continued to cause an insufcient number of male graduates to the percentage meet the hiring needs of law firms. Also, during the 1970s, the percentage of law of law students students who were female reached into the double digits. In the corporate world, who were female a woman became general counsel of a Fortune 500 corporation for the first time reached into the in 1979. Despite this, many female lawyers still felt there was an open and stated double digits. hostility towards women in the practice of law during this time. The Evolution of Legal Career Options for Women in the United States 6 Many women who were hired by law roles. At that time, many law firm partners firms in the 1970s were encouraged to felt that women were not well suited for practice in the area of Trusts & Estates the aggressive nature of litigation, which because the clients were generally was seen as the “Gladiator” area of the widows. Most law firms seemed to steer law firm where clients expected their women away from departments such as lawyers to be tough. corporate and tax, because the lawyers In addition, during the 1970s the litigation in those departments all worked with atorneys were seen as the “workhorses” male clients. Some women who were of the big law firms in terms of hours begrudgingly placed in the Trusts & billed and travel requirements. When Estates department later realized that it women were able to push their way into allowed them to have more control over litigation roles, they ofen found they were their schedule. For instance, some women assigned “grunt” work, while their male found that Trusts & Estates documents counterparts were taking depositions and could be drafed in the middle of the participating in hearings and trials. Despite night if needed. There was not usually a this, some women were able to break need for Trusts & Estates lawyers to have into the courtroom, and those atorneys access to the law firm library, or access to sometimes found they could use their large boxes filled with documents stored gender to their advantage because at the ofce, so working from home at odd they felt that women litigators were hours was doable in this practice area. As routinely underestimated by opposing a result, many women atorneys wound up counsel. However, unlike their peers in focusing their practice on Trusts & Estates the Trusts & Estates departments, some work throughout the 1970s. female litigators found it more difcult As the 1970s continued, some law firms to balance work and family obligations. started to become willing to consider For instance, litigators couldn’t always women for other types of transactional work from home late at night because the work, though most law firms remained law libraries were closed and the boxes of hesitant to consider women for litigation relevant documents were at their ofce.