Just when I think things are getting so much better for women lawyers, I experience something that makes me doubt that progress again.

That happened earlier this week when I read a story about a woman named Priscilla Wheeler, a law student in the early 1970’s at UC Hastings.  The article interested me because Ms. Wheeler started law school only a few years before I did, and we had similar experiences at our law schools.  However, there was one very big difference.  Priscilla Wheeler had a toddler, and I did not.  That undoubtedly made it much more challenging for her.

The article included information about a column Ms. Wheeler wrote for the Hastings Law News student newspaper titled Wonder Woman Revisited/Or Not Everyone Can Throw a Golden Lasso.  Ms. Wheeler wrote that “many women are tired of having to be superwoman in order to just be considered in the running” and “Perhaps a better symbol for feminism [than Wonder Woman] would be the earthy, less than perfect Ms. Caucus of Doonesbury fame. She’s a woman and feminist; one who has made mistakes and knows it. She will make more mistakes and she knows that too. … Ms. Caucus is a very human type person.”

Ms. Wheeler’s column also included a recitation of gender obstacles she faced in law school , which included unfair treatment by male Moot Court judges.  It brought back my memories of such a Moot Court judge admonishing me because he could smell my perfume from the bench — just before announcing that my partner and I had won the competition!

Fortunately, that kind of overt gender discrimination is so much less common in law school and law practice today.  However, Ms. Wheeler’s experience reminds us that women in general, women lawyers included, are too often still required to meet a higher bar.

That reality rings true especially as we witness another woman vying to be President of the United States.  No matter what your politics are, that reality must be clear when some commentators hold her to a higher bar for no other reason than that she is female.  That is unfortunate indeed.

But what is not unfortunate is the way Kamala Harris meets the challenge.  Everything about her says “bring it on” because she knows she can handle it.  And, like Doonesbury’s Ms. Caucus, she also knows and demonstrates that she is not infallible because she is very human.  And it is that humanity that drives her.

And that is the takeaway for all women lawyers.  The road may be rougher than we would like, but we can handle it!   And, we can, and will, work hard to make it better.

For those of you taking the bar exam this week, good luck.  It is a miserable test no matter how you look at it.  For those who think they aced it, it is considered a waste of time –until they find out differently.  For the rest of the bar exam test takers, it is an extremely stressful experience.

The next step for you is not as miserable, but it can be very challenging.  Your first job as a practicing lawyer is just around the corner, and you are not altogether sure what to expect and how you will handle the challenges.  So, I offer you this advice.  Read my book.  New Lawyer Launch: The Handbook for Young Lawyers (Full Court Press, 2022) is a candid and blatantly straightforward guide for lawyers in the first years of practice.  Order it from Amazon or from my publisher.

I am joined in this book by more than a dozen practicing lawyers, including managing partners of BigLaw, who validate the advice and share their own anecdotes about avoiding mistakes and creating strategies for survival and success.   It may not be your most enjoyable beach read, but being familiar with the content will pay off in spades when Summer turns to Fall and you are able to mix confidence with the excitement of a law practice that is new to you.  Law school never covered this stuff, and I want you to know it.

And now, I am off on my annual sojourn to the Atlantic shore with my family.  Husband, sibling, in-law, kids, grand kids, friends … all of it.  It is my way of recharging each summer, and it is a MUST in my life.  I will be back in September with more to share on the state of law practice and your place in it.

Have a wonderful August.  Do something new.  Break out.  Surprise everyone.  You are so ready for it!

Speak up!  Speak up!  Speak up!

During law school and in your early practice years, you heard this repeatedly.  It was annoying, but, in most cases, it was for your own good.  You need to be able to speak up in critical situations when your professional future is at stake.

Situations like salary review, case assignments and other settings that directly affect your career all cry out for your participation.  It is hugely important, and I hope that you are in the process of perfecting speaking up in those critical situations.

That does not mean that speaking up is easy.  It is not.  Speaking up is especially difficult when you are the youngest and least experienced person in the room.  At those times, you must dig deep to find your most confident self and your largest voice to take advantage of the opportunity or the moment.

But, as you will see in this article, sometimes just speaking up is not enough.  The author, who I have known for many years, coaches executives in multiple professions to become effective in business, including how to be a compelling and persuasive speaker.  She knows what she is talking about.  And what she says is the following:

Just speaking up isn’t enough. For career success, you should also be able to:

• Listen well,
• Move a conversation forward, and
• Inspire others to contribute their ideas.

I know personally the importance of this advice.  It was important to me as a newby lawyer and the sole woman litigator in a mid-size law firm, and it has been important to me in every other professional setting since that time.

The benefits of that approach are also important in other settings.  As a volunteer board member of a not-for-profit organization, I face this delicate balance between speaking and listening on a regular basis.  I serve on several committees of the board, and I chair the most important one.  I am always aware of not only my responsibilities to speak up, provide the benefit of my experience, and guide the conversation, but I also am aware of my role in helping less experienced committee members develop into savvy and valuable meeting participants.  At many times, that means inviting them to contribute their ideas and making sure that the environment is friendly and accepting of their comments.  Although we address sophisticated concepts of real property, conservation easements and legal enforcement during those meetings, providing a healthy environment for contribution by all is easy when measured against the downsides of exclusion.

It is the same skill that I focused on as a supervisor of junior lawyers at the law firms of my past and in public service.  Stifling participation for selfish interests of control is overrated and senseless.  By contrast, encouraging development and participation benefits the mentor, the mentee and the organization.

You may find yourself in similar situations at many different junctures in your career.  Remember to listen well, move the conversation along so that you or others do not dominate, and inspire others to contribute their ideas.  It is a winning combination.