Categories
Archives
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- June 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- June 2017
- May 2017
- April 2017
- March 2017
- February 2017
- January 2017
- December 2016
- November 2016
- October 2016
- September 2016
- August 2016
- July 2016
- June 2016
- May 2016
- April 2016
- March 2016
- February 2016
- January 2016
- November 2015
- October 2015
- September 2015
- July 2015
- June 2015
- May 2015
- April 2015
- March 2015
- February 2015
- January 2015
- November 2014
- October 2014
- September 2014
- August 2014
- July 2014
- June 2014
- May 2014
- April 2014
- March 2014
- February 2014
- January 2014
- December 2013
- November 2013
- October 2013
- September 2013
- July 2013
- June 2013
- May 2013
- April 2013
- March 2013
- February 2013
- January 2013
- December 2012
- November 2012
- October 2012
- September 2012
- July 2012
- June 2012
- May 2012
- April 2012
- March 2012
- February 2012
- January 2012
- December 2011
- November 2011
- October 2011
- September 2011
- July 2011
- June 2011
- May 2011
- April 2011
- March 2011
- February 2011
- January 2011
- December 2010
- November 2010
- 0
Thought For The Week: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” Albert Camus
Career Counselors, Thought For The Day
Comments Off on Thought For The Week: “Real generosity toward the future lies in giving all to the present.” Albert Camus
Are Law Schools and Law Firms Beginning to Wake Up?
As a Georgetown Law graduate, I am very proud that my law school was one of the first to go on record against the Trump administration’s attacks on the legal profession. When other law schools did not stand up to object, Georgetown Law did. The letter that Dean William Treanor sent in response to the actions of the Trump administration left no room for negotiation. Right is right, wrong is wrong, and Georgetown wants to be on the side of right. But there were not many other law schools on the side of right in those early days, and there still are not enough. But momentum is growing.
In continuing support of the independence of the law profession, earlier this week Dean Treanor joined 78 other law school deans in signing on to a letter of protest co-written by Erwin Chemerinsky, Dean of the University of California Berkeley Law. In commenting about the letter, Dean Chemerinsky had this to say:
“Authoritarian regimes come to power by silencing critics. I worry that if it gets worse it’ll even be harder to speak up. What we have is our voice and our authority as deans.”
Dean Chemerinsky expressed his gratitude that the deans of so many law schools had joined the effort, but he also noted his disappointment that more deans of the most prestigious law schools did not become signatories. Of the law schools regarded as the most prestigious, only the deans of Georgetown, Berkeley, UCLA and Cornell participated in signing the letter.
It is also worth noting that hundreds of law professors have joined the protest effort in filing an amicus brief against the recent administration attacks on BigLaw. In addition, state Attorney Generals from around the country have signed on to an open letter to the legal community reminding them of their responsibility to protect the Constitution and the rule of law.
Regrettably, bringing up the rear in terms of protesting the attacks on law firms are the law firms themselves. Above the Law has published a table of the top 200 law firms by annual revenues, color coding them to demonstrate which firms have pushed back on the Trump administration and which firms have done NOTHING to publicly dispute the actions of the administration. If you are imagining that there are fewer objectors than those sitting on the sidelines in silence, you would be correct.
As part of the Best Friends at the Bar program, I have spoken at many BigLaw firms, including some firms that have pushed back against the Trump administration and some that have not. Of all of them, I am dismayed most by the negotiations/cooperation of firms like DLA and Kirkland, firms that should not have any problem doing the right thing and knowing that choosing profits over values is not the right thing.
I am grateful to all those who support the rule of law and push back against the actions of the Trump administration in unconstitutional targeting of law firms and law schools. And I hope that the lists those supporting those efforts will continue to grow.
What is obvious and of great concern is that so many legal organizations, especially law schools and law firm, are holding back on their support because of fear that the Trump administration will find disfavor with them and come looking for them. What is faulty about that logic is that no one and nothing is safe in an environment of fear.
Career Counselors, Law Firm Managers, Law School Educators, Law Students, Pre-law, Young Lawyer
Comments Off on Are Law Schools and Law Firms Beginning to Wake Up?
Thought For The Week: “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Career Counselors, Thought For The Day
Comments Off on Thought For The Week: “Stupidity is a more dangerous enemy of the good than malice.” Dietrich Bonhoeffer
Best Friends at the Bar Has Taken on a New Meaning
When I first envisioned the project that came to be Best Friends at the Bar, it was to support young women in the practice of law. In 2007, they needed all the help they could get, and Best Friends at the Bar was there with a helping hand. As women lawyers grew in numbers and in influence and presence at the top ranks in the profession, I broadened my focus to all young lawyers, men and women alike. My goal was to keep them from tripping over themselves on their way to success. I continue in that work, but my focus has broadened to all lawyers in response to current events.
It is now clear that all lawyers need to organize and fight what is becoming a very real and powerful threat to the profession. It is time for lawyers across the bar to organize as “best friends” who have each other’s backs. Lawyers in America — in big firms, smaller firms, boutiques and solo practices — need to support each other now more than ever. They need to object when BigLaw firms are being targeted by the Trump Administration. And they need to create a support system to keep firms from capitulating to the bully in the room — the bully with the objective and the power to destroy those who understand his unconstitutional overreach and are in positions to stop him.
Former Attorney General, Alberto Gonzales, who served in the George W. Bush administration, is quoted on Above The Law from an NPR podcast as follows: “If lawyers aren’t stepping up and speaking out against these kinds of attacks, that’s disappointing and dangerous. I must confess some level of disappointment in the silence that I’m hearing amongst a lot of firms … not to mention the outright capitulation that too many firms are engaging in.”
Gonzales also has a pretty good idea why this is happening. “[Trump’s] trying to … limit the number of great lawyers or good lawyers that can take positions [and] represent clients in opposition to what [the president] wants to accomplish or wants to do. And in a republic like ours, I think that’s very, very dangerous … [but] the rule of law exists to check abuses of power.”
This is a former Attorney General in a republican administration. Although Alberto Gonzales is not declaring himself as a recruit to the opposing political camp, he knows wrong when he sees it. He is disappointed and outraged at the lack of response from the legal community and hoping for more. Without saying it, he is looking for the lawyers of America to be Best Friends at the Bar.
And so am I. As I see more and more firms treat the Executive Branch’s attacks on them as negotiations, I wonder how those lawyers are going to look at themselves in the mirrors in years to come. I see too many in the American legal bar turn blind eyes to behaviors of the Executive Branch that have the potential to alter the very foundation of the profession. I regret the loss of so many lawyers and firms I have admired, as well as the loss of positive role models for the young lawyers in those practices. And at the same time, I am proud of and inspired by the lawyers in firms that are pushing back against an administration that is overreaching and threatening and protecting the independence of the practice of law.
This fight has to be organized and cannot depend on individual efforts. There is strength in numbers, and bar associations have an obvious role in protecting the legal bar. They are natural gathering places for lawyers, and they can be very influential. Start there. Grow support there. Be a change agent there.
It is time that our profession demonstrates that profits do not “trump” values. That money is a means to doing good. That ethics have not left the practice of law.
Be a Best Friend at the Bar. It is a noble calling.
Career Counselors, Law Firm Managers, Law School Educators, Law Students, Practice Advice, Pre-law, Young Lawyer
Comments Off on Best Friends at the Bar Has Taken on a New Meaning
Equal Pay Day Has FINALLY Arrived
Equal Pay Day fell on Tuesday of this week, March 25, 2025. We observe Equal Pay Day each year as the date upon which women make the same amount of money as men made in the prior calendar year. So, for men and women doing the same job, if men made an average of $100 in calendar year 2024, then it took women on an average until March 25, 2025 to make the same amount of money.
The observance of Equal Pay Day is something to raise your awareness but not to celebrate. After all, giving up what amounts to about three months of equitable pay sucks, right? Celebration will come when Equal Pay Day is observed on January 1 of each year.
Put in perpective, Above the Law reports that, “According to 2024 data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, women earned just 84 cents for every dollar earned by men when looking at median hourly wages for full- and part-time workers. That’s only a modest improvement from 82 cents in 2023.”
But, you may think that this pay disparity does not apply to women lawyers. However, an article on Bloomberg reprinted this week on Above the Law identifies the legal industry in the US as one of five industries where unequal pay is very much alive. Additionally, the latest US census data demonstrates that women in male-dominated fields like law can lose as much as $1M over a career because of pay disparity, with those statistics being worse for women lawyers who also are mothers.
Most sources recognize that some of the pay disparity is the result of differences in education, job experience or occupational choices. However, in the case of women lawyers, it cannot be denied that other contributing factors are gender discrimination, limited leadership opportunities, and what has been identified as the “motherhood penalty” in the law as lawyer/mothers juggle caretaking responsibilities with professional responsibilities.
So, what does that mean to you? Simply stated, it means that you must advocate for yourself to achieve the pay equity you deserve. You never should be too busy billing hours to pay attention to your compensation. The fortunate among you may have other advocates like colleagues, mentors and sponsors, but you need to be the most convincing voice in the room when it comes to issues of your own compensation. The work you do is challenging and hard and very time consuming, and you deserve to be paid equally with your male colleagues who are performing comparable jobs.
Unfortunately, we know that pay equity will not happen overnight. And it will take all of us working together to make it happen sooner rather than later —- or at all. Start by advocating for yourself and then as member of a larger advocacy group. Every voice counts.
Career Counselors, Law Firm Managers, Law School Educators, Law Students, Practice Advice, Pre-law, Young Lawyer
Comments Off on Equal Pay Day Has FINALLY Arrived
Junior Lawyers Take The Lead
Associates at law firms throughout the country distinguished themselves earlier this week by taking a stand for their profession in a very public way. And they outdid themselves. In fact, they outdid the adults in the room on one of the most important challenges to the rule of law to be seen in this country for a very long time.
It all started when the Administration targeted three top law firms, Covington & Burling, Perkins Coie, and Paul Weiss, with Executive Orders stripping members of those firms of security clearances, terminating the firms’ government contracts, and limiting access of law firm members to government buildings and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) sent letters to twenty other leading law firms, seeking information about their employment practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). The common factor among the targeted firms seems to be that they have provided representation to clients that the White House disdains. To date, Biglaw leadership in firms throughout the country has remained silent in response to these retaliatory actions, a common tactic that can be interpreted as fear that similar reprisals could be taken against their firms in the future. In a recent development, however, Paul Weiss has agreed with the White House on some key issues.
Enter the young lawyers. Hundreds of them, who became authors and signatories to an Open Letter to law firm leadership calling out the way that the Executive Branch of government is misusing the justice system to seek retribution against those on its “enemies list.” These brave young lawyers, undoubtedly recognizing their own vulnerability in taking such a stance, did so because it was the right thing to do. They called out the efforts of the Executive Branch for canceling firms based on their DEI initiatives and their clientele. In further detailing other retaliatory steps that followed from the Executive Orders, the signatories to the Open Letter also made it clear that, although their politics may vary, they are “united in their condemnation of the Administration’s intimidation tactics.”
The gauntlet has been thrown down. The next step is for law firm leadership and senior lawyers across the nation to acknowledge the risk these young lawyers have taken and to join them in defending the rule of law in America and the profession that protects it. The last paragraph of the Open Letter sums it up well:
When we are united, we cannot be intimidated. These tactics only work if the majority does not speak up. Our hope was that our employers, some of the most profitable law firms in the world, would lead the way. This has not been the case, but it still very much can be. It is easy to be afraid of being the first to speak. We are removing that barrier; we are speaking. Now it is our employers’ turn.”
I am so proud of these young people and all who will follow suit in condemning the unconstitutional and unethical actions of the Executive Branch. To date, one thing is crystal clear. The kids are definitely all right.

PURCHASE ONLINE AT:

PURCHASE ONLINE AT:
PURCHASE ONLINE AT:
PURCHASE ONLINE AT:
PURCHASE ONLINE AT:

ABOUT THE
AUTHOR

