When Judith Kaye graduated from New York University School of Law in 1962, her job search was an exercise in frustration. Firms rejected her simply by saying that they had already filled their quota for women. Kaye, 72, says she was “just knocking on doors” when Sullivan & Cromwell offered her a job as an associate. “It was one of the greatest and most shocking days of my life,” she says.
In 2008, after 25 years as a judge on the New York State Court of Appeals (the last 15 as chief judge), Kaye left the bench after reaching the mandatory retirement age of 70. Since she wasn’t interested in retiring, Kaye was again looking at firms, but this time around was a “stark contrast” to 1962, she says. Kaye’s contributions to the state court system and legal profession over the intervening 34 years made her actively sought after, and in 2009, she joined Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom as a litigation of counsel.
