On Aug. 8, Judge Shira Scheindlin published an op-ed in The New York Times discussing the statistical truth that law firms have poor representation of women attorneys as first-chair trial lawyers. Titled, “Female Lawyers Can Talk, Too,” Judge Scheindlin’s piece observed that progress at private law firms has stalled. Backed by data collected by the New York State Bar Association, Scheindlin’s observation is not merely anecdotal.
But it is not universal. I am a female, home-grown, big firm lawyer who is a first-chair trial attorney. I am 41 years old, so I am in the middle of my career—probably no longer a “young lawyer” in Scheindlin’s estimation, but not yet having done as much as I intend to do. When I read Scheindlin’s essay, I thought—hoped—it might be valuable to articulate the environmental conditions that made it possible for me to grow into a first-chair lawyer at my firm.
