Law Students

Creating a Cohesive Unit: Networking with Women Attorneys

By Kat

In a recent 'The Press-Enterprise' article, attorney Laura Crane, founding member of the Inland Empire Legal Association of Women describes a particular problem for women lawyers that she has recently noticed.  When she entered a courthouse, she noticed a few women lawyers among the crowd of male civil litigators.  "It was not a good thing that I didn't know any of these women," said Crane, a real estate attorney based in the Ontario office of Best Best & Krieger. With so few women attorneys, "We should at least know one another."

Another founding member of the association, and its first president, Marcie Gardner, states that in San Bernardino County, "It looked like the demographics of the lawyers were changing but there was no way for female lawyers to come together in a cohesive unit."  So a group of women lawyers, including Crane and Gardner, came together to create a 'cohesive unit' by forming their own women lawyers' association.

With the unique issues faced by women in the law, from work-life balance issues, to diversity and firm structure issues, networking among women attorneys is more important than ever.   

For more information on networking for women attorneys and for ideas on how to organize and current issues facing women lawyers click here.

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Full post as published by Ms. JD on September 23, 2009 (boomark / email).