{"id":459,"date":"2020-07-10T11:00:00","date_gmt":"2020-07-10T11:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/abtl.org\/northerncalifornia\/?p=459"},"modified":"2020-07-10T22:58:38","modified_gmt":"2020-07-10T22:58:38","slug":"success-for-women-in-and-out-of-the-courtroom","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/abtl.org\/northerncalifornia\/abtlreport\/success-for-women-in-and-out-of-the-courtroom\/","title":{"rendered":"Success for Women In and Out of the Courtroom"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

by Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte (Ret.)<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
\"\"
Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte (Ret.)<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Five years ago, I attended the United States District Court for the Northern District of California\u2019s annual conference along with other judges from the federal court, lawyer representatives to the court and other attorneys. There, professors Joan Williams of the University of California, Hastings College of the Law and Deborah Rhode of Stanford Law School\u2014leading scholars regarding how women fare in the legal profession\u2014spoke of the obstacles that, despite much progress, many still faced, including implicit bias. I was already familiar with studies in which reviewers of two otherwise identical resumes, except for one having a female-sounding first name and the other a male-sounding one, rated the male resume superior (as well as similar studies involving a name usually associated with African-Americans and a typically Caucasian one). Yet I was particularly struck by what Professor Williams termed \u201cthe tightrope\u201d that women must navigate due to stubborn gender stereotypes between being seen as likeable versus being respected. See <\/em>Joan C. Williams and Rachel Demsey, What Works for Women at Work: Four Patterns Working Women Need to Know <\/em>(2014). When women attorneys are perceived as likeable, they are also often mistakenly perceived as less competent; but when they are perceived as competent, they too often get demerits for being unlikeable or worse. By contrast, men enjoy more latitude to be perceived as both, without being penalized for an authoritative stance. This bias runs deep in the unconscious of both men and women. Think, for example, of the two meanings of \u201cstature\u201d as \u201cnatural height\u201d (women being shorter on average) and \u201cimportance or reputation gained by ability or achievement,\u201d illustrating the traditional association of greater physical height, where men on average loom over women, with higher status and skill. Oxford English Dictionary <\/em>(2020) (www.oed.com). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wanting to do something to help, I gathered a handful of the\nexcellent women attorneys at the conference to meet and brainstorm, thus\nlaunching the Women Attorneys Advocacy Project. Many attorneys (too numerous to\nlist all) have generously volunteered their time to the Project, including\nRandy Sue Pollack who has worked tirelessly from the start and current members\nJamie Dupree, Miriam Kim, Michelle Roberts, Charlene (Chuck) Shimada and\nJuliana Yee. With the full support of the court, including Chief Judge Phyllis\nHamilton, we have put on a series of programs open to all at the federal\ncourthouse, as well as at UC Hastings and Stanford Law School. Our programs\nhave included panels of judges or judge moderators, including Judge Yvonne\nGonzalez Rogers and Justice Teri Jackson, and outstanding attorneys giving tips\non how to overcome obstacles and\u2014at least as important\u2014create and get the most\nout of opportunities. Other programs have featured outstanding coaches in\neffective styles of speech and presentation in the courtroom and other\nlitigation settings. They focused on how to project confidence and competence\nwithout being perceived (too often unfairly) as tentative and uncertain on the\none hand, or cold and overly aggressive on the other (i.e.<\/em>, walking the\ntightrope). Then, in March of 2020, we co-sponsored an Association of Business\nTrial Lawyers dinner program, which I moderated, featuring outstanding and\ndiverse panelists: the Honorable Teri Jackson of the First District Court of\nAppeal; Ruth Bond of the Renne Public Law Group; Kate Dyer of Clarence Dyer\n& Cohen; Jan Little of Keker, Van Nest & Peters; and Quyen Ta of Boies\nSchiller Flexner. We had an excellent turnout, including both men and women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Based on these programs, talking to many judges and lawyers\n(female and male; of diverse ages, ethnicities and backgrounds; straight and\nfrom the LGBTQ community), reading the research, and my own experience (first\nas an attorney and then over two decades as a judge), certain common themes and\nlessons emerged. One fundamental takeaway is that diverse teams that embrace\ninclusivity deliver better results, as numerous recent studies have shown, so\nattorneys and judges benefit when law firms enable women and ethnically diverse\nattorneys to contribute fully. Further, some clients are demanding such teams,\nwith women and minority attorneys playing important roles, not just window\ndressing, and juries and judges are paying attention. See, e.g.<\/em>, David\nRock and Heidi Grant, Why Diverse Teams Are Smarter<\/em>, Harvard Bus. Rev.\n(Nov. 4, 2016). Seizing these opportunities requires leadership, by both men\nand women. As more women and minorities graduate from law school, they need\nmentorship, feedback and opportunities to learn and shine. Fortunately, many\njudges are actively encouraging oral argument and examination of witnesses by\nnewer lawyers, which means more opportunities for women attorneys, as well as\nminorities, as the pipeline improves with a higher percentage graduating from\nlaw school.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women can take steps to help themselves and each other,\nbuilding their confidence and in some cases overcoming cultural pressures that\nhave traditionally led some of them to voice opinions in a tentative tone or\nnot to take up space. For example, if at a meeting a woman first makes a good\npoint that is ignored, others can echo it; and if a man gets credit for later\nraising the same point, others can thank him for agreeing with the original\ncomment. Many attorneys can benefit from training in effective vocal skills,\nposture, body language and eye contact to better project confidence and\ncompetence while successfully navigating the tightrope. See, e.g.<\/em>, Cara\nHale Alter, The Credibility Code: How to Project Confidence and Competence\nWhen it Matters Most <\/em>(2012).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Women also have to be prepared for the obstacles they may\nencounter. Courtroom behavior is generally more respectful under the eyes and\nears of the judge, but on occasion we still observe an attorney (more often\nmale) talking over and interrupting opposing counsel (more often female or\nyounger). Attorneys must be prepared not to get knocked off their stride and to\ncalmly but persistently have their say, enlisting the help of the judge if\nnecessary. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

More often, uncivil behavior occurs outside the courtroom (e.g.<\/em>,\nin the hallway, in meet and confer sessions and in depositions). And sometimes\neven lead counsel is still mistaken for a secretary or associate when female,\nyoung, minority or some combination thereof. (As Quyen Ta noted at the ABTL\ndinner program, she recently came to take a deposition and wondered why it was\nslow to begin, only to learn that opposing counsel was waiting for lead\ncounsel\u2014assuming that role could not be hers. And Justice Jackson in her\ncourtroom, albeit without a robe, has been mistaken for a clerk.) Attorneys\nmust be ready to calmly but firmly correct such mistakes and call out bad\nbehavior, make a record, enlist help as needed and not back down. Many judges,\nincluding those in the Northern District, take calls during depositions and can\nrule when opposing counsel misbehaves, e.g.<\/em>, on obstreperous speaking\nobjections, as well as in subsequent motions. In the alternative dispute\nresolution setting, the mediator can help ensure a level playing field, set a\nrespectful tone and, if necessary, separate the parties and their counsel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Traditionally, women have shouldered more responsibility for\nraising children and doing housework (\u201cthe second shift,\u201d as sociologist Arlie\nHochschild termed it in her book of the same name), although younger\ngenerations are sharing responsibilities more equally. Accommodating the need\nfor flexibility (e.g.<\/em>, for school and doctor appointments)\u2014and not just\npermitting but encouraging the use of parental leave by men and women alike,\nrather than stigmatizing it\u2014helps retain valuable attorneys in whom law firms\nhave invested. Openness to hiring attorneys who have left the workforce for a\nperiod of time to raise children and to non-traditional arrangements like job\nsharing also keeps talented attorneys in the work force. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Importantly, each of us needs to develop our own effective\nstyle that is authentically ours. As Oscar Wilde said, \u201cBe yourself. Everyone\nelse is already taken.\u201d From my experience on the bench, calm, persistent (but\nnot repetitive) advocacy based on solid preparation on the law and the evidence\nis far more persuasive than overheated rhetoric or interrupting opposing\ncounsel or\u2014worst of all\u2014the judge. Therefore, do not give up your voice, do not\nbluster and be prepared to address the substantive issues and answer any\nquestions from the judge. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Finally, working together to overcome bias, implicit or\notherwise, is beneficial for all because law firms, clients and judges cannot\nafford to go without the full contributions that the skills and expertise of\nwomen attorneys bring to the table. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Hon. Elizabeth D. Laporte (Ret.) is an arbitrator,\nmediator, special master\/referee and neutral evaluator at JAMS in San\nFrancisco, after over two decades as a federal magistrate judge, and serves on\nthe Board of Directors of ABTL Northern California chapter. She handles a\nvariety of matters including antitrust, business\/commercial, civil rights,\nemployment, environmental law, insurance and intellectual property. She can be\nreached at elaporte@jamsadr.com.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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