Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Looking Back and Looking Ahead

I can hardly believe it, but tomorrow will mark one year since this blog was officially launched. It’s a significant milestone (for me anyway!) and I have a few thoughts I’d like to share with you.

By far the most rewarding part of writing this blog has been meeting and interviewing so many incredibly talented women from across the country.  My hope is that the interviews we feature provide a format for all of us to get to know one another.  I had the privilege of interviewing eleven amazing women this year and if you haven’t already done so, please go back and read them. (Click here to see them all in one place.) The responses of these women are inspiring, thoughtful, intimate, and offer invaluable guidance for any woman in the field.  Building strong relationships with other women in the field is foundational to our ability to help and support one another.

We also highlighted twelve cases of interest in the media where women were either leading or involved in the defense of the criminally accused. Highlighting the involvement of women in some of the country’s biggest criminal cases is a critical step in achieving change.  One of the stated purposes of this blog was “to start building on images and narratives of women in this field so that a lasting picture can be painted. Women are taught not to brag and boast but this has the effect of leaving a void in our own story. I want to change that.” My hope is that highlighting cases involving twelve women in the trenches is a step forward in this regard.

Finally, I have been linking to some of these blog posts on various social media networks, and have been met with some isolated negative comments such as “who cares” or “why does this matter?”  My answer is that this is exactly the point.  It matters to women.  The images and narratives of men succeeding in this field are abundant.  We are just doing our best to work toward a level playing field -- one post at a time. I have loved doing this blog and look forward to many more great years!