Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: What’s Happening that Matters to Women Lawyers
Today I’d like to call several interesting articles and developments regarding women in law to your attention.
I loved reading this article about The 39 Most Iconic Feminist Moments of 2014. Nothing short of inspiring that more and more women are speaking out in support of feminism. I simply can’t believe we let our culture decide that “feminist” was a bad label.
On a more disturbing note, a female criminal lawyer in New York was recently denied a trial delay based on a request to postpone the trial due to her high-risk pregnancy. The hearing relating to the request got a lot of media attention, and Deborah Misir, the pregnant lawyer, had to appear by phone due to her condition. The New York Times called the hearing tumultuous at points. The Judge ultimately denied the request because there was a second lawyer who could handle the case and finding that the right to counsel of choice was outweighed by the co defendants right to be tried quickly and the need to try the case once for judicial efficiency. Both Misir and her husband were visibly upset and argued that there was obvious sexism occurring in the process.
The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession is a great resource for women lawyers. Check out the ABA Current Glance at Women in the Law from July 2014 and become more educated on how women fare statistically in the field. Also read The Goal III Report published February 2014, which is an Annual report on Women’s Advancement into Leadership Positions in the American Bar Association. Finally be sure to look at the Call for Nomination for the 2015 Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Awards that are due by December 15th. This is how the awards are described: “The award was established in 1991 to recognize and celebrate the accomplishments of women lawyers. Each year, this award honors five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence within their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers. These women demonstrate excellence in a variety of professional settings and personify excellence on either the national, regional, or local level.”
If I am missing something we should know about please let know, and as always I am looking for information and assistance with the following:
Specific Cases that women criminal lawyers are handling
A mentor or outstanding lawyer that you think should be interviewed
How you would define a “Great Defender” as a woman criminal lawyer
I also welcome your thoughts on how we could enhance this blog. I would love to hear from you!