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Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules
A must-read for every woman in the midst of—or contemplating—a career in law, and for the men who work with them.
The very presence of women in law—normal as it may seem to us today—signals revolutionary change in a social order that for centuries entrusted control over its rules to men. Mona Harrington examines both the problems women meet when they claim equal authority as rule makers and the impact of new perspectives and issues that women bring with them into the profession.
On the basis of more than one hundred interviews with women lawyers, judges, and law school professors and students, and through the stories of their daily experiences, Harrington pinpoints and analyzes the key factors holding women back in a profession still dominated by males—among them the “men’s club” ambience, the focus on billable hours, sexual harassment and the inequality it perpetuates, lingering unequal division of labor at home, and hostile media images of women in positions of power.
She shows us what life is like for women lawyers in practice today and how their dilemmas reflect the social issues of our time. She gives us the voices of women who have adapted to the cultural codes of corporate law and women who have broken them; women who have successfully balanced their professional and private lives and women who feel trapped by the combination of long hours at the office and full responsibility at home. She introduces us to women in new and alternative firms, on the faculties of small public law schools, in in-house legal departments, and in prosecutors’ offices and courtrooms—women who are devising new rules and legal theories to bring about change.
The very presence of women in law—normal as it may seem to us today—signals revolutionary change in a social order that for centuries entrusted control over its rules to men. Mona Harrington examines both the problems women meet when they claim equal authority as rule makers and the impact of new perspectives and issues that women bring with them into the profession.
On the basis of more than one hundred interviews with women lawyers, judges, and law school professors and students, and through the stories of their daily experiences, Harrington pinpoints and analyzes the key factors holding women back in a profession still dominated by males—among them the “men’s club” ambience, the focus on billable hours, sexual harassment and the inequality it perpetuates, lingering unequal division of labor at home, and hostile media images of women in positions of power.
She shows us what life is like for women lawyers in practice today and how their dilemmas reflect the social issues of our time. She gives us the voices of women who have adapted to the cultural codes of corporate law and women who have broken them; women who have successfully balanced their professional and private lives and women who feel trapped by the combination of long hours at the office and full responsibility at home. She introduces us to women in new and alternative firms, on the faculties of small public law schools, in in-house legal departments, and in prosecutors’ offices and courtrooms—women who are devising new rules and legal theories to bring about change.
- GenresLaw
288 pages, Paperback
First published January 18, 1994
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Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews
January 14, 2023
Wordy and repetitive.
January 28, 2009
An interesting mix of personal observation of women in the legal system, and the perspectives (through anonymous interviews) of several women practicing law.
I expected and hoped for a more succinct and factual accounting. Rather, I got a mixed bag of seemingly whiny complainers and quotable quotes.
All in all, a good early effort to define what "women lawyers" really are all about.
Personally, after practicing law for so long, I hardly see gender as a factor in the actual practice or application of the law. Ain't Justice blind, after all?
Gender, is, however, still a huge factor in law firm politics, hiring, firing, promoting, and regarding the presence of women in the profession in what are considered "power positions." It is also a huge factor in the camaraderie in the profession, or lack thereof.
I expected and hoped for a more succinct and factual accounting. Rather, I got a mixed bag of seemingly whiny complainers and quotable quotes.
All in all, a good early effort to define what "women lawyers" really are all about.
Personally, after practicing law for so long, I hardly see gender as a factor in the actual practice or application of the law. Ain't Justice blind, after all?
Gender, is, however, still a huge factor in law firm politics, hiring, firing, promoting, and regarding the presence of women in the profession in what are considered "power positions." It is also a huge factor in the camaraderie in the profession, or lack thereof.
February 28, 2008
This book summed up everything I had been feeling!! It was completely on the money. I read it and felt angry and yet somehow relieved that I wasn't alone in what I had always felt about being a lawyer, woman, and mommy.
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July 26, 2012Extremely well-written. Refreshing to read about women who find the practice of law to be anything but a "liberating" experience. As a woman who plans to go to law school in a couple years, I'd definitely recommend this as a must-read for all law school/lawyer hopefuls (of both sexes).
March 27, 2011
read before law school...prob would do me good to do again.
Displaying 1 - 5 of 5 reviews