I am not going to argue that a female attorney is better in any situations than a male attorney. To me, gender does not define competence, even though for some clients it is easier to discuss certain issues with a male, or a female attorney, respectively.
Yet, based on how female attorneys are treated by the industry of legal services, how they are promoted, or rather, not promoted, and how they are discriminated against, openly and in more subtle ways, it appears that female attorneys still have become the mainstream of the legal profession.
Many female attorneys leave the legal profession because of, among other things:
(1) long hours;
(2) because family obligations are regarded by the law partners (and often by courts) as a hindrance to discharging the attorney's presumed duty of having to work 24-7 without distractions;
(3) lack of promotion within the large law firms;
(4) discrimination in court by the "good old boys club", including male judges and male attorney opponents.
Multiple sources have so far reported on the discrimination against female attorneys in the legal profession, and about, literally, exodus of women from the legal profession.
Yet, the situation is not remedied and becomes worse. Why? Because discrimination and humiliation of females in the legal profession is practically unassailable.
There are no trade unions in the legal profession to protect females from discrimination or negotiate "equal pay" contracts or promotion.
Female attorneys are afraid to complain about their employers because they will never get a job if they do complain.
How many times I was perceived as a party, not an attorney simply because I am not dressed in a suit, I am a female and I have an accent...
How many times I was talked down to by a male attorney, when that same attorney would not dream to talk this way to a male counterpart.
How many times I was talked down to or humiliated by a male judge who, similarly, would not dream to talk this way to a male attorney.
Female attorneys are afraid to complain about sexist conduct of judges because judges who are subject of the complaint have power to affect the attorney's license and end her legal career, thus putting years of costly education and years of acquiring skills and reputation down the drain with a few lines of a retaliative (and incorrect) court order imposing arbitrary sanctions upon an attorney - and your livelihood is done for good, because once your license is pulled, you will not be employable anywhere.
Recently, a female attorney was denied an adjournment of a hearing because she gave birth and the baby was too young and nobody was available to take care of her. So, the attorney brought the child into the courtroom to avoid a citation of contempt and a loss of rights for her client - only to be publicly chastised by the same judge who denied her the adjournment. The press reports that an adjournment was given to the attorney, but did not report whether the attorney made a motion to recuse a judge who publicly and unnecessarily humiliated her.
The attorney did file a complaint about the judge that was being investigated. I wonder how this judge will be ruling in this attorney's cases after the situation went public. With the lack of temperament suitable for a judge that the judge already demonstrated, it is naïve to presume that the judge will not use his power to retaliate against this female lawyer in the future, for trying to combine being a mother and being a counsel of her client's choice.
I doubt that the judge will ever be disciplined for his sexist attitude and uncivilized behavior. Yet, these are occasions that makes a female attorney think whether it is worth it to remain in the environment so hostile to her simply because she is a woman.
In my own experience, a judge can tell a female attorney:
(1) stop the catfight - about a legal argument - and get away with it;
(2) close your mouth - and get away with it;
(3) yell and humiliate a female attorney at every turn - and get away with it;
(4) retaliate against the female attorney when she complains by imposing arbitrary sanctions - and get away with it.
Please, tell me what is the attraction in using your intellect in order to come to court and be humiliated by a pompous jerk in a black robe who will rule against you no matter what because (1) you are a woman and should know your place; and (2) because he does not like you or your client.
You have to be a masochist to the bottom of your heart to want to earn your living this way. There are many ways to help people without being an attorney and without subjecting yourself to this endless humiliation.
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