Yale Bulletin and Calendar

February 23, 2007|Volume 35, Number 19

'Legally Female' to explore status
of women in legal profession

Yale Law Women will introduce a new online community for women in the legal profession at a conference at the Yale Law School on Saturday, March 31.

The conference -- titled "Legally Female: What Does It Mean To Be Ms. JD?"-- will include a series of panels on the challenges women face in the legal profession today.

Panelists will include law professors, judges and practitioners who work in diverse settings, including law firms, non-profits and non-governmental organizations.

The conference will also launch a weblog titled "Ms. JD" at http://ms-jd.org.

According to Michelle Morin, a second-year Yale law student and one of the conference organizers, "Students from Yale, Stanford and 10 other law schools met last year to brainstorm ways in which women in law could connect with each other. They decided to create a blog to launch an online community. Our conference will help to publicize that blog and will pursue similar goals outside the virtual world."

The conference will explore the status of women in the legal profession in light of new technologies and the challenges of an increasingly gender-integrated and gender-aware workplace. The organizers hope that both the conference and the blog will spark cooperation across traditional boundaries that have divided women working in different legal practice areas and institutions. They also hope to encourage discussion among lawyers in private practice, public interest lawyers, law professors and students.

According to another conference organizer, Julia Simon-Kerr, "The new blog will be a global meeting place for women in the profession."

Online registration for the conference at www.legallyfemale.com is required. It is free for Yale law students; $15 for other students; and $30 for professionals. CLE credit in the state of New York will be available for professionals who pre-register by March 23. Early registration is recommended because space is limited and attendance will be capped. Individuals who work in public interest, government or legal academia and would like to inquire about financial assistance should email ms-jd@legallyfemale.org.

More information, including a list of speakers and a description of each panel, is also available at www.legallyfemale.com.

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