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Abigail J. Remore is the President of the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association (NJWLA).
While we have certainly made many strides over the last decades, several barriers continue to exist for women in legal careers – even apart from the more obvious ones, like pay gaps. First, women continue to bear an unequal burden of caregiving responsibilities, whether that be for children, aging parents, or other loved ones. Women often also carry the brunt of the mental load of running a household – even if they have support at home, women often handle the cognitive and emotional labor of organizing that support and anticipating the needs of the household. This can and often does lead to resentment, burnout, and anxiety issues, and may make it more challenging for women to thrive in “traditional” legal roles where there may be less flexibility in how promotions or compensation is awarded. Second, women do not always network and develop business the same way men do – whether that be due to personality or socialization differences or different demands on their time. That can make it more difficult for women to become successful and powerful rainmakers at their firms or to get promoted. The next generation of female attorneys should recognize that while progress has been made, more needs to be done. Women new to the profession should endeavor to learn from those who came before them, work together (across generational gaps) to continue to raise awareness about these issues, learn tools to succeed that are specific to them as women, and do what they can to listen to and support one another. They should take steps to educate themselves about these issues and seek out organizations (like the New Jersey Women Lawyers Association) who can provide ways for them to network with one another and learn from one another. Finally, the next generation of female attorneys must be open to learning about the challenges of those of varying backgrounds – the issues facing diverse attorneys are even more nuanced and complicated.
Organization, accountability and being able to see the big picture while still being attentive to detail are keys to succeeding in competitive environments, whether you are a woman lawyer or not. A successful new lawyer needs to be able to manage a wide variety of tasks and demands on their time and show that they can take the lead on a case or matter without being spoon fed everything. Get comfortable taking initiative (i.e. docketing deadlines, learning the facts of a matter forward and backward, and taking steps on their own to educate themselves about the substantive law and to learn how to effectively use the tools available to them), even if that means you are doing some work on your own that you may not be able to bill or get credit for. Supervising lawyers often express frustration when they cannot trust a junior attorney to complete an assignment without typos, missing deadlines, or other silly mistakes or when they feel like the junior attorney is only willing to complete assignments in a vacuum without taking the time to make sure they understand what is being asked of them and how it fits into the matter as a whole. I have yet to see someone who treats lawyering as just a “job” where you do only specific discrete tasks when assigned and never think about them again stand out in competitive environments. Learning the substance of the law will come with time, but being responsible, organized, diligent, dependable, thoughtful, inquisitive, hard-working, and forward-thinking are skills anyone can develop now. And, start to get comfortable taking criticism without getting defensive – take it as an opportunity to learn rather than a personal attack.
One of my favorite NJWLA events is our annual “Fore Women Golf Outing & Clinic.” The event is intended to be a low pressure and informal event where women can learn to play golf together – even if you have never picked up a club (which was where I was the first time I attended). It can be really intimidating to play in a golf outing when you are new to the game – and we intentionally curate this event to minimize that intimidation. This year, we had a roster of all-female golf pros running both our beginner and advanced clinics, which was a fabulous experience.
Keep an open mind! When I went to law school, I had a very specific career trajectory planned, and my path has veered substantially from it. Learn about other areas of the law and consider a variety of law schools and clinic opportunities, because you never know where your career might take you. Plus, learning about a variety of practice areas can help you be a better lawyer wherever you do wind up. For example, I have found that my litigation experience makes me a better transactional lawyer – when I am drafting a contract, I naturally think about how it could be challenged in court – and it works the other way too. Getting involved in clubs and organizations at your law school is great, but do not only look there – many local and affinity bar associations have low cost or free membership or event registrations for law students – they can offer you a lot of insight that a student-run organization may not be able to. Also, take the time to learn a bit about the “business” of practicing law – not just the substantive law and writing skills. It will give you a leg up when you start your career. Finally – it is never too early to start paying attention to your mental health. Get into the habit of taking care of yourself, whether it be going to therapy, learning what helps you decompress or brings you joy, or working on how to better cope with difficult situations and personalities. This is not an easy career path, and setting up good practices now is invaluable.
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