May/June 2017

This past June we heard about the massive public outcry created by Santa Clara Superior Court County Judge Michael Aaron Persky who sentenced Brock Turner, a fellow white male alumni of Stanford University, to 6 months in county jail after Turner was convicted of three felony counts for sexually assaulting a woman who was too intoxicated to consent or defend herself. Judge Persky attempted to justify his minimal sentence for the defendant, stating "[a] prison sentence would have a severe impact on him". See the full article. This type of bias should not be allowed in our judiciary.

In reaction, California Women Lawyers (CWL) sent an open letter to the California Judicial Council (with a copy to California Supreme Court Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye) this month calling for mandatory training on sexual assault and domestic violence as part of its implicit bias training for all judicial officers in the State. In the letter, CWL explained that the lack of accurate knowledge about sexual assault and domestic violence not only perpetuates myths in our judicial system but also results in biased sentences such as Judge Persky's sentence. "For a judge to look at Turner, a man convicted of three felony accounts and say 'he will not be a danger to others' defies rational perception and perpetuates harmful stereotypes," according to CWL's letter written by CWL Board Member Danielle de Smeth. "Judicial canons require more."

June 2016

by: CWL Admin

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Jun

President's Message: Summer Reflections: Spotlight on CWL's In-House Counsel Network

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

In the hazy days of summer, I am taking a minute to reflect on one of CWL's greatest member benefits - the In-House Counsel Network (IHCN). CWL Past President Eliza Rodrigues conceived and launched IHCN during her 2012-2013 term as president. Her IHCN initiative created a structure and forum for CWL members who work as in-house counsel to actively discuss issues and ideas unique to their position - employed by a company or entity to oversee legal matters, but who don't have a law firm or institutional environment that provides access to similarly situated colleagues. Her vision was to create that forum and establish the policy under which CWL welcomes in-house counsel members to get together to meet peers and colleagues statewide and across industries.

CWL's statewide presence makes this member benefit truly valuable and will move California forward in advancing the CWL mission. As one example, the IHCN will promote discussion of ways to assure that women attorneys are working on projects, as opposed to having the law firm bring a female to the initial meeting with in-house counsel. In this way and many others, step by step, project by project, the IHCN will create a more balanced future for this gender-divided society. Now, in 2016, our own Neda Mansoorian (CWL past president 2013-14) has put her amazing energy into IHCN and has built the program to feature another "Whiskey and Bites" event, along with the CWL IHCN signature "Puzzle" series, and a uniquely exclusive program retreat this fall.

May 2016

by: CWL Admin

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May

President's Message: Still Much to Talk About

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

The activity level within California Women Lawyers (CWL) is climbing to a peak, and the energy level across the State is extraordinary. In fact, we have so much going on this Spring that I'm not sure how I'll adapt to not being CWL's president at the end of my term. But our immediate past President Wendy Behan eased my worries, saying, with a smile, that she will talk me through the transition. I can't think about that now because there are more exciting things still for me to do.

After CWL hosted the Northern California Judicial Reception in Redwood City celebrating San Mateo County Superior Court Judge Elizabeth K. Lee when we presented her the CWL Rose Bird Award on April 8, I attended Lobby Day in Sacramento with our Legislative Chair Louinda Lacey on May 2 and 3 to advocate and support the CWL legislative agenda adopted by the Board at the end of last month, and the day long CWL Annual Conference in Concord brought together a dynamic set of panels and speakers on May 6, where CWL presented the Judith Soley Lawyer as Citizen Award to Pauline E. Weaver

April 2016

by: CWL Admin

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Apr

President's Message: On the Money

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

On April 20, 2016, the United States Government announced that Harriet Tubman, abolitionist and active Underground Railroad guide, will replace Andrew Jackson on the front of the twenty-dollar bill. If the decision is carried out, it will be the first time a woman is featured on federally distributed paper money since Martha Washington briefly graced the $1.00 silver certificate in the late 19th century, according to an April 21 New York Times article.

Born into slavery, Harriet Tubman fought against a slave overseer defending a friend. In the course of the confrontation, the overseer hit Tubman on the head with a rock, which left her permanently disabled. With a new outlook on life and a motto of 'liberty or death,' Tubman escaped slavery and made extraordinary contributions to the Abolitionist Movement, including serving as a Union spy during the Civil War.

March 2016

by: CWL Admin

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Mar

President's Message: Women Making History: Now and In the Future

Have you heard that March is Women's History Month? Of course we all know of this label. As president of California Women Lawyers (CWL), I hope to aid in the movement toward the time in the future where gender discrimination is far behind us such that we no longer need a month dedicated to remind the world about our gender. I'd love to see the day when gender discrimination is a quaint part of history.

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

Women's History Month was actually born from International Women's Day on March 8, which was declared and recognized over 100 years ago. See this LA Times Article. Unfortunately, the Los Angeles Times article about International Women's Day did not have good news, but rather highlighted the abysmal reality of how much gender inequality, violence and repression impacts society worldwide, in many different ways.

February 2016

by: CWL Admin

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Feb

President's Message: Women in Executive Roles Result in Higher Profits for Companies

The headline of a recent New York Times article from February 9, 2016, which appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, read, "Women in Executive Roles Tied to Stronger Profits, Study Says." The article explains that companies whose top management positions consisted of 30 percent women were 15 percent more profitable, according to a study released last week by the Peterson Institute for International Economics, a nonprofit group in Washington D.C. and EY, the audit firm formerly known as Ernst & Young.

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

As reported by the New York Times (and SF Chronicle), the study did not find evidence that quotas for women on boards, as required in Norway, Denmark and Finland, impacted the bottom line, but instead noted that countries need to focus more on the management 'pipeline' for women starting in early childhood. Countries with school-age girls who score high on math tests were more likely to have women in management positions, reported Marcus Noland, the institute's director of studies. This study found that gender diversity is still sorely lacking, as almost 60 percent of the nearly 22,000 companies reviewed had no female board members and more than half had no female executives.

January 2016

by: CWL Admin

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Jan

President's Message: Cheers to Judge for Imposing Financial Sanctions for Sexist Comment

U.S. Magistrate Judge Paul Grewal sanctioned an attorney (Peter Bertling) who told his female opposing counsel "Don't raise your voice at me. It's not becoming of a woman..." Bertling's client is ordered to pay costs for other discovery abuses, and
Bertling must contribute $250 to the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles (WLALA) Foundation, a link to which website was included in the order.

Kelly Robbins, Robbins Family Law

WLALA is an affiliate of CWL and one of the largest women lawyer associations in California, representing almost 1000 members, according to their website. That San Jose's Magistrate Grewal, a male, said in his order: "a specific and appropriate sanction
for Bertling's comment is required" sends the message that all attorneys need to hear. Attorneys like Bertling need to hear the message so that they will change their behavior and hopefully also change their thinking, and women attorneys need
to hear the message so that they will no longer allow such behavior and will call on our legal system to treat each other appropriately, as Oakland attorney Lori Rifkin did here.