Posted by wlansden |
Filed under commentary, general
By Eileen Burkhalter Smith
Does this sound familiar?: I had been working on a case for about a year and been the primary contact for the client. We had had substantial interaction on drafting, strategy, updates, etc. About eleven months into the case, I received an email from a (male) colleague also working on the case. It was a forward from the client asking him “what’s that girl’s name again?” Incidentally, the client had sent the email to my colleague by forwarding an email that I sent him. Yep, my email conveniently included all of my business contact information in the body, and my name in the address.
I have drafted an article on this topic a number of times, and then held off publishing it. I don’t think this affects only young women lawyers, but I am particularly interested in this aspect of it. Indeed, this is not the first story* I have shared here about this type of thing. BUT, this is the first time that it had happened from someone on my team—my client.
I have done a quick informal survey of my women colleagues and found that this incident is not unusual. Some other experiences are as follows:
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Being mistaken for the court reporter by opposing counsel;
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Being asked by the client if it was “okay” for My Colleague, a woman, to take the deposition of a man;
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Being asked by opposing counsel to make copies and get coffee while at a deposition in HIS office;
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Being questioned about whether an extension of time was confirmed if given by My Colleague, or whether she needed to check with the Male Partner.
These are only a few examples, and I bring this up for many reasons, an important one of which is that I wonder if the people doing this don’t realize its effect. Food for thought.
* This incident actually happened months ago, and I held off discussing it so all parties could forget it happened (except, um, me).
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