Justice Is A Woman

Have you ever given much thought to the fact that Justice is a woman? According to the Office of the Curator of the Supreme Court of the United States, “Portraying Justice as a female figures dates back to depictions of Themis and Justicia in ancient mythology. Themis, known for her clear-sightedness, was the Greek Goddess of Justice and Law. In Roman mythology, Justicia (Justice) was one of the four Virtues along with Prudence, Fortitude and Temperance….Over time, Justice became associated with scales to represent impartiality and a sword to symbolize power.”

I have always found it somewhat ironic that Justice, the iconic symbol of the law, is a woman. Historically women have suffered greatly under the law, or perhaps under what we would now consider the failures of the law. (If you want to brush up on the history of the law’s treatment of women, here’s a little primer on Women’s History in America from the Women’s International Center, http://www.wic.org/misc/history.htm.) Nevertheless, the law has recently been of great service to the rights of women, including but not limited to the passage of the Nineteenth Amendment in 1920.

So what exactly is Justice? Justice could be defined as the principle of fair treatment. In fact, the scales held by Justice are understood to imply a fair balancing of interests between opposing parties. To draw upon the Supreme Court Curator’s discussion above, Justice is the impartial exercise of power.

With all this in mind, do you think the day-to-day practice of law would be any different if it more fully embodied the principle of Justice as a woman? As a way to begin thinking about this, imagine if all or most of the lawyers in your office were women. What if most or all of the partners in your firm were women? What if most or all of the judges were women? Would the practice of law feel different? Would the practice of law be different? Would power, in its myriad of forms small and large, be exercised more impartially?

Your answers may include “yes”, “no”, “maybe”, and “all of the above”. In later blogs, I’ll talk about some of the recent trends regarding the number of women in the profession. Will there someday be a legal profession where the majority of its embodied representatives are women?

Fairness Is Chocolate To The Brain

Recently, researchers at UCLA conducted a fascinating little experiment regarding how people’s brainwaves register the experience of fairness. The researchers found that the reward circuitry of people’s brains activates in response to fairness in the same way it activates to eating chocolate or winning money. (Did someone say chocolate?) Alternatively, unfairness activates the disgust centers of our brains. Think smelly, rotten eggs. Ugh.

Humans seem to be hard-wired to respond positively to fairness. Who knew?

Understanding that we are biologically hard-wired to respond positively to fairness is a great additional motivator to trying to find solutions that everyone experiences fair. Fairness is not just a concept; it’s a body experience. Imagine how good everyone at work would feel if they were all eating chocolate and winning money! And imagine how much easier settlement negotiations would be if both sides experienced the agreement as pleasantly as a Hershey’s bar.

This is a nice little factoid to share with your co-workers, and to inform your day-to-day interactions with others. Shall we aim for more chocolate moments?

Why A Blog for Women Lawyers?

Twenty-five years ago, I decided to go to law school to fight for justice for women. By the time I graduated three years later, I was willing to put on the “golden handcuffs” and accept a well-paying offer with a private law firm. The work had nothing to do with justice for women (and on occasion precious little to do with justice at all). Later I moved in-house as corporate counsel. I made good money, but ultimately the work deadened my soul. I never did fight for women’s rights while practicing law.

Fortunately, at this point in my life I spend a great deal of my day helping women, but in ways I could not have imagined when I was law student. I also have developed a very different understanding of what it means to fight for justice, and what I believe my role is in creating justice in the world.

These days I help women (and men, for that matter) develop their own personal power. Personal power arises from living your life from an authentic, core-driven sense self. When you know who you are, and you trust who you are, very little in life is beyond your reach. This is the kind of power that allows us to create what is needed in the world – justice for women, justice for men, justice for our children, and justice for our planet.

In the past year I have had the opportunity to speak with a number of women lawyers who have attended conferences or workshops where I have presented. And I’ve found myself wondering, how are we faring? Although some women lawyers seem content and successful, many others are not. For a variety of reasons, there is dissatisfaction, stress and angst. The reasons vary, sometimes based upon age or generation. Some of the issues faced by women lawyers have changed as the experience of women in the law have changed over the years. Other concerns seem universal – something almost all women lawyers, at all times, have had to deal with.

I have been struck by the reluctance of some women lawyers to self-identify as women lawyers, to say that there are issues that affect us solely as women. Perhaps this arises from a fear of being stigmatized. Or perhaps it is based a belief that in fact there is no difference to practicing law as a woman versus as a man. Although this may be the experience of some, my experience is that gender is not neutral – either in law or in any other aspect in life.

As a child and young woman, others named my gender as a weakness. I learned to deny that weakness. At this point, I want to be able to name the truth of my experience, of which gender is one aspect. And I have been fortunate enough to have learned in both my brain and in my heart that differences are simply that: differences. They make us neither better nor worse than others. They simply make us real.

So I am envisioning this blog as a place for lawyers who are women to have a conversation about their experiences in the practice of law and in life. From their 20s to their 70s, in private law firms, as solos, in corporate legal departments, non-profits, or the government, with or without spouses or partners, and with or without children. We have a lot in common and a lot in “difference”. I’ll blog about some topics that I think you might find of interest. And I invite you to suggest topics as well.

My hope is that this process will in some way contribute to the development of your personal power, and your ability to live from your own authentic, core-driven sense of self. And that this will create more justice in the world for women and all others.

Although I no longer practice law, I’m glad I’m a lawyer. And I’m glad that there are lawyers. It is our great fortune to live in a society that is based on law. The law can be a useful shield as well as, occasionally, a sword. I’m glad both the shields and the swords are held in the hands of women.