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MORE WOMEN NEED SEATS AT THE TABLE
First Chairs at Trial
By Laura Hoover
CBA Alliance for Women
O
n Thursday, October 8, the Chi-
cago Bar Association’s Alliance
for Women and the Decalogue
Society of Lawyers sponsored a program
on Fairness and Equality in the Illinois
Court System. Panelists Sherri Arrigo,
Partner, Donohue Brown Mathewson
& Smyth LLC, Illinois Appellate Court
Justice Michael B. Hyman, and Stephanie
Scharf, Partner, Scharf Banks Marmor LLC
spoke from their perspectives on fairness
in the administration of justice.
The Illinois Supreme Court Committee
on Equality was established by the Illinois
Supreme Court in 2015 to promote fair-
ness in the administration of justice. The
study conducted by the Illinois Supreme
Court Committee, took the first empiri-
cal glimpse of those who serve as lead trial
counsel in the Northern District of Illinois.
The numbers were taken from a random
sample of appearances filed in the North-
ern District of Illinois in 2013. There were
2,100 attorneys who filed appearances, an
average of four attorneys per case.
The study found that in general apper-
arances, 68 percent of those who responded
were men. Of Lead Counsel or Trial Coun-
sel, 75 percent were men. In cases where
only men appeared in the matter (in any
role), 60 percent were men.
Additional realities told a very similar
story. In 2015, the American College of
Trial Lawyers inducted 58 attorneys, and
only six were women. In law firms, there
is a significant drop off in the number of
women as the level of seniority increases
(i.e. associate, newly promoted partners,
non-equity partners and equity partners).
Sherri Arrigo, who practices primarily
in the Circuit Court of Cook County,
observed that the numbers are even worse
than that of the Northern District of Illi-
nois. “It’s a handful of women in the city
that are trying, especially the larger cases.”
Sherri explained. Hinting at a larger prob-
lem, law firms need to take responsibility
for their policies and culture which fuel
gender disparity. The legal profession is
losing female talent, primarily because
firms are not advancing enough women
into senior roles. Moreover, society has
made it very difficult for women to advance
because of family commitments. Justice
The complete presentation of the
IllinoisSupremeCourtCommitteeon
Equality study andpanel discussion
can be viewed on the CBA Alliance
for Women Committee’s Webcast
Archive.
DEALING WITH BIAS/GENDER STEREOTYPES
–Say Yes:
if anyone asks you to do anything related to a trial, say“Yes”;
–Prove Yourself:
you have to work twice as hard to get half as far;
–Speak Up:
do the best you can, but if it gets to a point where the firm is hurting your career, do not remain
silent;
–Be Prepared:
a firmmay retaliate against women speaking up–prepare to handle whatever backlash you
might receive;
–Have a Role Model/Mentor:
it can change your future.
–Judicial Bias:
go to the presiding judge and ask for confidentiality; they will keep it!
Panelists Sherri Arrigo, Stephanie Scharf, and Justice Michael B. Hyman.
Hyman wisely noted, “I’ve never heard of
the daddy track.”
Future for Women
Clients are going to be the force driving
changes to the gender gap within lead
counsels. General Counsels are also asking
questions about law firm diversity. Equality
within the legal profession will come when
clients insist on the change. “It’s going to
be the power of the purse,” said Stephanie
Scharf.
The panelists agreed that women play
a crucial role in facilitating that change
by bringing in their own business. Clients
want the attorney they hired to try their
case. When it is your business and your
clients, you will spring yourself into the
lead counsel role.
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NOVEMBER 2015