Yale Law Women was thrilled to present our Speak Up report to the NYU Law Women Summit on February 28, 2014. Lauren Hartz, YLS ’14 and former Chair of Yale Law Women, discussed the context, methodology, findings, and recommendations of Speak Up during the afternoon panel entitled “Translating Success from the Classroom to the Conference Room.” Lauren was joined by Irene Dorzback, Associate Dean of New York University School of Law; Barbara Becker, Chair of the Diversity Committee at Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher; Florencia Marotta-Wurgler, Professor of Law at NYU Law and the Faculty Director of the Academic Careers Program; and Sarah Olson, Chief Diversity Officer of Sidley Austin. After Lauren’s presentation, the panelists offered their thoughts on gender dynamics in legal education, and how women’s experiences affect their professional careers years down the road. The panelists expressed concern at the continued gender disparities in law firms and legal academia—especially in top positions—but were hopeful that continued awareness-raising, cultural change, and programming for men and women alike will lead to exciting progress for our generation of lawyers.
Also during the panel, Professor Marotta-Wurgler mentioned that she had presented at a Yale Law Women workshop a few years ago, and she noted that workshopping a paper with a group of women was transformative for her academic career. She commented that as a legal academic, she is often completely surrounded by men, and that engaging with a group of women law students was a unique and empowering experience.
You can watch a recording of the panel here. Lauren’s presentation begins around 17:00, and Professor Marotta-Wurgler’s comments about participating in a YLW workshop begin around 35:00.
Thank you to NYU Law Women for inviting YLW to present Speak Up!