Panelists talked about the history of women lawyers, the challenges women face in the legal profession, and the role women lawyers have played in oral arguments before the Supreme Court. The panel, which included the nation’s first female U.S. solicitor general, was moderated by retired Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, its first female Supreme Court justice. The panelists discussed the current position of women in the profession of law and the issues they still face. Topics included how the goals of women tend to differ after they have been part of a law firm for a few years such as wanting more time away from work to be available for a family. They agreed that full equality of treatment for women lawyers had not yet been achieved, including appointments to the highest positions and the difference in the questions asked at a nomination hearing.
The program “Women Advocates of the Supreme Court Bar -- Their Day in Court,” co-sponsored by the Supreme Court Fellows Program Alumni Association and the First Amendment Center, was at 3 p.m. in the Walter and Lenore Annenberg Auditorium, at the Newseum.