On March 1 at the City Bar, a panel of distinguished women judges and litigators explored the question of why women litigators appear in commercial cases at a far lower rate than their representation in law firms.
The question had been raised by several women judges of New York's Appellate Division, First Department, who put out a fact sheet on the topic. Among their findings was that out of 98 commercial cases from September 2010 to January 2011, only 12 had a woman attorney in a lead role or arguing the case.
The panelists were Hon. Rosalyn H. Richter, Hon. Deborah A. Batts, Sandra Leung, Michele Coleman Mayes, and Hon. Angela M. Mazzarelli. In addition, Hon. Jonathan Lippman, chief judge of New York's Court of Appeals, and Samuel W. Seymour, president of the New York City Bar, made introductory remarks.