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Jill Norgren
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Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers: Lives in the Law Kindle Edition

by Jill Norgren (Author) Format: Kindle Edition
4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 41 ratings
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History told through the words of one hundred groundbreaking female lawyers: “Their stories are both a window into the past and a beacon for the future.” —Virginia G. Drachman, author of Sisters in Law

In 1950, Harvard Law School began to admit women. But for those wanting to enter the profession, the terms of engagement were clear: Only a few women would be admitted each year to American law schools, and after graduation their opportunities would never equal those open to similarly qualified men. At many law schools, well into the 1970s, men told female students that they were taking a place that might be better used by a male student who would have a career, not babies.

In 2005, the American Bar Association’s Commission on Women in the Profession initiated a national oral history project named Women Trailblazers in the Law: One hundred outstanding senior women lawyers—among them such famed figures as Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Janet Reno, Norma Shapiro, and Catherine Roraback—were asked to give their personal and professional histories in interviews conducted by younger colleagues. The interviews, made available to the author, permit these women to be written into history in their words, words that evoke pain as well as celebration, humor, and somber reflection. These are women attorneys who, in courtrooms, classrooms, government agencies, and NGOs, have rattled the world with insistent and successful demands to reshape their profession and their society. They are women who brought nothing short of a revolution to the profession of law.
 
In this book, award-winning legal historian Jill Norgren curates these compelling stories, using them to describe the profound changes that began in the late 1960s and interweaving social and legal history with the women’s individual experiences.
 
“An inspirational story of individual successes and even more important, a historical analysis of the march toward improved gender equality in America.” ―Trial Magazine

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  1. Print length
    301 pages
  2. Language
    English
  3. Sticky notes
    On Kindle Scribe
  4. Publisher
    NYU Press
  5. Publication date
    May 22, 2018
  6. File size
    930 KB
  7. Page Flip
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  8. Word Wise
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Editorial Reviews

Review

"I cannot even begin to do justice to these stories, so I recommend it as reading for everyone. I have always considered Ruth Bader Ginsburg an inspiration, but now I know the names and stories of other trailblazers to admire: Ruth Abrams, Joanne Garvey, Constance Harvey, Herma Hill Kay, Shirley Hufstedler, Belva Lockwood, Janet Reno, Catherine Roraback, Norma Shapiro, Ada Shen-Jaffe, and so many more... Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers is not just the story of what women went through to attain their current place in the law, but an empowerment to keep the fight for equality going strong. This book is highly recommended for law school libraries." -- Law Library Journal

"Jill Norgren has written a compelling portrait of women on the front lines of the ongoing struggle for gender equality in the legal profession. Her book eloquently describes a central feature of the civil rights revolution that continues today, and reminds us not to take for granted the hard-won victories of those whose stories she tells." -- John Shattuck,author of Freedom on Fire: Human Rights Wars and America's Response

"Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers is an inspirational story of individual successes and even more important, a historical analysis of the march toward improved gender equality in America." ― Trial Magazine

"[A]n interesting look at the lives of women who joined the legal profession in the middle and later part of the last century...[I]t offers tales both fascinating and frustrating about barriers and burdens women suffered as they fought their way into the legal profession" -- The Champion

"This remarkable volume collects the life and career stories of more than a hundred female lawyers, all part of the so-called 'second wave'of the movement, that is the period after women gained suffrage and other full citizenship rights. These are women who have written important scholarship, served as Deans of major institutions, risen to the highest ranks of law practice while also devising new forms of public service---their stories mark a true revolution in the profession. The production of the book itself is as remarkable as the content a vast collaborative effort of oral history taking and writing, now organized with an historians fine hand. It will be useful for years to all scholars of the legal profession as a model and an inspiration." -- Barbara Babcock,Crown Professor Emerita, Stanford Law School, author of Fish Raincoats, A Woman Lawyer's Life

"The words of the women lawyers here tell an inspiring yet sobering story of the path women lawyers blazed in the 20th century. They all, even the most successful and influential, faced the roadblocks of gender discrimination as they made their way through law school and up the professional ladder, and as they confronted the enduring challenge of balancing their personal and professional lives. Their stories are both a window into the past and a beacon for the future, revealing just how far women lawyers have advanced as well as what lies ahead in the 21st century." -- Virginia G. Drachman,author of Sisters in Law: Women Lawyers in Modern American History

About the Author

Jill Norgren is Professor Emerita of Political Science at John Jay College and the Graduate Center, The City University of New York. She is the author of several books, including Rebels at the Bar: The Fascinating, Forgotten Stories of America’s First Women Lawyers (NYU, 2013), and Belva Lockwood: The Women Who Would Be President (NYU, 2007).

Product details

  • ASIN ‏ : ‎ B07CCFZK7S
  • Publisher ‏ : ‎ NYU Press (May 22, 2018)
  • Publication date ‏ : ‎ May 22, 2018
  • Language ‏ : ‎ English
  • File size ‏ : ‎ 930 KB
  • Text-to-Speech ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Screen Reader ‏ : ‎ Supported
  • Enhanced typesetting ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • X-Ray ‏ : ‎ Not Enabled
  • Word Wise ‏ : ‎ Enabled
  • Sticky notes ‏ : ‎ On Kindle Scribe
  • Print length ‏ : ‎ 301 pages
  • Customer Reviews:
    4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars 41 ratings

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Jill Norgren

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Customer reviews

4.5 out of 5 stars
4.5 out of 5
41 global ratings

Top reviews from the United States

Bonnie De Clark
5.0 out of 5 stars Important women
Reviewed in the United States on March 1, 2021
Verified Purchase
It's about time these stories about important women are told. These were women doing work that was thought to be only done by MEN. In reading the stories you find they were unique women who knew what they wanted from an early age. EVERYTHING is always harder for a woman as it was for these brilliant women who began excelling from an early age. It helps that they had the advantage of a good education and someone supportive behind them. A fabulous read about women we should have known more about before this.
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Mrs. E. Jones
5.0 out of 5 stars I bought this for my husband and he enjoyed it very much
Reviewed in the United States on June 25, 2018
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I bought this for my husband and he enjoyed it very much. As a retired attorney he enjoyed reading about one of the lawyers he knew and one who was the mother of a close friend.
2 people found this helpful
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Aimee
5.0 out of 5 stars It did not disappoint. It is a type of case study of ...
Reviewed in the United States on June 3, 2018
I recently watched the movie RBG and became fascinated with Ruth Bader Ginsberg and women that faced those seemingly insurmountable obstacles yet managed to clear the way for us. For this reason, Stories from Trailblazing Women Lawyers appealed to me. It did not disappoint.

It is a type of case study of more than 100 women born between 1916-1951 that became lawyers. The book catalogues:

• Childhood experiences through college (including the attitudes of their parents, siblings, and friends, religious and cultural experiences).
• What motivated them to move forward to a profession in law when odds were not in their favor.
• The challenges, attitudes and discrimination they experienced once they actually made it to law school.
• Career paths they took and the challenges they faced not only in discrimination at the workplace but also as working mothers.
• Outcomes of their toil.

What I absolutely loved about this book is that it is incredibly entertaining while it delved into the psychology of these women and accurately portrays the societal values of the post WWII environment in which they lived. As you read you are pulled into these women’s lives, you feel some of the struggles they faced and see how they impacted the world in which we live in a way that no other group of people could. The end result is inspiring and empowering.

This book is ideal for anyone considering a career in law, enjoys true girl power books, or loves history, politics, or psychology. I would highly recommend it.

Thanks so much to Netgalley, the publishers, and the author for providing me with a copy for an honest review.
4 people found this helpful
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Kindle Customer
2.0 out of 5 stars Disappointed
Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2021
Verified Purchase
I'm a retired lawyer and married to a lawyer, so I was very interested in this book. I would not recommend it to an experienced lawyer. It's a mostly a chopped up set of reminiscences that won't offend a Disney audience. Not exactly life on the street as learned it.
2 people found this helpful
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Top reviews from other countries

LadyZee
5.0 out of 5 stars Five Stars
Reviewed in the United Kingdom on October 29, 2018
Verified Purchase
Love this book! Bought for my daughter who has applied for Law at Uni. Very inspiring.
One person found this helpful
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