By Sandra Giannone Ezell
It is easy to be critical of the number of lawsuits that are filed in the extent of the verdicts rendered, the judges you are assigned, the law in the jurisdiction you live in, the team you work with, and clearly some of those criticisms bear contemplation as we constantly strive to try our cases.
For those of us who believe that the highest and best use of our time is in a courtroom, trying a case to a jury of citizens, the opportunities to be in our element are diminishing every year. But today I woke up loving and celebrating my job and I am a trial lawyer so I have a list. read more
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 Millions of Americans, including myself, tuned in Sunday night to not only watch the Packers and the Steelers face off, but to check out the high-priced commercials that coincide with one of America’s most-viewed broadcasts. According to several media outlets, companies paid between $2.8 million and $3 million for each thirty-second advertising spot during the 2011 Super Bowl. While critics, marketing experts, and fans will debate over the “best” and “worst” Super Bowl commercials, those that are undoubtedly the most successful are those that deliver their message clearly and concisely. One example from last night: the Chrysler commercial featuring Detroit-native Eminem driving a Chrysler through the streets of Detroit. Although it was longer than most of the other Super Bowl ads, Chrysler’s message was clear from the beginning: Chrysler automobiles are proudly manufactured in Detroit, the “Motor City.” read more
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 With a new year in full swing, it is a natural time to go through our yearly check lists to determine what we have accomplished and what still remains. And while it is one of the best feelings to cross off a goal on your check list, we must remember not to beat ourselves up for those items that remain. Instead, what must be done, in true diva fashion, is to develop a feasible action plan that works for you. Like you, I go from year to year devising the battle plan for the new year's success. However, this year, instead of making what can sometimes amount to a professional wish list instead of an action plan, I decided to set and employ some fundamental rules for my 2011 goal setting. read more
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By Alana Bassin
 Did you know that the Paycheck Fairness Act is being considered in Congress - already passed in the House and is expected to be re-visited by the Senate this month (or at least it was before the last election)? The bill expands damages under the Equal Pay Act and provides more effective remedies to victims of discrimination in the payment of wages on the basis of sex, and for other purposes.
I'm a defense lawyer, so admittedly I'm not all that excited about increasing the ways and means to sue my clients.
But the significance of the bill caught my attention for two reasons:
(1) The mere fact that we need it . . . that there is still a disparity between men and women's wages; and
(2) The importance of transparency.
read more
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 I’ve read a lot of articles about success and what that means, and while different folks have different definitions, there is universal agreement on one thing: it takes passion. Whether you aspire to become a millionaire or to help a million people or to try a million cases, pretty near everyone agrees that you won’t get there without a heaping serving of passion. In a recent interview published in ABA’s Woman Advocate, Cathy Lamboley, former general counsel of Shell Oil Company and current member of the ABA Commission on Women, reiterated that passion is a key ingredient in anyone’s recipe for success. read more
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 I remember like it was yesterday when my daughter Marley, who is now 16 years old, was 4. She had Shirley Temple curls and we could not go anywhere without people saying how cute she was. One day she and I were at her older brother, Cale’s, soccer game, when one of the organizing women came up to her and said, “You are so cute Marley, how would you like to be a cheerleader next fall?” Marley looked at me, looked at the woman and said, “No, they add nothing to the game.” She explained to me later that they don’t change the score and she wanted to be one of the people that changed the score. Well, she had it figured out at 4 years old, and I was a partner in a major law firm and still an official second chair trial lawyer whose claim to fame was carrying the bags of the important person on the team. She understood the importance of primary power at 4 and yet at 33, I didn’t get it. But she taught me and I learned and I internalized it. read more
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 When I started practicing law, all women wore these bow tie scarf things that scared me and suits with skirts only. This always struck me as bi-polar, ties to emulate men and skirts because it was proper. It was 1990 when I graduated from law school and after having a discussion in 1989 with my soon to be husband and then ex-husband about the fact that I wanted to be a lawyer and a mom and not necessarily in that order, I applied for and “won” the much coveted position of the only associate, in our class of double digit new associates joining the firm that year, who would get the position in the appellate department. I was an appellate lawyer. I bought my skirts, decided my neck was just too short for the scarf tie things and reported to the little room that looked like a closet but was referred to as an office where I was supposed to sit, and read, and write and then read again and write again and then when it was dark outside and had been that way for a while, go home. Next day, repeat as indicated. WHAT A DISASTER. I am a woman of words, yes, but spoken words, words spoken early and often, words spoken spontaneously and words spoken to humans not to dicta-phones (it was the 90s) with the hope if not the anticipation that the human will speak back. I was not meant for the closet. It was not a happy place because when I showed up every day I had to set aside the thing that I would come to be known for, the skill I would embrace and would put braces on my kids teeth, the ability that would give me not just a platform but a paycheck, I had to sit down and work, QUIETLY. Don’t get me wrong, I am a hard worker, and I did good work, for a first year. But I was not able to produce magic because my magic was gone and the sad part is that I gave it away, it was not taken. read more
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