The first time a woman was admitted to practice law before the United States Supreme Court occurred in 1880, over 100 years after the Court was established.[1] Belva Lockwood’s achievement with the highest court marked a critical turning point, but she is only one in a long line of women who came before her. Eleven years prior, Myra Bradwell became the first woman to pass the Illinois bar exam in 1869. She was subsequently denied a license to practice when the Supreme Court of the United States held that “[t]he paramount destiny and mission of woman are to fulfill the noble and benign offices of wife and mother . . .”[2] Bradwell never practiced law, but she was eventually admitted to the Illinois Supreme Court and then the United States Supreme Court. The obstacles faced and achievements won by Belva Lockwood and Myra Bradwell were essential in blazing the trail for modern female lawyers. Women continuously fight for their position in the legal world today, marking even more milestones in the process.
Belva Lockwood
Admitted to the United States Supreme Court in 1880
Today, the challenges for professional women, particularly those in the legal field, look a bit different. Women practicing law has become the norm in every courtroom, and we now outnumber men in law school classes and in Associate positions.[3] Women have yet to fully break free from the belief restraining us to “the benign offices of wife and mother,[MH1] ” however. While there is now more support for women and mothers working outside of the home[4], at-home responsibilities have not decreased. As women have assumed more and greater roles in law schools, law firms, and judgeships, their time spent on household chores and childcare has barely decreased[5], leaving half of the population simply exhausted, rather than fulfilled.
Men have become more involved in parenting and supportive of women having professional careers, but they are still less willing to share the burden at home.[6] Even younger generations, who are expected to become “more open-minded and egalitarian over time,” do not typically share housework equally today.[7] In 1975, the number of hours that men began dedicating to household chores increased substantially, creating space for women to spend less time on the same tasks.[8] That trend began to reverse around 2010, and a 2019 Gallup poll shows that women still single-handedly manage most of the daily household responsibilities, such as preparing meals, washing dishes, doing laundry, and cleaning the house.[9] The same poll shows that men typically manage the family’s vehicle maintenance and yardwork on their own, tasks which are required far less often.[10]
Economists and social scientists posit that the nature of work, specifically “greedy” jobs, has forced couples who want to have a family to divide and conquer: one spouse pursues a career, reaping hefty financial benefits, and the other spouse focuses on the home and family. Researchers have found that highly educated, heterosexual couples can maximize their financial gains when one partner, usually the husband, works extreme hours rather than both partners working reasonable, 40-hour weeks. Today, employees who work long, intense hours are paid significantly more for being constantly on-call as opposed to employees who worked at least 50 hours a week forty years ago.[11] This structure has developed over time, particularly in the legal industry, because the “greedy” jobs are typically “client service jobs.”[12] If a client is able to reach a lawyer, salesman, or accountant whenever the client has a question or need, then the client usually hires the more available professional in comparison to other professionals who can only be reached during more traditional working hours. Employers have capitalized on the “always-on” employee by paying a premium for their constant availability, meaning that one spouse can earn more on his or her own by working extreme hours than could the spouses together each working typical full-time schedules.[13] This setup usually results in the husband working long hours and the wife either working part-time or not at all so that she can take care of the family: a position in which many women do not want to be.
Women should be afforded the opportunity to be fulfilled by a career and to be a wife and mother if they wish. The goal is not to create a world where both partners work insane hours every week; it is to create a world where nobody has to.[14] Economist Claudia Goldin’s research reveals that “the most effective way to do that . . . is for employers to give workers more predictable hours and flexibility on where and when work gets done.”[15] This is made possible by making it “easier for workers to substitute for one another.”[16]
At The Rudnicki Firm, we are trying to do just that by implementing policies that provide flexibility and rest so that our employees are their best selves in all aspects of their lives. These policies include 12-week paid parental leave for lawyers and staff alike, providing modern technology that allows employees to easily work from home as needed, and setting a lower minimum-hour requirement for attorneys.
Caroline Lewis, Sharon Thomas, and Gila Brandenberger
Partner, Appellate Counsel, and Legal Staff Supervisor at TRF
Feedback from our employees shows that this model works. Attorney Caroline Lewis, who took parental leave after having her first child in February 2024, stated, “The best version of me as a mom is one who works.” Caroline is now a fulltime working mother thanks to the flexibility afforded by TRF. Additionally, after working as a fulltime attorney for over forty years, Sharon Thomas is thankful for the opportunity to work remotely so that she can visit her sister in another state 3-4 times a year. “Our technology is such that working remotely can be done seamlessly and securely, and that has been a valuable perk for me.” Finally, Gila Brandenberger has been working as a paralegal for over 30 years, and by the time she started at TRF in 2018, she had battled and beaten breast cancer. She was diagnosed with a rare form of Lymphoma in 2021 and continues fighting that battle today. TRF has supported Gila through a 6-week hospital stay, intense treatments, and recovery time so that she can process and deal with living with cancer. She stated, “Although I needed some time away from work, TRF understood that I also needed to work for various reasons, including a need to feel productive. I really feel this culture of support is due in part to the fact that I work for a woman-owned firm that is primarily staffed by women.”
To continue to evolve and create a firm where employees are satisfied with their jobs and do not feel pressured to work excessive hours, TRF closes the office during the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day, which started recently in 2024[DD2] . This is practically unheard of in the legal field, but TRF recognizes that people do their best work when they are supported and energized. Pizza parties just do not cut it in today’s busy world. By giving all its employees the opportunity to recharge, TRF has built a firm that produces excellent work, rivaling larger firms, and it has done so in a way that supports not just women, but everyone within the firm. TRF will continue exploring ways to improve the workplace for everyone, blazing the trail for the professional world to adopt similar policies that support people in their personal and professional lives.
[1] In Re Lady Lawyers: The Rise of Women Attorneys and The Supreme Court, https://www.supremecourt.gov/visiting/exhibitions/LadyLawyers/section1.aspx#LadyLawyers1 (last visited May 16, 2025)
[2] In Re Lady Lawyers: The Rise of Women Attorneys and The Supreme Court, https://www.supremecourt.gov/visiting/exhibitions/LadyLawyers/section1.aspx#LadyLawyers1 (last visited May 16, 2025)
[3] Jeffrey Johnson, J.D., Women In Law Statistics 2024 Forbes Advisor (Updated: Mar. 20, 2024, 11:34am, https://www.forbes.com/advisor/legal/women-in-law-statistics/#sources_section
[4]Brittany N. Dernberberger, Joanna R. Pepin, Gender Flexibility, but not Equality: Young Adults’ Division of Labor Preferences, Sociological Science (January 2020, Vol. 7), chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-7/january/SocSci_v7_36to56.pdf
[5]Brittany N. Dernberberger, Joanna R. Pepin, Gender Flexibility, but not Equality: Young Adults’ Division of Labor Preferences, Sociological Science (January 2020, Vol. 7), chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://sociologicalscience.com/download/vol-7/january/SocSci_v7_36to56.pdf
[6] Claire Cain Miller, Young Men Embrace Gender Equality, but They Still Don’t Vacuum, The New York Times (Feb. 11, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/11/upshot/gender-roles-housework.html
[7] Francesca Donner, The Household Work Men and Women Do and Why, The New York Times (Feb. 12, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/us/the-household-work-men-and-women-do-and-why.html
[8]Modern Parenthood, Chapter 5: Americans’ Time at Paid Work, Housework, Child Care, 1965 to 2011, Pew Research Center (Mar. 14, 2013), https://www.pewresearch.org/social-trends/2013/03/14/chapter-5-americans-time-at-paid-work-housework-child-care-1965-to-2011/
[9] Megan Brenan, Women Still Handle Main Household Tasks in U.S., Ballup (Jan. 29, 2020), https://news.gallup.com/poll/283979/women-handle-main-household-tasks.aspx
[10] Francesca Donner, The Household Work Mend and Women Do, and Why, The New York Times (Feb. 12, 2020), https://www.nytimes.com/2020/02/12/us/the-household-work-men-and-women-do-and-why.html
[11] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
[12] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
[13] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
[14] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
[15] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
[16] Claire Cain Miller, Women Did Everything Right. Then Work Got ‘Greedy.’How America’s obsession with long hours has widened the gender gap, The New York Times (April 26, 2019), https://www.nytimes.com/2019/04/26/upshot/women-long-hours-greedy-professions.html
