From ABA Journal Law News Now: Roberta Liebenberg, current chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, comments on recent layoffs in law firms and their disproportionate impact on women. Liebenberg’s letter was written in response to a recent article published in Forbes (March 16) discussing the effect of the recent Wall Street layoffs on women.
Liebenberg says that
Firms are laying off their part-time lawyers, 75% of whom are women. Too many layoffs are based on gender-biased evaluations. In this dire downturn, we can’t allow the economy to be used as an excuse for gender-bias and roll back the progress we’ve made.