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Show MONDAY, MAY ly 1972 THE DAILY PAGE SIX Law Profession Involved In Improving the System A Woman View of Law School By Pamela Taggart University of Utah College of Law Senior Law Student By Leon Jaworski, President, the At preesnt time the number American Bar Association obwomen of lawyers in the United This year's fifteenth annual is small, constitutStates USA on woefully May servance of Law Day total lawyer of the 2.8 varia1 will witness a significant ing only are emwomen These priIts population. tion of program emphasis. ployed, for the most part, in govmary educational thrust is toward ernment jobs or in very large or the of role system modern legal the very small law firms. As of 1967 that is, ways in which the law is y there vas an average salary differoperating to meet societys present-daential of approximately $7,000 per problems and needs, rather than the its historical contributions to year between men and women lawnations development. yers. This employment profile is bound to change, since the number 1972 proSpecifically, Law Day women in law schools has intoward directed of grams are being in recent creased dramatically three related subject areas: 1) the law as an instrument to improve years. Offer Many Opportunities society; 2) steps to strengthen the work offer and Law is what and itself; 3) legal process techniand a wide array of topical being done to clarity the rights and Women attorneys cal opportunities. responsibilities of citizenship. So it are working in all areas of law: is appropriate to enumerate some environmental, criminal, welfare, of the high points in current activiLeon laworskl ties and national objectives of the prison law, womens rights, civil American Association Bar President, liberties, personal injury, corporate organized bar in these areas. law, consumer protection, and many Designed to Improve to enable the will that young very more. that to fair I It is, believe, say The University of Utah Colthe legal profession is today more better understand our form of govand its and ernment institutions, lege of Law now has 24 women law deeply involved than ever before The the in legal process. particular students (13 of whom are first in a variety of enterprises designed inculcate is to ultimate objective to improve the functioning of our year students). This constitutes awareness an in our people young about 8 of the total studentbody. legal system and its institutions, to We range in age from approximateenable them to better serve the of the qualities of citizenship upon which a viable free society must needs of society in our era. ly 22 to 40 years old; we are mardepend. Consider the following examples, ried, divorced, widowed, and single; School In Systems the and some of us have children. involving not only activities of asof resources bar the Through of Women law students in this counAmerican Bar Association but also and sociations by everywhere and affiliated legal organizations try have recently been organizing can individual their effort, lawyers associations local to coalesce their common interests, bar and state be the catalytic force to encourage across the country: problems, and goals. Annual national conventions for women in law We have clarified standards of and assist in establishing this prohave been held the last two yeras. ethics for lawyers, and are in the gram on a sound footing in the towns cities of and school systems for the same of doing orkshops and panels have been the process land. The role of the throughout of discussions on a variety basis judges. the American Bar Association will We have taken the leadership of subjects affecting women, inbe to evaluate and make available role in a massive program of recluding such things as job discrimmaterials of best the the imteaching ination against women, legal rights form of penal corrections and and methods which have been deof married women, the proposed provement of facilities for prisoner rehabilitation, to reduce the veloped in numerous pilot projects equal rights amendment, and new alfunction under That now way. crime. number of repeaters in ways of practicing law. The women aid the is in with progress ready to We are striving at our law school have begun to bring legal Comof a inAdvisory distinguished more services to people by organize also. All of this activity is reflective of changes in todays novative new measures, such as mission of 12 leading educators, develcurriculum in youth experts and services plans society and new perspectives conprepaid legal utilization of paraprofessionals as opment and in the behavioral scicerning womens roles, rights, and a means of reducing the cost of ences. capabilities. Questions about our Bar associations and individual values and the future of our society routine legal services. We are moving to place legal aid lawyers can assist by bringing the are combined with the traditional merits of the program to the attenattitude of activism and to the poor on a high professionlawyer-lik- e tion of school administrators and to produce an inproblem-solvin- g al plane, free from partisan inin resource as boards perserving creased awareness of and interest fluences in the case of government-in the training of teachers, and sons supported in women and their relation to our programs. civic of in the enlisting support with We are concerning ourselves legal system. To be a woman law are also These steps and organizations. the legal aspects of housing student or lawyer at this dynamic urban development through a in process under the leadership of period of time is a stimulating and national program to develop legal the ABA Special Committee on challenging preoccupation as it proYouth Education for Citizenship remedies for housing inadequavides an opportunity to be a doer chaired by Earl F. Morris, Columcies and inequities. and shaper of not only our own We are working on a half dozen bus, Ohio, former president of the lives but the lives of many others. Association. fronts to improve the functioning Explore Profession The growth of Law Day USA itof the courts through If the idea of becoming an attorjudicial selection, better self testifies to the recognized need ney is tantalizing to you, dont put for this type of educational effort. off exploring the possibilities. Go training of judges, an inauguraPanel Programs tion of modern business methods to court, talk with a woman atLaw One of interesting aspect in court administration. torney or law student, attend a law will be this the presentaDay year We have inaugurated a new proclass. You might try working with of tion to programs panel by group to gram to find means to utilize lawyers or a teams of law students at test the best public advantage the Observe the proyour interest. fessional characteristics of compeprofessional skills of a rapidly all law schools and at hundreds of tent lawyers to ascertain whether enlarging legal profession. This junior colleges and universities. This coordinated be will d activity newly-createTask by the study, by you possess the necessary attributes the Law Student Division of the or are able to develop them. Force on Professional Utilization Association. Topics selected bv the of the American Bar Association, Law school is usually begun after in- as of students of special not being sources encompasses only having received a Bachelors degree. constructive professional employ- Materials required for entrance to Continued on page 4 law school generally include basic biographical information, the Law School Aptitude Test (LSAT) score, college transcripts and grade-poiKnow-Ho- w average. Some schools also require recommendations, a personal statement, and information about em. . . comes from experience! ployment and outside activities. It is advisable to apply to several schools. Profiles of accredited law schools, including admissions standHandards, appear in the Pre-Labook published annually by the Association of American Law Schools, U.S. Supreme Court and in Barron's Guide to Law Schools. Admission to law school U.S. Court of Appeals has become increasingly difficult as the number of applicants has law-relat- ed non-partis- time-consumin- g. Expect Resistance You should be warned, however, of possible difficulties you will encounter when seeking a job. There is still considerable resistance on the part of many male members of the bar to women lawyers as from equals. Whether this derives ignorance, prejudice, or experience is difficult to say. There are a number of spoken and unspoken myths that are prevalent which work to prevent a woman applicant from being considered on her own individual merits. The most respectable of these myths are (1) women will not be stable employees since they are apt to leave to marry, to accomodate a transferred husband, to have children, or simply because they were never serious in the first place; (2) clients will not want to have a woman as their attorney; (3) women are too emotional to be trusted with any public exposure such as litigation; or (4) women will cause interoffice problems be- cause the male attorneys will have to watch their language and their wives will be jealous of any women colleagues of their husbands. These objections can all be dealt with argumentatively or experientlally, hut the best way to dispel them will be to have a substantial number of women attorneys practicing law and doing so capably and even excellently. For this reason I would add a further note of caution. Presently, since there are so few women attorneys, each of us repto those observing resents all women attorneys. Whether this Is fair or not is beside the point Given that this is true, women in law school who are not truly serious about practicing law should not be in law school as they do a to the reputation of all women lawyers and unnecessarily take the place of someone, perhaps another woman, who could. better utilize the training. Therefore, you should give careful consideration to the idea of entering law school and make sure that it is really what you want to do. Once this is decided affirmatively, however, I would welcome you to this field with great enthusiasm. Law can bring you personal satisfaction, a greater awareness, and the opportunity to expand your potential in an exciting and rewarding profession. dis-servi- an three-memb- er law-relat- ed Law Printing nt BRIEFS w Utah Supreme Court Like a The first year, especially, is devoted to developing skills of legal analysis and reasoning. Studies are rigorous As a and very enwill woman in law school, you from your counter some resistance male classmates who think that your being there is inappropriate. As you demonstrate your seriousness and capability, this will become a less overt problem. patient in a hospital .... EMERGENCY SERVICE is REAL SERVICE when you need it! You get BOTH at fawahe PteM 1397 SOUTH MAIN, SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH 84115 Telephone 487-065- 1 Printers and Publishers of THE DAlLY RECORD i grown. The University of Utah College of Law reflects this nationwide syndrome as the college is now only able to admit approximately one of every ten. applicants. However, even if your LSAT score andor grades are not quite up to par, you may still be able to be admitted if you can demonstrate by other means that your potential is high. This can be done by interviews, personal statements, and letters of recommendation. The University of Utah law school professes a policy of trying to individualize applications to some extent, in order to identify those persons whose records dont reflect their true abilities. Learn Mehtodology Law school itself consists more of learning a methodology than of mastering facts and subject matter. 4 4 ce |