Posted by on Friday, January 14, 2011
This week's update includes NALP's report on the up-tick of lawyers adopting part-time schedules, the popular New York Times article "Is Law School a Loosing Game" and reactions to the piece, and a story about two lawyers efforts to help stimulate Haiti's struggling economy.
1.13.11 Last week NALP released new findings on the number of lawyers working part-time at law firms. The data suggest that while part-time schedules make up a small portion of the larger lawyer population, and women are far more likely to hold part-time positions, the number of male partners practicing part time has "edged up." Read more in the New Jersey Law Journal.
1.12.11 Our friends at the PSLawNet Blog shared an uplifting story about McCarter & English lawyers Andrew Richards and Ralph Delouis's efforts to develop a microfinance initiative in Haiti as the country continues to struggle one year after the devastating earthquake. Richards told The National Law Journal, "Basically, the objective is to create a banking system where none exists previously. It's an extremely effective means of development because there are people with great ideas in these communities. There just is no banking system - no way for them to get money to create a business and run with their entrepreneurial ideas and build up a capitalist system." "As the son of Haitian immigrants who lost close relatives in the earthquake," Delouis told Connecticut College News, "it was very important for me to give back to a country and a people so close to my heart. We are confident that the project will have a long-term impact, especially given the growing emphasis on decentralization in Haiti." Read more about this story in The National Law Journal, Connecticut College News, and on the PSLawNet Blog.
1.9.11 Finally, David Segal's New York Times article "Is Law School a Loosing Game?" has sparked a great deal of conversation about the value of a legal education. While the discussion has not focused specifically on diversity, we thought it was worth sharing. Read additional commentary and responses in The Atlantic Wire, The Chronicle of Higher Education, and The Wall Street Journal Law Blog.
