Attorneys Women

There really wasn't much of an argument as lawyer Ariel Steele sat in her 43rd-floor office overlooking downtown Los Angeles and weighed the merits of the case before her. Would she spend 1996 stranded among piles of briefs and transcripts, battered by a sea of ink and angst? Or would the year be spent on a shimmering, palm-studded island awash in an azure tropical ocean? Steele's verdict was rendered faster than O.J. Simpson's.

Attorney Ryan Hirota is used to the strange looks he gets when he tells people that, yes, he is the president of the Women Lawyers of Long Beach Assn. "The usual reaction is, 'You're what?' " Hirota said. "Most people stand back and try to figure out if there's something strange about me." But Hirota, 49, who was installed as the 20-year-old group's leader in April, said he is just a regular guy who has found a cause he believes in: equality of all attorneys.

A discrimination lawsuit that had four women lawyers in the Pasadena city attorney's office in the unusual position of suing the city has been partially settled, city officials said Wednesday. Three of the four women lawyers, who alleged in April that their male colleagues were being promoted ahead of them, have agreed to dismiss their lawsuits in exchange for an undisclosed settlement, Councilman Paul Little said. Of the four--Ann H. Higginbotham, Ann S. Rider, Carolyn Williams and Julia L.

Although women are entering law schools in larger numbers than men, female lawyers earn less than their male counterparts and make up only a tiny percentage of law firm partners, law school deans and judges, according to a report Thursday by the American Bar Assn.

The Willard Grant Conspiracy makes the kind of music that could be used as an antidotefor depression. When you listen to the group's noir tales of agony and quiet despair, you can't help but feel that no matter how sad your life may be, you are definitely not alone. And the somber beauty of the Conspiracy's tunes implies that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Although the Boston group has achieved cult status in Europe, to call them a well-kept secret here would be an understatement.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen S. Nobumoto has been elected the first minority woman president of the State Bar of California. Nobumoto, 48, is also the first government employee to be elected to the unpaid position, which is usually filled by private-practice civil attorneys. In announcing Nobumoto's selection, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley lauded the prosecutor for the honor she has brought to the D.A.'s office.

A busy Encino environment and land-use attorney, Janice Kamenir-Reznik, takes half an hour from her practice each day to drive her 5-year-old daughter and a car full of classmates home from the kindergarten across the street from her office. Kamenir-Reznik can take time for car pools without checking with her firm's senior partner because she is the senior partner.

More than half the female lawyers at the nation's top firms say they have been sexually harassed, one of six within the past three years, according to a new survey. The National Law Journal, a New York-based legal publication, based its findings on a survey of 800 male and female lawyers. The trade paper reported that incidents of sexual harassment remained high despite the fact that the vast majority of law firms, 73%, have rules against it.

A judge has decided in favor of the city in a sex-discrimination lawsuit, nearly five years after a female assistant city attorney and three colleagues made accusations of gender bias that forced the early retirement of a former city attorney. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker ruled against Julia L. Weston before the case went to the jury Thursday, saying Weston's attorney failed to prove there was a case.

Patricia Herzog, who argued a case before the California Supreme Court in 1982 that changed divorce settlements across the nation, was named Attorney of the Year on Monday by the Orange County Women Lawyers Assn. Herzog, 71, argued in that landmark case that people who put their spouses through medical or law school have the right to share in the earnings of that career even if the couple divorce. The case, Sullivan vs.

The Willard Grant Conspiracy makes the kind of music that could be used as an antidotefor depression. When you listen to the group's noir tales of agony and quiet despair, you can't help but feel that no matter how sad your life may be, you are definitely not alone. And the somber beauty of the Conspiracy's tunes implies that there may be a light at the end of the tunnel. Although the Boston group has achieved cult status in Europe, to call them a well-kept secret here would be an understatement.

Los Angeles County Deputy Dist. Atty. Karen S. Nobumoto has been elected the first minority woman president of the State Bar of California. Nobumoto, 48, is also the first government employee to be elected to the unpaid position, which is usually filled by private-practice civil attorneys. In announcing Nobumoto's selection, Dist. Atty. Steve Cooley lauded the prosecutor for the honor she has brought to the D.A.'s office.

Between nibbles of chicken en croute, 13-year-old Laura Morales tried to quell the butterflies. "I'm scared," she said, scanning the audience of more than 200 in the Biltmore Bowl. But when the time came, Laura, an eighth-grader at Mount Vernon Middle School in central Los Angeles, was ready. With a poise that belied her stage fright, she praised her mentor, Deputy Atty. Gen. Cindy Lopez, as "very cool" and then shared with her audience a promise she made to herself.

A judge has decided in favor of the city in a sex-discrimination lawsuit, nearly five years after a female assistant city attorney and three colleagues made accusations of gender bias that forced the early retirement of a former city attorney. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Valerie Baker ruled against Julia L. Weston before the case went to the jury Thursday, saying Weston's attorney failed to prove there was a case.

One of four women lawyers in the Pasadena city attorney's office suing the city for sexual discrimination has settled for $75,000 plus a pay raise, officials confirmed Friday. The settlement with Assistant City Atty. Carolyn Y. Williams was approved by the Pasadena City Council on Monday and is much more than the $20,000 the city offered Williams in September. Williams attorney, Joe Hopkins, would not say how large a raise his client would receive but said it would be substantial.

Twice a week, Margaret Miglietta commutes 40 minutes to an office she shares with two others. The rest of the week, the mother of three works from her Mission Viejo home, which has three phone lines that link her computer, fax machine and telephone to her law firm in Irvine. Her office mate, Areta Gutherey, swings by the office three or four days a week and works until midafternoon. Then she heads home to take care of her 5-month-old daughter, Aleta Christina.

One of four women lawyers in the Pasadena city attorney's office suing the city for sexual discrimination has settled for $75,000 plus a pay raise, officials confirmed Friday. The settlement with Assistant City Atty. Carolyn Y. Williams was approved by the Pasadena City Council on Monday and is much more than the $20,000 the city offered Williams in September. Williams attorney, Joe Hopkins, would not say how large a raise his client would receive but said it would be substantial.

Nearly 60% of women lawyers practicing in federal courts in California and eight other western states have experienced sexual harassment, according to a groundbreaking study by a special task force of the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals. A third of female attorneys said a male colleague had harassed them in the last five years, 40% said a client had harassed them, and 6% said they had been harassed by a judge.

There really wasn't much of an argument as lawyer Ariel Steele sat in her 43rd-floor office overlooking downtown Los Angeles and weighed the merits of the case before her. Would she spend 1996 stranded among piles of briefs and transcripts, battered by a sea of ink and angst? Or would the year be spent on a shimmering, palm-studded island awash in an azure tropical ocean? Steele's verdict was rendered faster than O.J. Simpson's.

Many women lawyers complain that they face strong obstacles in the legal profession, including sexual harassment and a failure by firms to accommodate child-rearing needs, according to a survey of more than 500 female attorneys at 57 of the nation's largest law firms. The survey by the Harvard Women's Law Assn. ranked 57 firms based on responses to two-page questionnaires.