In 1990, the first newsletter published by editor Laura Wetsch stated:
“ The purpose of the newsletter is to provide a sounding board, to share information, to help bring us together, to create a community of people sharing common interests and concerns and to encourage membership in the section.”
In 1993, the Supreme Court appointed the Commission on Gender Fairness in the Courts to“ examine the status and experience of women and men in our judicial system to determine whether or what inequities exist and … make recommendations concerning changes considered necessary to ensure that women and men receive equal treatment in North Dakota’ s judicial system.” Section founder Sarah Andrews Herman was a co-chair with Justice Beryl Levine. The final report of the Commission and its recommendations were published and implemented in 1996.
A 10-year report submitted to the North Dakota Supreme Court in 2006 concluded there had been progress in many areas, but that ongoing efforts were necessary to continue to educate on the risks of bias in the decision-making process.
A Call to Elected and Appointed Office
An important goal of the Section is to support and to promote women who run for judicial, legislative, and SBAND positions.
To this end, the Section has worked with the Infinity Project, an organization which originated in Minnesota with the purpose of increasing gender diversity in the judiciary throughout the Eighth Circuit. The Section has also worked with the North Dakota Women’ s Network on seminars to assist women in running for elected offices. In addition, the Section has assisted those applying for judicial appointment by providing mentorship opportunities and submitting supporting letters to the judicial nominating committee, the Governor, and Congressional representatives.
In the year the Section formed, there was one woman on the North Dakota Supreme Court, Beryl Levine, and one woman on the state district court bench, Cynthia Rothe. Section minutes from 1990-1991 indicate there were five women on the state district court bench and two women Magistrate Judges for the U. S. District Court in North Dakota. Currently, there are 10 women on the state district court bench, two women serving on the North Dakota Supreme Court, and two women serving on the federal bench, including one U. S. Magistrate and one U. S. Bankruptcy Judge.
Networking and Education
The Section has maintained its networking roots, which began with informal meetings, developed into regional meetings, and eventually evolved into one annual meeting in Bismarck and one in Fargo.
Among its other activities, the Section has published a Section newsletter, sponsored CLE programs, established scholarships and mentoring programs for law students, and sponsored an externship for a UND School of Law student.
Progress but not Perfection
Twenty-eight years after the Section’ s formation, those who were instrumental in its development and those who can analyze the current roles of women in our profession say more work is yet to be done.
Pat Monson observed that many of the issues and challenges women lawyers faced in 1988 continue to face women lawyers today.
As former Section President and current U. S. Federal Magistrate Judge Alice Senechal so aptly said:
“ Have things changed? Good question. There are more of us, both in practice and on the bench. Clients and courts are more accepting of women lawyers. Women have more leadership positions within bar associations, on court committees and within at least some law firms. Certainly some challenges remain and perhaps have become more nuanced. Work / life balance issues seem to impact women lawyers more than male lawyers. Maybe some practice areas have come to be seen as‘ women’ s work.”
Lori Conroy currently leads the Section as president.“ Complacency would be easy for those of us who have come to this profession with the benefit of the work done by Justice Maring, Magistrate Senechal, and the other groundbreaking women who started this Section. We encourage women not to be satisfied and to recognize there are still many areas where we are under-represented and under-estimated in the practice of law. The Section’ s work remains as vital and important today as it was at its inception.”
Conroy encourages those who are interested in becoming Section members or current members who are interested in becoming more involved to contact her or another member of the Executive Committee.
AS OF DECEMBER 2016, THERE WERE:
• 925 women licensed to practice law in North Dakota
• 587 with North Dakota addresses
• 100 Women Lawyers Section members
• 10 women serving as state district court judges
• 2 women serving as North Dakota Supreme Court justices
• 1 woman serving as a United States Magistrate Judge
• 1 woman serving as a United States Bankruptcy Judge
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