Universally considered to be pathbreaking, landmark, original, and provocative since its first edition was published three decades ago, WOMEN IN LAW continues to provide a sociological and historical analysis of the overt and subtle ceilings placed on women in the legal profession in their various roles. It is a foundational work for departments of gender studies, law, and sociology — but also reads as accessible and interesting to a general audience.
Adding a new foreword by Stanford's Deborah Rhode, the thirtieth anniversary edition of this classic book reports countless revealing interviews, war stories, and inside glimpses of the many professional roles that women inhabit: lawyers, judges, professors, leaders, and backroom labor. It also brings vividly to life the candid — and sometimes cringeworthy — assessments by male lawyers and judges about the changes to the profession ushered in by the increasing entry of women to the lawyers' club. Part of the Classics of Law & Society Series from Quid Pro Books, WOMEN IN LAW is recognized as within the canon of its field, and now is available in a high-quality NOOKbook format: it features active contents and notes, linked cross-references, and all tables. It also embeds the page numbers from the print editions to enhance continuity of referencing and class assignment.
From the new Foreword:
"When Cynthia Fuchs Epstein published her pathbreaking account of 'Women in Law,' their status in the profession was separate and anything but equal.... Over the last three decades, much has changed but too much has remained the same. Now, about half of new lawyers in the United States are women and they are fairly evenly distributed across substantive areas. Yet significant gender disparities persist. Women constitute about a third of the lawyers in large firms, but only about 17 percent of equity partners. Attrition rates are almost twice as high among female associates as among comparable male associates.... When Epstein published 'Women in Law,' part of what attracted its widespread acclaim was its originality; it was among the first in what has now become a rich literature on gender and diversity in the profession. Indeed, the fact that the book is being reissued testifies not only to its enduring scholarly value, but also to the attention that the issue now commands.... Her book helped inspire that movement, and our profession remains deeply in her debt."
— Deborah L. Rhode, Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law, Stanford Law School
This book's first edition received the 1982 SCRIBES Book Award and the Merit Award from the American Bar Association. Now in quality NOOKBook edition, it can speak to a new generation.
