‘THEY HAD ALREADY HIRED One Woman’
The trials and tribulations of Florida’s first big wave of female lawyers BY G.K. SHARMAN
Are you the court reporter?
Is that how they dress to go to court [where you’re from]?
We already hired a woman at our firm.
The women who began practicing law in the Sunshine State
in the 1970s and early ’80s heard it all.
But the lawyers who talked to us about those experiences say
they refused to let a little sexism get in their way. They put on
their pumps, pantyhose and big-shouldered dress-for-success
suits and set out to beat the boys at their own game.
And while many tell Mad Men-like tales, all 12 emerged with
a sense of humor—and gratitude for the trail blazed by their
female predecessors, the support of male peers, and the
mentorship of the respected legal practitioners—nearly all
male—who nurtured their careers.
