Female Lawyers
by Gael Gisvold Mueller
My brother, Daniel, was my biggest fan. When I decided to go to law
school, he was right there helping. And warning. He reminded me that the going
would not be easy. He told me to open my eyes and ears and shut my mouth.
Well, two out of three ain’t bad.
In school, I had wonderful study partners. I made wonderful friends. But
there was something that I couldn’t put my finger on. Something that didn’t
feel right. And I figured it out when a dear friend wrote his second year
brief. I don’t remember the specifics of the brief but I do remember him
showing me his graded paper.
Jim had used the word “misogyny.” Several times. The case was clearly set
forth from a male perspective and Jim, as he should have, addressed that issue.
The grader circled the word every time it appeared. In RED. “There is no such
word” were the remarks of the grader!
That was the problem that I could not put my finger on. I, and my female
colleagues, were being treated differently. This was 1982. We were either
called on excessively or not at all. Our comments were openly derided or flatly
ignored. Going to see particular professors was done in pairs or groups. To be
fair, there were only a few of those.
In 1985, having graduated and awaiting Bar Exam results, I had my first
interview for a position as an associate lawyer. The first question posed to me
by a man several generations older than I, was, “What is a sweet, young thing
like you doing in law?” I walked out.
The second interview was with a five partner firm. They were all at the interview.
They asked if I intended to get pregnant. I pointed out that the question was,
in fact, illegal. I took the job because I needed a job. I had no office, I sat
in the conference room. I had no cases and none of the partners provided me
with any kind of work. No research, no writing, nothing. I was not allowed to
sit in on client conferences. I left when the senior partner asked if I liked
to play with dolls.
When I went for the interview for a job as a Deputy Public Defender in
Kern County, I expected the “usual.” That interview went something like this:
Bill: Hi, I’m Bill Weddell. I sorta run this joint.
Me: Hi.
Bill: When can you start?
Me: (Bewildered) I thought I was here for an interview.
Bill: I have read your resume. I know that you were on the Mock Trial Team
for awhile. I know that you aced your mock trial class. I know you graduated
from McGeorge and that you passed the bar on your first attempt. I assume you
are here looking for a job. So, I repeat myself. When can you start?”
I started the next week.
Doing misdemeanor work in municipal court was a great training ground. At
least half of the Public Defenders were female. But rising to the next level
was a problem. Few women were doing felonies. Even in that office felonies were
still “Man’s Work.”
Eventually, I got to felonies. And it was there, in the Superior Court of
California, in and for the County of Kern, that I ran into the true meaning of
misogyny. It was not unusual for a judge to question my research, my skills, my
veracity, my appearance or my mental acuity. When speaking on behalf of my
client, I would be interrupted by opposing counsel (male), the judge (male),
other defense counsel (male). If I spoke up I was chastised. I was called many
names but the day that opposing counsel called me “a bitch” I thanked him. I
advised him that that was my job. The judge told me to be “civil.”
By the time I left that job, some 14 years later, I was one of two women
in that county qualified to do death penalty cases.
In private practice the issues were just the same. I just decided to not
remain acquiescent. I started to interrupt the interrupters. I wore pants and
flats. I was called “unprofessional” by judges who wore jeans, t-shirts and
tennis shoes under their robes. I ignored them. I fought harder and louder for
my clients.
But it never got any better.
Do not misunderstand me, I loved my work. I loved the fight. I loved the
theater. I loved helping people that really needed my help. But as I grew older
it became harder and harder to be even close to civil in a courtroom.
While I knew that it was a systemic problem, I came to the realization
that the fight was going to have to be carried on by younger women. Women who
had been raised to be strong and independent and didn’t have to come there from
a place of acquiescence.
It brought me back to what I have just described. Has the perception
changed, even a little? How long will we have to stand and speak truth to
power?
All I know is that Dan would have been proud of every woman that has taken
up the gantlet. He would have been their champion and cheer-leader.
Thinking of him, on what would have been his 71st birthday, I remember his
words, his support and his love.
* * * * *
Gael Gisvold
Mueller was born and raised in a small town in the Central Valley of
California. Because she had two older brothers she vowed, at a very early age,
to never do anything that would label her as “just a girl.” She graduated from
law school as a single mom when she was thirty-five. She was a criminal defense
attorney for nearly 30 years. She has always been a reader and a singer. When
she retired she shocked everyone by taking up weaving, photography and writing.
Her current blog ‘Talkin’ to Myself’ is a chronicle of her life.
