The Women's Book is gearing up for the release of our signature annual directories of women leaders and resources. 

The 2012 release dates are:

Columbus: September 27

Cincinnati: November 13

Cleveland/Akron: November 15

More exciting details to follow!

We are building a special section in each directory that shares reader's insights and advice about our 2012 theme: Resilience, Stories of Innovation & Inspiration.

With Resilience I…

Please take a moment to complete our brief questionnaire to have your inspiring comments about resilience featured in our directories.  The deadline for submissions is May 18th. 

Hurry!  A select number of readers with early submissions will also have their photos included in the directory and will receive a free ticket to one of our fall book release parties.

Click here to submit your thoughts about Resilience. 

(To read Nancy's bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.)

“When I speak with women about law school, they often tell me that people have complimented them for empathy and dedication to helping others – two important strengths for attorneys -- but not for other strengths important for success in law, like analytical ability, integrity, balanced judgment, and ability to communicate clearly about complex matters.  I advise those who feel drawn to a career in law to assess their own abilities, rather than waiting for others to characterize them.  I had a lot of self-doubt when I started law school.  But, for me, a law degree opened a lifetime of interesting and rewarding opportunities to serve – in practice, teaching, and administration.

During the early portion of my 39 years as an attorney I struggled with the tension between work demands and spending time with family.  In the 1970s, it was mostly women students who talked about this dilemma.  Now I talk with both men and women who want to figure out how to succeed as attorneys while spending the time they want with their families.  They feel torn.  Some of the most fascinating legal opportunities carry expectations of 50 hours, 60 hours, or more hours of work each week.  I urge students to think about the time with high personal time demands as only a portion of a long career.  If they choose more time-limited opportunities during those years when they want to spend more time with family, or even leave law for a time to do that, there will still be time to pursue the more time-demanding opportunities later.”

Emily M.S. Houh is Associate Dean of Faculty and Gustavus Henry Wald Professor of the Law and Contracts at University of Cincinnati College of Law.  

Dean Houh is featured in the Collective for Women Women in Law article series. To read her bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.

"I most vividly remember, from law school, working with my amazing classmates at the University of Michigan Law School to co-found (back in the mid-1990s) the Michigan Journal of Race and Law (MJRL), which has since become one of the leading American law journals on issues of race and law.  We did so in response to what we felt were institutional weaknesses around diversity issues at the time.  We wanted to advocate and organize in a way that would provide a more enriched environment for students coming after us -- I think we were successful in that regard.  We left the Law School a better place than when we entered it, and working with the MJLR cohort remains, to this day, one of the most rewarding experiences of my legal 'career'.  I think it's what we should all strive for in our professional lives - to leave institutions of which we're a part better places than when we entered them. 

I think the greatest obstacle for young women in law school, and particularly for young women coming to law school straight from undergrad or college, is having their eyes opened to the fact that gender bias and discrimination, as well as other forms of bias and discrimination, are still alive and kicking.  For young women who are not used to fields and professions that remain 'male-dominated', the law school experience and their first forays into the 'real world' of legal practice can be, to say the least, eye opening.  It's difficult, when confronted with these realities, to figure out how to respond constructively and positively, to figure out how to re-strategize effectively, in a way that doesn't reinforce the systems that created these biases in the first place.  But it's important to learn how to do so, to keep the ball moving forward even as you're being bowled over by it.  Ultimately, however, learning how to respond effectively to unanticipated difficulties will serve young women very well as lawyers, and as people.

I think young women in law school and legal practice have the great potential to bridge gaps between legal theories of liberation and actual legal practices and advocacy, so that they can achieve the important goal of empowering those whose voices have and continue to go unheard.  Many, many women have already done so much in this regard, and I believe young women can continue the long tradition of taking the lead on social justice issues."

Sara Wheeler is a student of The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law and is featured in the Collective for Women magazine Women in Law article series. To read her bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.

"Without question, the most challenging part of law school is time management.  Attending and preparing for classes is only the tip of the iceberg.  The amount of reading and other work can be overwhelming at times.  I was an avid procrastinator during undergrad, and I really had to work on my time management skills when I came to law school.  As a 2L, I have taken on additional responsibilities through membership on a journal and leadership roles in student organizations.  Adding the stress and workload of law school to an already busy life is not easy, but it can be done.  That’s not to say that I haven’t had to take a nap in the law school library on occasion, but at least all of us frazzled, overworked law students are in the same boat.

My most vivid experience from law school so far, was last summer, after my 1L year. I had the wonderful opportunity to participate in a summer study abroad law program in England at the University of Oxford.  I spent five weeks studying comparative law and learning about British culture with a group of fellow Moritz students.  Being the nerdy law student that I am, the most interesting and vivid experiences for me during the program were the opportunities I had to see and experience elements of British legal history and culture.  I toured the Houses of Parliament, dined at Middle Temple (one of the four Inns of Court where barristers can be called to the bar in England), and watched a trial at the Old Bailey (the central criminal court in London).  I was especially struck by the inscription above the main doors at the Old Bailey: 'Defend the Children of the Poor & Punish the Wrongdoer'.

Like the quote, I hope to pursue a legal career in the area of child advocacy law.  My passion for working with children led me to pursue a legal education; learning to advocate for children in the legal system.  As an undergraduate and law student, I have enjoyed being involved with many community service and public interest organizations.  I had a particularly valuable experience during my undergraduate career working as a tutor for America Reads, an afterschool program for at-risk youth.  I acted as a mentor for the children in the program—helping them with homework, encouraging their participation in other extracurricular activities, and fostering a safe environment for their development.  Working with these children solidified my decision to pursue a career in child advocacy law.”

Un Kyong Ho is a student of University of Cincinnati Law School and appears in the Collective for Women magazine Women in Law article series. To read her bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.

"One of the hardest aspects of law school for me was coming to terms with the disconnect between the ideals of law and the realities of law.  For example, the rhetoric of law is that “all men are created equal.”  However, in the practice of it, a large percentage of the population did not fall under the definition of “men.”  You simply cannot understand property in this country without recognizing that it was once legal to own a person.  Black people were once considered property – a thing to own, rather than human being with rights.  Today, law continues to function as a power structure that is deeply entrenched in racism, sexism, homophobia, and xenophobia.

How do you believe in, fight for, participate in a system that includes these truths? 

It took me a long time to realize that it doesn’t do you or anyone any good to let the seemingly endless tide of injustice render you powerless, to paralyze you into non-action.  At some point I had to decide – am I going to crawl under a rock and stop participating in society?  Or am I going to fight the good fight and hang on to the hope for a more just future?  In that vein, I understand law to also be a mechanism by which we can attempt to bring about positive social transformation, to help build a world that is more just, more equitable; one that recognizes the dignity of all people – in short, to actually call law to task, to dare it to live up to its own hype. Therefore, my critique is motivated by my belief that our legal system should be one that respects people first, one that improves their lives rather than makes their lives unlivable for the benefit of a small privileged minority.

When I look back, the moments I treasure most are the ones that helped me to gain much needed perspective or served as a major paradigm shift in my thinking, and even, living.  Once such example arose out of my experience as an Ohio Innocence Project fellow.  My partner Meghan Anderson and I joined at the tail end of the Clarence Elkins case.  As a result of the hard work of Clarence’s family, former Innocence Project students, the attorney and professors on the Project, as well as much politicking on part of the Attorney General of Ohio at the time, Clarence was exonerated the year Meghan and I worked on the case.  The injustice Clarence faced, both during his trial and throughout his appeals process, acutely illustrated the major flaws in our justice system.  Justice is not a given.  You have to really fight for it in this country, and much depends on your location within the structures of power and privilege that are built into the legal system, as well as how your specific location affects your access (or lack thereof) to resources.  Despite these grim odds, Clarence also showed me the power of hope.  He never gave up on his innocence.  He always had faith that truth would prevail.  He had so much trust in us, just mere students, and that empowered me so much. The aftermath of the tragic execution of Troy Davis makes me respect the work and goals of the Innocence Project even more and should serve as a reminder of the urgency of their cause. 

My decision to participate in the joint degree program, combining the study of law with an MA in Women’s Studies has also given me much needed perspective.  The law has many blinders, and when you are immersed in it, it’s hard to see the taken-for-granted aspects of law.  Women Studies helped me to cut past the rhetoric and to see what lurks beneath.  It gave me a critical language to speak back to power. The students and professors from the program were simply amazing. I have never, and may never again, experience such intellectual firepower.  Being part of that program definitely added a few folds to the old grey matter!

Of course, the birth of my daughter changed everything for me.  Becoming a mother was a deep and lasting paradigm shift.  There is something about law school that can bring such imbalance into your life.  My daughter helped to tip the scales, to help me to flesh out for myself what really matters.  Family is so central to who I am as a person.  My working life must fit that and not the other way around.  That’s not to say that I became a mother and all else became unimportant.  Children just changed the context within which work fits.  Now, work isn’t simply work.  It is of course, partly that thing that allows you to support your family.  It can also bring you great meaning to your sense of self.  But it is also what takes you away from family.  So for me, work has be something more than just a means to an end.  It must be something I really love.  I want work to both sustain my family materially and contribute to a more just equitable world.  Having said that, I realize that I operate from a position of great privilege to be able to make these kinds of claims and choices. 

I am hoping to pursue a career in law teaching.  At the moment my research interests are in intellectual property, food law, and environmental justice.  I am also very interested in combining deep reflection into law with my love of documentary film.  Law is everywhere, all around us.  It is literally what we eat, the air we breath; it helps to construct the fabric of our family, work, and even love lives.  Yet most people are so unaware of this.  I want to cut through the mystique of “the law,” in order to bring these issues to a more broader audience and help educate people about the ways in which the law governs both the “mundane” and the essential. 

And always at the center of my work life is my determination to balance it with my family life.  I hope to always see the connections between my work and my family life.  It’s not always a Zen existence, but one thing I have realized from my time in law school is that there are always alternatives, always a way to forge a path that fits you, rather than forcing yourself to fit the path."

Mariella Perrotta is a student of Capital University Law School and appears in the Collective for Women magazine Women in Law article series. To read her bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.

“A challenging part of law school is knowing when to stop studying.  This comes into play during the semester and exam period. For me, it seems that I could go on and on and study for 24 hours a day and still feel like I need to be doing more.  Therefore, it is important to remember to do other things during the day (or week!), like call your family, workout, or find time for yourself.  Knowing when to stop reading, studying, researching, or writing has been the most challenging part of law school because while you get out what you put in, it is important to have some semblance of a life outside studying in order to remain healthy—physically and mentally.  Especially during the first year, it is important to know when to stop studying for exams.  Exam week is such a grueling process that knowing when to stop studying is a challenge itself.

I can still clearly recall presenting an oral argument.  I had to do this for both my Appellate Advocacy class and when I tried out for Moot Court.  These were such intense moments because it is essentially you, three professors (acting as Judges from a Court of Appeals), and many questions.  No matter how familiar I was with the material, it was such a rush to be able to engage these “judges” in a discussion while trying to persuade them to make a favorable decision for my client.  Fortunately, my hard work paid off and I will be competing on the Criminal Law Moot Court team in the Spring of 2012.

Beyond the competition next Spring, my aspiration for my future in Law is to be an effective advocate for my future clients.  The job market is not what it used to be for young lawyers anymore.  Nevertheless, I have been fortunate enough to have gained legal work experience through summer internships and I know I will be happy in a few different fields of law.  I have clerked for a compliance officer of a private, medical billing company, I worked as a law clerk in a small to mid-sized immigration firm, and I also worked for the State of Ohio’s Department of Job & Family Services.  I can honestly say that each one of these opportunities proved to be challenging, intellectually stimulating, and ultimately rewarding.  Therefore, after law school, I simply hope to be able to work in an area when I can be an effective advocate while also feel like I am contributing to society as a whole.” 

Caroline Koehler is a graduate of Capital University Law School and appears in the Collective for Women magazine Women in Law article series. To read her bio and see the other profiled women, check out the Women in Law School: Meet the Women.

“I can still vividly recall the first day of classes and the accompanying feelings of uncertainty, fear, and excitement. I can also recall my silent prayer that my new laptop was large enough to hide me from my contracts professor as he scanned the terrified faces of his new students to call on an unlucky victim to brief the first assigned case.