KU Law News
KU Law News
Nov. 20, 2008
Women's Advisory Council formed to mentor, advise students
The Women's Advisory Council will work closely with the student group Women in Law, whose officers are, from left, Monika Groom, president; Kendra Oakes, treasurer; Katie Morgan, secretary; and Tyler Page, vice president.
The number of women applicants to law school is dropping nationally and at the University of Kansas, and anecdotal evidence suggests that young women lawyers are leaving the profession in meaningful numbers early in their careers.
In an attempt to ensure that KU Law is preparing all of its students to succeed in their chosen career path, Dean Gail Agrawal recently formed the Women’s Advisory Council. The group is composed of accomplished KU Law alumnae who have agreed to share their wisdom and experience.
The founding members of the council are:
- Katharina Babich, L’91, Sonnenschein Nath & Rosenthal, Kansas City, Mo.
- Holly Dyer, L’94, Foulston Siefkin, Wichita
- Parthenia Evans, L’82, Stinson Morrison Hecker, Kansas City, Mo.
- Amy Fowler, L’01, Husch Blackwell Sanders, Kansas City, Mo.
- Cathy Havener Greer, L’76, Wells Anderson & Race, Denver
- Carrie Josserand, L’98, Lathrop & Gage, Overland Park
- Madeleine McDonough, L’90, Shook, Hardy & Bacon, Kansas City, Mo., and Washington, D.C.
- The Hon. Mary Murguia, L’85, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona, Phoenix
- Cathy Reinhardt, L’83, Reinhardt Financial Services, Lawrence
- Elizabeth Schartz, L’88, Thompson & Knight, Dallas
- Lisa Schultes, L’85, Polsinelli Shalton Flanigan Suelthaus, Kansas City, Mo.
“I decided to form a Women's Advisory Council to provide mentors and advisers for our students, especially our women students,” Agrawal said, “and to provide guidance to me about the recruitment, retention and preparation of women law students for the rigors of their professional lives after law school.”
Fowler, a partner at Husch Blackwell Sanders, said she hopes the council will help address ways to ensure that the ratio of male to female attorneys who continue to actively practice law equalizes.
“The fact of the matter is that far more female lawyers stop practicing law before male lawyers do. We need to discuss that issue, why it happens, what we can do to equalize those numbers and what employers can do to ensure the numbers are equalized,” Fowler said. “Part of that is discussing how we can find mentors for female law students and lawyers in their chosen fields of practice, addressing family and work-life balance, and simply providing advice about the many different options for female lawyers and what works best for them.
“My ultimate goal is that we can help reach a day where there is no need to talk about the difference between male and female lawyers or law students.”
The council will work closely with Women in Law, whose members are excited about the opportunity. Tentatively, the council’s first activity will be a combined meeting and panel discussion this spring on topics of interest to women law students.
“I have received an overwhelming response from current members expressing their gratitude and excitement for the invaluable opportunity to work closely with the Women’s Advisory Council,” said Monika Groom, president of Women in Law. “Not only will this make KU Law a better place for women to study law, but it will also give us the tools to prepare ourselves for what lies in today’s professional community.”