Hearsay

• Pages: 15-15

PHOTOS COURTESY OF FCTRY; SHUTTERSTOCK

exemplifi ed for me just how

important it is for there

to be folks “on the inside”

who believe that their law

degree can and should be

used in servic e of pursuing

justice.

In early 2017, it became

clear to me that I would

need to leave federal ser-

vice in order to continue

advancing civi l rights in a

meaningfu l way, and I was

drawn back to my root s in

the advocacy world. A s the

chief strategy o cer a nd

legal director of L ambda

Legal, the nation’s oldest

and largest LGBT/HIV liti-

gation organization, I sta nd

arm-in-arm w ith an out-

standing team of law yers

not only within my own

organization, but also f rom

other national, state and

local civil r ights organiza-

tions, and with incred ible

partners in the priv ate bar.

We are living in di cult

times, to be sure, a nd it is

easy to feel overwhelme d

and overpowered by the

assaults being leveled on

communities for whom we

care deeply. In those dark

moments, I fi nd some com-

fort in remembering how

unmoored I felt on that

day when I came out to

my parents, knowing that

today I can wr ite this as a

wife, a mother and an out-

and-proud LGBT advocate

whose parents now brag to

their church friends when

their daughter appears

on PBS NewsHour tal king

about transgender rights.

My, what a path mine has

been. And I cannot wa it to

see where it leads me next.

Sharon McGowan is the chief

strategy of cer and legal direc-

tor of Lambda Legal, which

is committed to achieving full

recognition of the civil rights

of lesbians, gay men, bisexu-

als, transgender people and

individuals living with HIV.

Opening Statements

MARCH 2019 ABA JOURNAL || 15

Hearsay

Mueller Time

New York City-based toy company FCTRY is plan-

ning to release a new action fi gure: U.S. special c oun-

sel Robert Mueller , who is leading the investigation into

Russian interference in the 20 16 election. FCTRY is

known for its replicas of poli tical and legal fi gures su ch

as Bernie Sanders a nd Ruth Bader Ginsburg. ( The jus-

tice’s model has sold more than 10 0,000 units so far.)

The company said it decid ed to create a Mueller action

fi gure once it became clea r that the special counsel ha d

entered pop culture lore.

Source: Law.com

3%

Across the country, fi rst-year law sch ool enrollment

is up nearly 3 percent, according to data released in

December by the ABA’s Section of Legal Educ ation and

Admissions to the Bar. Law schools reported a total of

38,390 1L s in 2018. Enrollment in n on-JD programs—

LLMs, master’s and certi fi cate programs—rose by 8. 2 p er-

cent. Some of the scho ols that saw the largest increase s

were Harvard Law Scho ol, Georgetown University L aw

Center and George Washington Univer sity Law School.

Source: ABA Journal.com

35%

The percentage of female de ans at law schools across the

United States, accordin g to the Association of Ameri can Law

Schools. The number of women serving as dea n has been grow-

ing steadily, up from 30 percent in 20 15. Five of the top 10

schools in the U.S. N ews & World Report rankings are led by

women, but no deans at th e most elite schools are minori ties.

Source: Law.com

In response to a 2017 report on lawyer depression and substa nce abuse, the Universit y of

Pennsylvania Law Schoo l is launching a pilot progra m that will integrate sessions on at torney

well-being into class requi rements. The program will be p art of an upper-level “Profe ssional

Responsibility” course, and it will use positive psycholo gy principles and focus on res ilience and

mindfulness. The stu dy, titled “The Path to Lawyer Well-B eing: Practical Recom mendations for

Positive Change,” was conducted by the National Task Force on Lawyer Well-Bei ng, a collec-

tion of entities within an d outside the ABA. Sourc e: Daily Pennsylvanian

Be Well