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Appellate Advocacy Blog
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#TwitterTuesday–Women in the Law

By Tessa L. Dysart

TwitterTuesdays

A few weeks ago #appellatetwitter honored women who serve (and have served) as justices on the highest court of their state or on the U.S. Supreme Court.  Using the hashtag #WomenJusticeWeek and #WomenJusticeDay, #appellatetwitter filled the twitterverse with posts honoring these women.  That same week, the New York Times published an op-ed by Shira Scheindlin, a former federal district court judge in New York. Judge Scheindlin’s op-ed discussed a report by the New York State Bar Association’s commercial and  federal litigation section on women speaking in court.  The results were quite disappointing.  According to the op-ed:

The report found that women were the lead lawyers for private parties barely 20 percent of the time in New York State’s federal and state courts at the trial and appellate levels. Women were twice as likely to appear on behalf of public sector clients. The offices of the United States attorneys, district attorneys, the state attorney general and the corporation counsel of the City of New York, as well as Legal Aid offices and federal defenders, have achieved some level of gender equality in courtroom appearances.

So, for today’s #TwitterTuesday, here are a few women who are adding gender diversity at the appellate level:

Kendyl Hanks (@HanksKendyl) is an appellate practitioner in Texas.  She is an active #appellatetwitter participant, and, according to her profile, is a “[d]evotee of dogs, grammar, & flyfishing.”  She tweets on several issues, including diversity in the legal profession.

Kristine Ellison (@KEllsAppellate) litigates at the trial and appellate level in D.C.  She frequently tweets on court of appeals decisions of interest to the defense and business bar.

Ruthanne Deutsch (@RuthanneDeutsch) is an appellate practitioner in the D.C. area.  According to her firm’s website, they are “committed to serving our clients with sharp analysis and clear writing.”

Jaime Santos (@Jaime_ASantos) is also an appellate attorney in the D.C. area. She tweets on issues of diversity and on big appellate matters.  According to her profile she is also the mom of three girls under the age of 4, in addition to being an appellate attorney, and she is “not sure which role has had a greater impact on my oral advocacy/persuasive argument skills.”