International Women’s Day Celebration

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN’S DAY CELEBRATION By Jerilyn Paik

A special thank you to our Panelists, Hon. Connie Callahan, Hon. Shama Mesiwala, Hon. Stacy Boulware Eurie and Jerilyn Paik. The panelists engaged in incredible dialogue and spoke about real and true issues happening in our world today. We also recognize and thank Women Lawyers of Sacramento for supporting this event. The yellow rose represents VICTORY for the Suffragists, who, for almost a century, struggled to gain voting rights for women. The yellow rose appears in the center of the League of Women Voters’ Piedmont Triad commemoratory logo for their year-long celebration of the 100th anniversary of the ratification of the 19th Amendment.

The Sacramento County Bar Association commemorated International Women’s Day on March 6, 2020, with a panel discussion on the “work and life balance” that all female attorneys strive to achieve. The panel consisted of three jurists (Ninth Circuit Judge Consuelo Callahan, and Superior Court Judges Stacy Boulware Eurie and Shama Hakim Mesiwala) and one practicing attorney (Jerilyn Paik), and was moderated by SCBA’s Secretary/Treasurer Andi Liebenbaum. The event was held at the SCBA Conference Center and was attended by a few dozen women and a few men (including retired Third District Court of Appeal Justice Art Scotland, Justice Ron Robie of the same court, and McGeorge Professor Ed Telfeyan).

Ms. Liebenbaum opened the event by posing three questions. First, she asked, “has the law changed in how it addresses the needs of women?” Second, if women are more inclined to give up their careers after becoming attorneys, how is this fact addressed as women leaders? And third, why is “women in the law” still a topic of discussion?

Judge Callahan served as the keynote speaker following Ms. Liebenbaum’s introductory remarks. She spoke directly of her career, noting that she was one of only 10 female students in her law school class and that she now sits on a Court of Appeals where 13 of the 29 judges are women. She recalled that she took the first job she was offered, fearing no one would hire her be

Jerilyn Paik is a solo practitioner specializing in probate, estate planning and trust litigation. She can be contacted at Jeri@jplawoffice.com.

cause she was a woman. She often felt marginalized as a woman litigator, but she used it to her advantage because her opponent often underestimated her.

Judge Callahan also acknowledged that early in her career, she felt she was being judged for all women who would follow her. This understanding motivated her to

work harder (even until the day before she gave birth to her son). She never missed a day of trial in over 10 years as a trial attorney and never missed a day of a trial in 10 years as a trial judge. She just believed, she said, that she had to work that hard to achieve her goals. It became clear that hard work and being prepared are the underpinnings of her success.

Speaking to the work/life balance, Judge Callahan said she thinks the opportunities are much better for women now, but she feels the struggle is ongoing. She acknowledged that in achieving her career success, she did not “do it all.” She set her priorities early on and spent more time away from home and family responsibilities than other women might feel comfortable with. She closed her remarks by emphasizing that “one size does not fit all.” Personal decisions, she concluded, must be personal, and each woman seeking a career in the law must figure out what works for herself.

Judge Boulware Eurie spoke next. She had recently received the Judicial Officer of the Year award from the California Endowment. She spoke of the support she received as a new attorney from other female attorneys (specifically mentioning Vicki Jacobs, Jean McEvoy and Joan Stone). “None of us,” she said, “do these jobs alone.” The judge stressed that “we should all make a little more time for mentorship.” She noted that even high school students, as well as law students and attorneys just starting to practice, all present an opportunity and create an obligation to expand the opportunities that others had created for us. “We can serve as role models,” she said, and help those “who seek to join the dynamic and evolving profession.” Your author had the privilege of having newly appointed Judge Boulware Eurie head her Kennedy Inn of Court team and can attest to her commitment.

Judge Boulware Eurie added that having allies and supporters “strengthens us as individuals and as a profession.” She acknowledged that women have made great strides in the profession, but, she said, “We still have work to do.” She pointed out that as long as questions like “when will there be enough women on the court” are being asked, our society is still grappling with the proper place for women in the law. She said that she uses her role as a judge to make space for voices to be heard inside and outside of the courtroom.

Addressing work/life balance, Judge Boulware Eurie encouraged establishing boundaries. Doing so, she said, enables the professional woman to be “more physically and mentally present wherever you are.” She said one boundary she made early on was to leave work at her office. Doing so has allowed her to be “fully present during my personal life in a way that is more restorative and fulfilling.”

Judge Mesiwala closed her remarks by referring to Justice Sandra Day O’Connor, the first female Supreme Court Justice. From studying the career of O’Connor, Judge Mesiwala said she gained an appreciation for several of her lessons.

The first lesson is that often “you will be treated as an equal, as it should be.” In addition, you will not always be treated as an equal and you must create your own opportunities. On graduating from Stanford Law School with Order of the Coif, O’Connor applied to 40 firms and was rejected by all of them. She then took a voluntary position with a county attorney and had more enriching experiences than her male colleagues from Stanford, who were working in big firms with big salaries, but doing research and taking depositions.

Another lesson Judge Mesiwala learned from Justice O’Connor is that careers rarely follow a straight trajectory and one must decide what is best for her family. Judge Mesiwala also learned that “it is never going to be easy or how you expected it to be,” but you have to take advantage of opportunities when they come.” After being on the Court for seven years, O’Connor had breast cancer. She planned her treatments around oral arguments so she wouldn’t miss any.

Finally, Judge Mesiwala learned that you have to ignore the naysayers and always “help others on their path.” O’Connor was committed to performing her duties in a way that kept the door open for other women to join her. Eventually three others (Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Sonia Sotomayor, and Elena Kagan) did.

Ms. Paik concluded the prepared remarks by relating her experiences during the course of her career. She moved to Sacramento after graduating from Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. Her first job was with a solo practitioner. After a few years, she was hired by a big law firm as her sons were four months and 29 months old. A few years later, she became President of Women Lawyers of Sacramento. During those years, she said that the issues affecting women were “juggling family and career,” equal treatment/pay, and discrimination, especially in social clubs. She noted those issues are still prevalent for female lawyers today.

Ms. Paik recounted that she became only the second female attorney in her firm and the second woman partner. The firm eventually dissolved and she has ever since been a solo practitioner, continuing to specialize in probate, estate planning, and trust litigation.

The panel discussion was followed by a Q and A session that featured a number of questions on how to achieve work/life balance. Each speaker offered her perspective on this thorny question and “balance” may not be the appropriate noun. By the end of the two-hour session, the answer was still unsettled, other than that, as Judge Callahan repeated, “each woman must figure out what works for herself. There is no substitute for hard work.”