European Stars And Stripes (Newspaper) - May 10, 1986, Darmstadt, Hesse                                Saturday May 10, 1966 the stars and stripes Page 17 women Lack of fulfilment Byli Krasnow United press International fresh out of Harvard Law school the were on fire ambitious and driven. Yet the 70women who graduated in 1974 from in oldest largest and most influential Law schooling the country Aren t All the six figure stars they once planned to be. Only 23 percent hold partnerships in big name Law firms end some have shucked the courtroom for the Home front and babies. In where they Are now authors Jill Abramson and Barbara Franklin take a look at this band of pioneers where they be been and where they be arrived. Many of them shot out of Harvard and Well at Ihetu Obs full Speed ahead expecting to get an All encompassing Salls faction from work says Abramson. Then they came to realize that working horrendous hours with no personal life in t satisfying this prompted a lot of them to look elsewhere Lor. Fulfillment.". Some 69 percent of the 70 women started Al big Law firms after earning their degrees but More than Hal dropped out and went into other areas of Law business or in a few cases domesticity. Harvard Law school 74 was a history making class. Their entry year of 1971 marked tha first year any Harvard Law class was More than 10 percent female and the beginning of woman hitting the Law profession in Masse. Although Harvard began admitting women la students in 1950, up until the old 60s graduating classes that averaged 600 had a Mere 10 to 15 females and a Macho Aura prevailed. A lot of the Law professors Ware none too thrilled Mohave women says Abramson who graduated from Harvard in 1976 with a Bachelor of arts degree in history and literature. Married to a radio to producer Abramson is the Mother of two toddlers and is a senior reporter for american lawyer. 1 co author Franklin is a freelance writer in new York. One woman i interviewed for the Book told me of the time her Large dog followed her into a class say Abramson. The professor said you know is. Mccoy we must draw the line somewhere meaning first we have to have women and now dogs. Abramson who lives in Arlington. Va., says her biggest Surprise was that More of the women in the class of 741 Aren t extraordinary Success stories 12 year Slater. I expected to find More superstars a lot More partners especially at the lop firms in new York she says one Rupert Lar i Diana Daniels who became a counsel at Newsweek inc. In september of 1979, after stints As assistant counsel at the Washington Post and As an associate with a prominent Wall Street firm. Single and in her Mld-30s, Daniels usually Putti in 12 very intense hours each weekday and most saturdays Yel she says there Are no second though Daboul devoting the bulk of her Lime to High pressure Law i like whal i do. I really think my Job is As Good As they come says Daniels. There Are certainly Days when you sit there and want to tear your hair but. But i Don t i Hank hat s a function of Law. You can be a homemaker and lha plumber does t come tha roof is leaking the oven la broken. Frustration can corns with whatever you  Daniels says bang a woman lawyer does t spark sexism on the Job there is no question that i am considered a valued member of the team. It s not an Issue of whether you re a woman or not. It s a question of whether you re flailing the work  if Daniels has any regrets it a that you can t do everything at once in life. It would be wonderful if you could have nine different  for Clat mate Renae Chotner that meant temporarily abandoning her Law career three years ago when the first of her two children was bom. A decision she still has reservations about. After my first child i did t Leel i was ready logo Back to work and i m still putting it off says Chotner Harvard Law school 74 was a history making class. Their entry year of 1971 marked the first year any Harvard Law class was More than 10 percent female and the beginning of women hitting the Law profession in Masse. 37, who lives in new Haven Conn. I be been sitting on the Fence undecided about this for three years she says her Ufa is Calmer and More peaceful than it would be Iii were working now with  but to achieve that there have been sacrifices. I do have a More peaceful life now but relaxation in t necessarily the highest priority in life. I made the Choice to stay Home because i want to be with my children a lot when they Are very Young but i miss a lot of things about practising Law. No matter what your Choice is you Don t gel it All. If you work you wan More Lime with your family. And if. You Don to you can feel isolated and bored and passed Over while others gel  she teaches one class at nearby Yale Law school but i really Don t think of myself As a professional. 1 think of Mysel As a Mother at  another clo Fate who opted for Home Over a practice at an old line Boston firm is Susan Roosevelt Weld great granddaughter of Theodore Roosevelt and wife of Massac Hussam , attorney William Weld. Weld is working on her doctorate in East asian Legal. Studies via personal computer while she supervises the couple s live children. She views herself As a woman who la doing both family and Job successfully. "1 would t be Happy without it she says of her academic pursuits. Rene Townsend Robinson 36, a big league. Washington attorney feels her classmates who ventured beyond their positions at preset Lolous Law. Firms Are the people who have an excellent perspective on what life is All about.". The narrow locus Tunnel vision approach does t result in Happy people. It results in wealthy  she considers herself somewhere in  married and the Mother of two Robinson is director of equal Opportunity and special projects for the administrative office of the . Courts. She Eways wanted to be a lawyer and has no plans to give it up. It s too enticing for  says Robinson who  hobbies and finds Hal her Job often follows a Home. I can t leave my Job Al the office. Generally the nature of the Legal profession is that it s such a mental activity you really can t turn it on and turn it off. That probably Why lawyers have the reputation Lor being such  she averages 50 hours a week at the office. Although women have minded their Way up in the american Legal system they Are a fraction of its Power Structure while 30 percent of the associates at the country s 100 largest Law firms Are women Only six percent hold partnerships. -.,i think what has happened to Wilmen in Law is the same thing that has happened to Blacks in Al business says Robinson who a Black. Employers have the image of Only two types superwoman and airheads. There is nothing in Between. It s Tike everybody is looking Tor the Sope Black. The Way it is now men who Are average or above average can Mako it to partnership but with women it s still a stereotype she says. You be got to be the superwoman you be Gollo be better than anybody else based on her extensive interviews Lor the Book Abramson concludes Hal even when women do reach the Pinnacle in Law it s not enough and. Unlike Robinson most could t see sticking with the profession for the rest of their working lives. The ones that were by any measure clearly successful partners general counsels to big companies had insecurities about their positions. Says Abramson. I expected them to have attitudes of i am a rising Star in this elite profession but they were not smug and self satisfied. Most of thase women were very unsure of what they wanted to do with Ihal lives 10 years Down the line a lot were fulfilled in their present jobs. But they did t look at Law As the be Alt and end All the thing that will keep them Happy in the Long