The COVID-19 pandemic’s effect on the legal profession has been profound and has impacted law firms of all sizes. Female attorneys in particular may see the worst of the pandemic’s effects. (Russell-Craft, Bloomberg Law). After a sharp decline following the post-2008 economic downturn, the percentage of female attorneys working in large law firms had just returned to pre-recession levels when the COVID-19 pandemic hit. (Tribe & Russell-Craft, Bloomberg Law). As a result, diversity experts are concerned that female attorneys will again be the group most impacted by the current economic crisis. Id. They worry that the pandemic will undo much of the work the legal profession had done in the years following 2008 to promote diversity and facilitate success for females in the profession. Id.
Read MoreIn U.S. v. Collins, 409 F.Supp.3d 228 (S.D.N.Y. 2019), former United States Representative Chris Collins (“Collins”), a New York Republican, plead guilty to conspiracy to commit securities fraud and lying to federal investigators. The court sentenced him to 26 months in prison after hearing arguments from both Collins and the government, and receiving dozens of letters from Collins’s former constituents overwhelmingly urging a harsh sentence. Collins, who resigned from the House of Representatives (“The House”) in the wake of his indictment, became the first sitting member of The House to be charged with insider trading.
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