“…[P]robably the most exciting day was the day I found out I became dean. And I remember the person who phoned me said, ‘Are you sitting down?’ And I said, ‘No.’ And the person said, ‘Well, you are about to make history.’ And I was, like, ‘Oh, my God.’ [I]t was scary, of course, but really, really incredible because I was the first woman.†– Dean Mayo Moran
I am encouraged.
Elena Kagan isn’t the only one getting a promotion this year. Recently, Kimberley Brooks and Camille A. Nelson were appointed as deans at the Schulich School of Law (Dalhousie) and Suffolk Law School, respectively.
The last year alone has seen the appointment of quite a few female law scholars to the rank of dean in Canadian law schools, namely the aforementioned Professor Brooks, Jinyan Li, Odette Snow and Lorna Turnbull. In fact, of the fifteen law schools in Canada, a record breaking eight of them (more than half!) were very recently or are currently headed by women:
- Kim Brooks (Schulich – Dalhousie)
- Jinyan Li (Osgoode) Interim dean (2009-2010)
- Mayo Moran (U of T)
- Beth Bilson (Saskatchewan) Acting dean
- Maryann Bobinski (UBC)
- Donna Greschner (Victoria)
- Lorna Turnbull (Manitoba) Acting dean
- Odette Snow (Moncton)
- Marie-France Albert (Moncton)
It is interesting to note, however, that all of the deans of the law schools in Quebec are Caucasian and male. I suppose change is slower in some parts of the country…
Camille Nelson deserves special mention, not only because is she a Canadian appointed as a dean at an American law school (Suffolk School of Law to be exact), but because she is a woman of colour — the first woman and the first person of colour to hold the position of dean in the 104-year history of the law school. Â Although not recent news, it should also be noted that it is a woman who currently heads one of the top law schools in the States;Â Martha Minow is currently the dean at Harvard Law School.
Now, this is news.  This is ground-breaking.  I am so used to reading articles and blogs bemoaning the lack of diversity and upward female mobility in the legal profession, but I write this article on a happier and (slightly) more optimistic note. One can only hope that the trend will continue. I can finally see cracks in the glass ceiling (even if only in academia) and as a female law student and a minority, I am encouraged.
Yes…Ms. Kagan.
Not a whit of practical experience with the law….but somehow deemed qualified to sit as a Judge in the High Court.
Yep…..I can see this one coming back to bite someone.
And theoretically, Kagan can be there long enough to alter the law as she sees fit.
The Americans were warned….they chose not to listen.
It’ll be fun to watch from Canada.
Not a whit of practical experience with the law….but somehow deemed qualified to sit as a Judge in the High Court.
Yep…..I can see this one coming back to bite someone.
And theoretically, Kagan can be there long enough to alter the law as she sees fit.
For a minute there I thought you were talking about Clarence Thomas. The Republicans clued in to appointing young people to the bench for maximum tenure a long time ago. The Democrats are just late to the game. Whats sauce for the goose…
Don’t forget Eileen Gillese, former dean of the law school at Western (1996-1999) and currently sitting on the bench at the Ontario Court of Appeal (http://www.ontariocourts.on.ca/coa/en/judges/gillese.htm).
UWO is currently looking for a new dean too. Who knows, maybe it will be a woman?
KC noted:
“For a minute there I thought you were talking about Clarence Thomas. The Republicans clued in to appointing young people to the bench ”
It’s not jsut the age that’s a concern. It’s a combination of having someone with NO real experience…combined with another 30 years to show that inexperience.
Kagan is an extremist lefty…..and the US is going to have a LOT of dissent about her poor judgement. Count on it.
Thanks all for your comments!
As with many Supreme Court nominations, I’m not surprised that many find Kagan’s nomination polarizing, and although her nomination is not the main point of my post above, I still think there is something to be said for gender in the judiciary and in the legal profession (as was really the main point).
I don’t want to beat the proverbial dead horse (as this has already been a well discussed topic), but, in Obama’s defense, I’d at least like to think that having another woman in the SCOTUS will prove beneficial (see “Will Women Judges Make a Difference?” by Madam Justice Bertha Wilson — http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.174-1617.1992.tb01265.x/abstract).
I know she doesn’t have judicial experience, but it’s always interesting to see what people count as relevant experience for posts such as justice of SCOTUS and POTUS (if you recall, many made the argument that Obama wasn’t “experienced” enough for the job — whatever that means). And William Rehnquist didn’t have prior experience as a judge…
But of course, I’m just playing devil’s advocate…
It’s not jsut the age that’s a concern. It’s a combination of having someone with NO real experience
Just like Clarence Thomas… right?
… combined with another 30 years to show that inexperience.
Its fair to say that she wont be inexperienced in 30 years, but I digress…
Kagan is an extremist lefty…..and the US is going to have a LOT of dissent about her poor judgement.
I suspect she will get a lot of dissent from the 50% of the country that reflexively opposes anything the “liberal wing” of the court does or says just like judges like Scalia get a lot of dissent from the other 50% of the country.