My Reservations I dreaded writing this article, I’ll admit it. On the one hand, women’s equality should not be a controversial issue. On the other hand, the idea of women’s equality seems to invoke—and stoke—so much debate (at best) and fear (at worst) as to elicit visceral reactions when the topic is raised. Why do … Continued

Gender Pay Equity, Then and Now It’s been nearly 54 years since the federal Equal Pay Act (EPA) passed Congress barring pay inequity based on sex,1 and New York’s state cognate, the New York State Equal Pay Act (NYS EPA), just celebrated its 50th anniversary.2 Since the passage of these laws, the gap between a man’s earnings … Continued

Frettra de Silva will begin her term as Chair of the Women in Law Section on June 1, 2024. Frettra is the Head, Legal, Transaction Banking, Americas for Standard Chartered Bank. She has been a member of WILS since its creation and was a member of the Committee on Women in the Law, the predecessor … Continued

“A dollar won is twice as sweet as a dollar earned,” said Paul Newman as Fast Eddie Nelson in the 1961 classic film The Hustler. Many people must agree, since U.S. gross gaming revenue reached a total of $60.42 billion in 2022, according to Statistica Research Dept 9/2023. Sports betting itself, which was zero in 2018, was legalized by … Continued

Sandra Day O’Connor, the first woman to be appointed as a United States Supreme Court justice, died in December at age 93. Appointed in 1981 by President Ronald Regan, O’Connor, who previously served as an Arizona state court judge, was an associate justice on our nation’s highest court for 24 years. She stepped down in … Continued

Next year, New York will provide employees in the state with paid family leave. New York’s Paid Family Leave Benefits Law (“PFL Act”) goes into effect as of January 1, 2018, and will be phased in over the course of four years.1 At the end of the phase-in period, New York State will provide 12 weeks … Continued

On May 7, 2024, New York State Supreme Court Justice Daniel Doyle ruled that the New York State Equal Rights Amendment (ERA) should be removed from New York’s November 2024 ballot. The lawsuit, Marjorie Byrnes v. The Senate of the State of New York, was brought by outgoing Republican State Assembly Member Marjorie Byrnes, who claims … Continued

Sharon L. Brown and Alyson Mathews are the new co-chairs of WILS Awards Committee, succeeding Marilyn Flood and Catherine Christian, who oversaw the selection of recipients of the prestigious Ruth G. Schapiro and Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Awards for the last few years. Marilyn and Catherine are both incredible lawyers and share a deep commitment … Continued

Terri A. Mazur is a past Chair of the Women in Law Section and co-editor of WILS Connect. Her practice has focused on complex financial services, securities and antitrust litigation. She was a partner in Mayer Brown’s commercial litigation practice for most of her career and founded and chaired the firm’s Women’s Initiatives Committee. She was also … Continued

Drafting the “Message from Our Chair” is one of the many privileges of serving as Chair of the Women in Law Section (WILS). It gives me the unencumbered luxury of sitting still momentarily thinking about all the tremendous work this Section does. I won’t lie, it is also a bit stressful. How do I put … Continued