McConnell’s Work as Trial Judge Recognized By Women Judges Association
There is the kind of balance you need to walk a tightrope. Then there is the kind of balance you need to keep a law career and a personal life in proper perspective.
Good thing attorneys don’t walk the high wire.
A lot of attorneys feel their lives are out of balance, according to two recent and unrelated surveys by two legal staffing firms.
Spherion Corp., which provides a variety of legal services Downtown, noted attorneys were equally split about whether they would prefer a 10 percent pay raise or a 10 percent reduction in hours. Some 51 percent of attorneys said they would take the raise if it came down to those two choices. More than four in five in the general work force said they would take the pay increase.
Spherion, formerly known as Interim Services Inc., has corporate headquarters in Florida and its legal staffing headquarters in Los Angeles. It conducted the study with Harris Interactive Inc. Attorneys were surveyed in five major metropolitan areas in the fall of 1999.
Meanwhile, The Affiliates asked another group of attorneys for one aspect of their job they would most like to change. One top vote-getter was the amount of time worked. Some 33 percent said they would like to spend fewer hours at work or have more personal time. Another 34 percent said the thing they would most like to change is the stress of the job.
Some 200 attorneys from among the nation’s 1,200 largest law firms responded to The Affiliates survey. The Affiliates is based in Menlo Park.
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National Honor: Superior Court Judge Judith McConnell is the first California trial judge to be named Judge of the Year by the National Association of Women Judges.
The organization has been giving the award since 1979. Most often, the honor goes to state Supreme Court or federal appellate judges. Only a few trial judges have received the honor.
The National Association of Women Judges is dedicated to complete equality for women under national and international law.
It is not the first time McConnell’s work has been held up for recognition. Last year she received the first Access to Justice award given jointly by the California Judges Association, the state bar and the pro bono advisory committee of the California Judicial Council.
Letterhead Change: Gray Cary Ware & Freidenrich LLP has announced that David Pendarvis has joined the firm as a partner in its Downtown office. Previously he was a partner with the San Diego office of Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher.
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IP Interest: Stephen S. Korniczky, a partner with Brobeck, Phleger & Harrison LLP in Carmel Valley, has been elected president of the San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association. He is joined by Sam Talpalatsky of Conexant Systems, vice president; Richard Kim, an associate in the Carmel Valley office of Morrison & Foerster LLP, secretary; Mark Wieczorek of InnerCool Therapies, treasurer; and immediate past president Bruce Greenhaus of Qualcomm Inc.
The San Diego Intellectual Property Law Association has more than 350 members. The organization is committed to the education and development of local attorneys practicing in the areas of patent and intellectual property law.
Items for this column may be sent via E-mail to bgraves@sdbj.com.
