by Hon. Debra A. Squires-Lee
As a member, I am proud that the National Association of Women Judges has chosen to hold its annual conference in Boston this fall. The theme of the conference is “Boston 2025: Where Women Lead.” The theme is appropriate. In the Commonwealth today, we have a woman Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Attorney General, Auditor, Treasurer, and President of the Senate. The Mayors of Boston, Cambridge, Newton, Somerville, Braintree, and thirteen other cities are women. The Chief Justices of the Supreme Judicial Court, the Appeals Court, the Trial Court, and four of the seven Trial Court Departments are women. The Chief Justice of the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts is a woman. The list could continue.
Given the extraordinary leadership of women, and women attorneys, the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal determined it was time for a special focus on the status and role of women in the law in the Commonwealth. The Board is pleased to publish this edition, which includes interviews with women at the top of their legal fields who discuss their path to leadership and the impact being a woman has had on their career; analyses of some new and groundbreaking changes in the law that impact women in the areas of reproductive health, probate and family law, and employment law; and a roundtable discussion between generations of women lawyers to talk about what has changed, what may still need to change, and the power and promise of women attorneys.
Lelia J. Robinson, the first woman lawyer in Massachusetts, presciently declared with faith and conviction: “[I]n time, sooner or later, the lawyer everywhere who deserves success and can both work and wait to win it, is sure to achieve it—the woman no less than the man.” We hope you enjoy this special edition.
Debra Squires-Lee is an Associate Justice of the Superior Court. She completes her second and final year as co-chair of the Board of Editors of the Boston Bar Journal this summer.
