In 2023, we presented Nicole Dyszlewski with the Ada Sawyer Award. The following speech was given by Nicole:

Thank you for this honor to the Women’s Bar Association, especially the board and the President of the Women’s Bar Association, Cassandra Feeney. Thank you for the introductory comments by Dean Gregory Bowman and Attorney Suzy Harrington-Steppen. Thank you to all of my RWU Law colleagues, friends, and family for showing up for me this evening and always. Congratulations to tonight’s other award winner, as well.

As you have heard, the Ada Sawyer award is for the promotion and enhancement of the status of women in our community and in the legal profession. I want to muse on that topic for a few minutes.

I want to frame my comments in the same way we frame the race class you just heard about, looking at the past, the present, and the future of women in the law.

Historically, women have been excluded from or disadvantaged or minoritized or treated unjustly in our profession in a variety of ways. The first woman to become a member of the Rhode Island bar was Ada Sawyer in 1920. The process by which Ada Sawyer became the first woman member of the Rhode Island bar is illustrative of the hurdles that existed for women at the time, in that she first had to be found to be a person, which was done by a letter from Supreme Court Associate Justice William H. Sweetland, to sit for the bar exam. She first had to be found to be a person, in that it was somehow debatable that women were people. For the first forty years following Attorney Sawyer’s admission to practice, there were very few women who became attorneys in Rhode Island. Former Rhode Island Bar Association President Carolyn Barone once stated,

The year of 1965 appears to be the ‘wake up’ year for women in the law. That year ushered in an unbroken cycle that continues to this day. From 1965 going forward and continuing to the present time, women have been admitted to the Rhode Island Bar every year. Although the middle to late 1970s saw yearly up-ticks in the number of female attorneys, it was not until the middle to late 1970s that ranks of women lawyers swelled in comparison to all prior decades.

Once admitted to the profession, women were faced with being limited in which areas of law they were encouraged to or able to practice. Rhode Island female attorneys have spoken of being, or feeling, excluded from corporate law, litigation, criminal law, and the judiciary.

An example is one Rhode Island lawyer who stated, “men working for the Department of Corrections blocked women from entering prisons to speak with their clients because they were wearing underwire bras that set off the metal detectors (while allowing other metal objects, like keys and belt buckles). When women removed their bras in the bathroom before visits, they were blocked again and told that women who did not wear bras could not enter either.”

Another example, is that events of the Rhode Island Bar Association—in which membership and dues are mandatory—were held at places where women were not permitted to be members or event guests. The Honorable Constance L. Messore, admitted to practice in 1957 and Retired Associate Judge of the Rhode Island Workers’ Compensation Court, stated that she “recalls incidents such as being asked to use the back door when she attended a celebration for bar-passers at the male-only University Club.”

Beyond feeling excluded completely or unwelcome due to the policies of certain places and activities, women also had to bear the burden of being excluded from activities or events that conferred business or social benefits on those who participated, attended, or were seen at these spaces.

One female attorney licensed to practice in our state recounted a story of working on a series of acquisitions with some West Coast clients and as the project neared completion, the male partner in charge decided not to fly her across the country for the closings. “Two male attorneys, who had worked on my deal for only a very little time were sent along to Washington State,” and when she confronted the male partner he responded, “You are a married woman. How would it look if I travelled with you?”

When interviewed about her career, another female attorney who became a judge stated about exclusion, “Mothers of young children who are responsible for raising their own children do not spend Saturdays on golf courses. And if the golf course is where you generate business, then until your children are grown enough that you can leave them alone all day Saturday, you’re just not competing in that business.”

I could continue listing examples of situations where women recount being overtly harassed, undermined by opposing counsel, being referred to by dismissive pet names, and so on and so forth.

Our history is replete with examples.

Moving along to today, I turn to the 2020 RI Bar Member Diversity and Inclusion Survey. Question 15 of that survey which had 280 responses asked participants if they have witnessed discrimination against colleagues in the workplace or in court. 47% of respondents indicated they have witnessed discrimination. Experiences of sexism from the survey results included:

sexual harassment by judges, colleagues and other attorneys toward women attorneys
sexist comments by male attorneys and government workers against women
gender discrimination, ongoing and unaddressed, by opposing counsel and by clients,
comments about judges disrespecting BIPOC attorneys and younger women attorneys,
gender bullying as a litigation tactic
language and tone policing of women
male attorneys are able to access better assignments and better mentorships
la ack of female attorney equity partners in our state.

Several respondents of the survey referred to law practice in RI as an “old boys club.” Question 17 of the survey asked

What is the biggest challenge you have faced while practicing law? Respondents comments included:

Not being taken seriously, lack of respect
Old boys club
Lack of equal pay and equal opportunities
Pregnancy/motherhood
Lack of cultural awareness among lawyers and staff
Bias against motherhood
Minoritized individuals have to work hard for less pay and status
Women get lower quality work assignments & are held to double standards o Not knowing how to address sexism
Being undermined by male attorneys
Being non-white
Lower pay for women
I have repeatedly witnessed qualified female associates held back from partnership at large firms in Rhode Island
Refusal of attorneys to acknowledge these problems still exist o Sexual harassment
Microaggressions
Being treated poorly by an employer

Many of these comments are reflective of the historical treatment of women in our profession and this information is and should be sobering.

A short pause in this alarming recitation of the treatment of women lawyers in our state and beyond to share my own story.

I was a practicing attorney in our state for a few short years in the 2000s, so the modern era in this story. I did not go a day in my practice without feeling othered. I was constantly presented with opinions by attorneys and clients that I did not look like a lawyer. I felt like I was constantly held up to the standard of maleness and found lacking. Clients and attorneys asked about my age. Clients and attorneys asked if I was really a lawyer. Clients and attorneys asked to speak to a real lawyer. I never felt like I measured up. And it made me mad. In addition to feeling like there was something wrong with me, I also started to feel like there was something really wrong with law. And so I started to talk to my loved ones about leaving the law that I loved so much and frankly went into a lot of debt to pursue.

So I thought about what I could do that would make a difference. It seemed like changing the law was impossible but why not give it is shot? Perhaps I could work to change legal education and provide support and mentorship for law students who would become the next generation of lawyers? At least that could be a good place to start.

And so I did.

I went back to school, I became a law librarian. I started working with law students. And I devoted my work to legal research and injustice in law. Not just injustice against those who identify as women but for all of us with minoritized identities in law. If a middle class educated white woman felt unwelcome and treated with hostility, imagine the experiences of those with relatively less privilege and with intersecting identities. I wanted to promote women in law and be an ally to those with diverse identities.

I had the terrific good luck of ending up at RWU Law where it is our mission “to promote social justice and the rule of law through engaged teaching, learning, and scholarship.” And where we stive to “Attract and retain a student body, faculty, and staff with diverse backgrounds and experiences, especially those historically underrepresented in the legal profession.” And where I am supported in my own mission of changing the profession of and practice of law by the amazing people who are in the room tonight.

And that has been what we are doing.

We have been celebrating women lawyers in Rhode Island through our scholarship, through our lecture series, through our research, and through our work with the RI Women’s Bar Association.

We have listened to our students and created a class about Race and the Foundations of Law which is required for all students.

This law school, celebrating only its 30th year, located in the smallest state in the country is leading our nation in the way we are teaching our students about diversity, equity, inclusion, belonging, cultural competence, bias, and equality. And I couldn’t be prouder to be part of this effort and to be one of the leaders in this work. And I couldn’t be prouder to receive an award for this work that I am doing but that my whole community is doing alongside me.

And now back to the depressing part of the speech, the future.

Based on all I know about the status of women in law, here are eight recommendations I have for those in this room tonight.

Keep showing up here. Support affinity bar associations, join as a member, attend the meetings, give generously, volunteer. show up
Show up at the RI Bar Association, too. We are all members. Vote, volunteer, be a delegate, run for president, engage in this work. Our profession needs you. I want to see more portraits of female bar presidents on the walls at headquarters in Cranston.
Take a law student or newer attorney out for coffee and build a relationship and support them. They might be learning for the first time what many of us already know about being a lawyer with an identity that is historically underrepresented. The road is bumpy. Make them feel at home in law in the way I never felt at home here.
Learn how to be an effective ally. You have learned to be an effective negotiator and an effective advocate. Now grow your skills in allyship. This work can be uncomfortable but it is necessary to create and sustain justice in the practice and administration of law.
Give generously of your time and talents to the law school, even if you are not an alum. We are doing this work. We will keep doing this work. We value your participation in this community effort to increase justice. And I am not just saying this because Dean Bowman told me to.
Find your people, those who you can call when you need to yell or cry or laugh or vent. We need support for this work. Find those who can support you. Cherish them.
Don’t give up. I don’t regret my career path but this won’t work if you all become law librarians. Stay the course. A smooth sea never made a skilled sailor.

In conclusion, thank you so much for this honor. And thank you for listening to me speak about these issues this evening. My last recommendation is to go forth and be loud about the status of women in our profession. It can only change if we change it. The only way forward is through. Thank you..