This book tells the spectacular history of women lawyers at the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York (SDNY). SDNY is a storied institution, the oldest federal prosecutor's office in the United States and its most renowned - and a critical player in New York City's high-stakes legal arena. But its history has been only sparsely written about, and this is the first book to share the riveting account of how SDNY's doors came to open to women lawyers. Remarkably, SDNY hired women lawyers far earlier than the Wall Street firms and other elite legal institutions. This book explores why that was. It begins in 1906 with Henry Stimson's hiring of Mary Grace Quackenbos, the very first woman to hold an Assistant title anywhere in the Department of Justice. It continues with the SDNY women lawyers who intrepidly entered the arena throughout the Roaring Twenties, the Great Depression, and World War II, and who overcame the strict social conformities of the 1950s, when women who entered the law were seen as social "deviants." It tells the previously untold full story of how women challenged the SDNY blockade of the 1960s that prevented them from serving as criminal prosecutors. And it culminates in the 1970s - when that blockade came down and the door to women's entry was irrevocably blown off the hinges. Those SDNY women of the 70s went on to transform the bench and bar. Throughout, this book dissects and examines the close connection between SDNY's hiring of women and its legacy of nonpartisan leadership, which is what drove SDNY's emergence as an important American institution in the twentieth century and beyond.
Published by the Feerick Center for Social Justice of Fordham Law School
Rezensionen / Stimmen
"Entering the Arena is a lively and illuminating history of women prosecutors in the fabled Southern District of New York. Starting in the earliest days of the 20th century and running up to the modern era, former SDNY Criminal Division Chief Lisa Zornberg presents compelling mini-biographies of the extraordinary women, who against all odds, made a major impact in what was until relatively recently a "man's world". Zornberg writes with charm, humor, sympathy and admiration for the colleagues who preceded and succeeded her. Lawyers and non-lawyers will appreciate this inspiring and spirited account." - Elkan Abramowitz, founding partner of Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC
"This terrific book tells the story of the women lawyers who served the public interest as assistant United States attorneys, with ethics and integrity, in the Southern District of New York, an office established by President Washington in 1789.The story, as told by the author, a former assistant in that office, is an amazing, touching, and inspiring one." - John D. Feerick, Sidney C. Norris Chair of Law in Public Service, Fordham University School of Law
"A wonderful read! Combining elegant writing with a zest for the remarkable and unexpected details, Zornberg recounts the storied history and fierce independence of the SDNY's brave and brilliant first women AUSAs." - Nicole Gueron, Founding Partner of Clarick Gueron Reisbaum
"Entering the Arena: The Spectacular History of Women at SDNY is a gem. It is a fascinating, never before told history of the incredible women of the most powerful prosecutor's office in the country told in an engaging, quick-witted story telling style. It depicts the importance of reaching for dreams even when they seem impossible, being relentless in pursuit of them, and the tangible impact large social movements can have. Most importantly, this book comes at a crucial moment with a message everyone needs to hear: a strong democracy requires strong institutions and strong institutions come from strong leadership. Lisa takes us on a journey that crystalizes this through compelling stories about an institution that has endured and thrived since 1789, the SDNY." - Mimi Rocah, former Westchester District Attorney
"This is a remarkable story that needs to be told. Zornberg traces the overlooked history of women in the Southern District US Attorney's Office, showcasing the courageous trailblazers as well as the men who blocked them from serving and others who championed them. Zornberg's compassionate narrative is particularly timely in demonstrating that the historical strength of the Office lies not only in the quality of the prosecutors, but in its tireless fight to remain fiercely apolitical." - Karen Seymour, former co-head of Sullivan & Cromwell's litigation department, former GC of Goldman Sachs, and a former Chief of SDNY's Criminal Division
"Do you forget when almost all lawyers were men? Read this remarkable book and you will see how it took real initiative by both women and men, combined with the tide of social change, to bring women fully into the legal profession. And you will have a good time reading it, too!" - Todd Rakoff, Byrne Professor of Administrative Law, Harvard Law School
"Lisa Zornberg's Entering the Arena provides a masterclass in blending meticulous research with sharp wit to tell the definitive history of women lawyers in the Southern District of New York - a history that, until now, had gone largely unreported. With her unique perspective as the third-ever female Criminal Division Chief at SDNY, Lisa shines a long-overdue spotlight on the women who shaped our country's most powerful U.S Attorneys' Office. The gripping stories of grit, determination and dedication of women AUSAs from Mary Grace Quackenbos to Pat Hynes and Shirah Neiman (and all of those in between) to "do the right thing for the right reasons" - an oft-repeated mantra of SDNY prosecutors - deepens and enriches our understanding of a federal prosecutor's office that has occupied an unrivaled place in our nation's legal history since its founding almost 100 years before the creation of the U.S. Department of Justice itself. A must read not only for lawyers but for anyone interested in women's history." - Tatiana Martins, Partner at Davis, Polk & Wardwell and former chief of SDNY Public Corruption Unit
"Lisa Zornberg has ensured that a slice of the history of the Southern District USAO - an institution many of us treasure and love - will be preserved for future generations. Her book is intricately researched, elegantly written, and filled with insightful and humorous stories. The story of the Southern District parallels the history of the U.S. in a way that Lisa demonstrates vividly. I consistently found myself learning information I didn't know and truly enjoyed seeing the photos of amazing women I have worked with and admire so much. Bravo!" - Andrew Ceresney, Partner at Debevoise & Plimpton LLC and co-chair of the Litigation Department
"Like a juror who has just listened to a Lisa Zornberg closing, I am blown away. Lisa brings to life the vital, moving, often humorous - yet, until now, largely overlooked - history of women in the SDNY. As Lisa demonstrates through careful research and engaging storytelling, these women embodied the highest prosecutorial ideals. All of us who have had the privilege to work at the SDNY owe them gratitude for what they built." - Elie Honig, CNN Senior Legal Analyst
Sprache
Verlagsort
Zielgruppe
Für höhere Schule und Studium
Produkt-Hinweis
Illustrationen
Maße
Höhe: 231 mm
Breite: 156 mm
Dicke: 23 mm
Gewicht
ISBN-13
978-1-5315-1302-3 (9781531513023)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Klassifikation
Lisa Zornberg is a partner at the law firm of Morvillo Abramowitz Grand Iason & Anello PC in New York City. She formerly served as Chief of the Criminal Division for the United States Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, and as Chief Counsel to the mayor of New York City.
Introduction 1
On the Precipice of Change, 1 * The Arena, 5 *
Roadmap, 6 * Pat Hynes: "Serendipity," 9
I Mary Grace Quackenbos, A War Poem 11
Verse I: The People's Law Firm 11
Verse II: Mrs. Quackenbos Meets the Monster 17
Verse III: Tip of the Spear-How Quackenbos Came to Be Hired by SDNY 22
Verse IV: Congress-Who Is This Mrs. Quackenbos? 26
Verse V: Hostilities at Home-Stimson and Quackenbos 30
Verse VI: Sunny Side, Roosevelt, and the End of the Odyssey 36
Verse VII: The Exode 45
II The Roaring Twenties for Women at SDNY 55
The War Hero and the Suffragist 56
Emory Buckner: The Kipper's Knickers 70
"Ellamarye Takes Her Broom to New York City" 76
SCRAPS: Pulpit of a Preacher's Son 79
The Naked Showgirl in the Bathtub of Champagne, the Indicted Attorney General,
and Buckner's Stage Right Exit 81
Valerie Block and the Hushed-Up Scandal of 1929 85
Adieu to an Era 88
III Backslide, Amnesia, Blockade 91
Backslide: The 1930s 91
Amnesia: The 1940s 100
Defining Deviance: The 1950s 104
The Blockade: 1959-1969 113
IV How SDNY Irrevocably Opened to Women in the 1970s 119
Shirah Neiman: Her Moment 120
Morgenthau's Refusal to Resign 121
Whitney North Seymour Jr., "Renaissance Mensch " 122
How The Blockade Came Down 124
Barbara Ann Rowan: A Great Wit, and a First 131
The Crack in the Door Widens, 1971-1975 137
How Bob Fiske Blew the Door Off the Hinges, 1976-1980 142
Leaving It All In (and on the) Court 146
On Chickens, Eggs, and the Transformation of the Legal Profession 152
Afterword 155
A Gallery of Women AUSAs of the 1970s 159
Acknowledgments 187
Notes 189
Index 225
