Where are the divas of the criminal defense bar? There’s no shortage of male lawyers with star power in that arena. Theodore Wells Jr. comes to mind; then there are Elkin Abramowitz, Robert Bennett, Charles Stillman and more. But if you had to name a woman, you’d probably go quiet.
That’s because women who lead criminal cases are still rarities. A 2015 American Bar Association report finds that men are four times more likely to appear as the trial lawyer than women. Among lead counsel in criminal cases, 67 percent are men; among those appearing as the trial lawyer, almost 80 percent are men.
