Women in the Workplace: Which Women, Which Agenda?

Much of the work family literature that has blossomed over the last decade has focused on professional women and has emphasized policy changes that would be of less utility to many other working women and men. In this symposium contribution, we explore the recent data on working time to demonstrate that in today\u27s economy more women are underemployed rather than overemployed. We also demonstrate that although professional women tend to work the longest hours, they also tend to have the greatest means, both in income and workplace benefits, to support them in achieving a workable balance between their work and family demands. We discuss the most prominent policy proposals for helping attain this balance, including a greater emphasis on part-time work and shorter workweeks, and critique them for their failure to address the needs of most working women. Finally, we suggest several alternative proposals, including lengthening school days, addressing domestic violence, and challenging the stubborn gender norms that prevent further progress for equality in both the workplace and the home

Looking at Marriage

In a recent book (not the subject of this Review), highly successful and popular authors John Gottman and Nan Silver set out their seven effective principles for making a marriage last. The final suggestion is that spouses should create shared meaning, an inner life together that is rich with symbols and family rituals and that honors the hopes of both partners. In a happy marriage, the couples not only provide support for each other, but also build a sense of purpose into their lives together. Professor Gottman has developed these principles as a result of twenty years of research and observation of happily and unhappily married couples. Based on the interaction between couples in his Love Lab, he can predict, with over 90% accuracy, which couples will stay together and which will divorce. In Alone Together: Law and the Meanings of Marriage, Professor Milton Regan also examines the state of contemporary American marriage, and he too argues for recognizing the importance of shared meaning between the partners (p. 5), and commitment to the marriage as an entity rather than simply to the individual lives of the spouses. He bases his prescription for the institution of marriage on an examination of three different issues: first, the accuracy of the law and economics approach to marriage; second, the continuing validity of the spousal evidentiary privileges; and third, the division of property between spouses upon divorce. Like Gottman and Silver, Regan is concerned about contemporary marriage. Unlike Gottman and Silver, however, Regan focuses on the cultural institution and societal meanings of marriage rather than on the meaning of marriage to any particular couple. Professor Regan is an extremely thoughtful scholar of the family and of marriage. In a previous book, he argued for a reinvigoration of status-based responsibilities in family law in order to foster greater intimacy between family members. Alone Together continues the argument, placing it in the context of political conversations about the relationship between self and community

The Pink and Yellow Star

Cahn utilized a history major and Jewish studies minor to write her fictional piece for Dr. Michael Datcher’s Creative Writing class of fall 2013. “The Pink and Yellow Star” tells the story of a young woman’s struggle to survive as a homosexual during the Holocaust. There were many difficulties writing this heavy-handed of a story, both factually and emotionally. Cahn wanted to make good the motto that Jews had promised, “Never again.” However, she believed that Jews and most of the world had not abided by this ideal. There’s still genocide in the world; there’s still discrimination, oppression, and persecution. This paper is more than just a simple narrative; it is a research paper, it is an argumentative paper, and it is a very, very persuasive paper. It is truly deserving of the Director’s Prize. It is a demonstration of raw talent and a glimpse into Cahn’s future work as an aspiring activist and genocide educator

Probate Law Meets the Digital Age

This Article explores the impact of federal law on a state fiduciary\u27s management of digital assets. It focuses on the lessons from the Stored Communications Act ( SCA\u27), initially enacted in 1986 as one part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Although Congress designed the SCA to respond to concerns that Internet privacy posed new dilemmas with respect to application of the Fourth Amendment\u27s privacy protections, the drafters did not explicitly consider how the SCA might affect property management and distribution. The resulting uncertainty affects anyone with an email account. While existing trusts and estates laws could legitimately be interpreted to encompass the new technologies, and while the laws applicable to these new technologies could be interpreted to account for wealth transfer, we are currently in a transition period. To fulfill their obligations, however, fiduciaries need certainty and uniformity. The article suggests reform to existing state and federal laws to ensure that nonprobate-focused federal laws ultimately effectuate the decedent\u27s intent. The lessons learned from examining the intersection of federal law focused on digital assets and of state fiduciary law extend more broadly to show the unintended consequences of other nonprobate-focused federal laws

Probate Law Meets the Digital Age

This Article explores the impact of federal law on a state fiduciary\u27s management of digital assets. It focuses on the lessons from the Stored Communications Act ( SCA\u27), initially enacted in 1986 as one part of the Electronic Communications Privacy Act. Although Congress designed the SCA to respond to concerns that Internet privacy posed new dilemmas with respect to application of the Fourth Amendment\u27s privacy protections, the drafters did not explicitly consider how the SCA might affect property management and distribution. The resulting uncertainty affects anyone with an email account. While existing trusts and estates laws could legitimately be interpreted to encompass the new technologies, and while the laws applicable to these new technologies could be interpreted to account for wealth transfer, we are currently in a transition period. To fulfill their obligations, however, fiduciaries need certainty and uniformity. The article suggests reform to existing state and federal laws to ensure that nonprobate-focused federal laws ultimately effectuate the decedent\u27s intent. The lessons learned from examining the intersection of federal law focused on digital assets and of state fiduciary law extend more broadly to show the unintended consequences of other nonprobate-focused federal laws