In 1987, Julia Darlow was made the first woman president of the State Bar of Michigan. Darlow began her involvement with law in Michigan in 1971 by earning her J.D. from Wayne State University Law School. Upon her graduation, she joined the Detroit-based law firm of Dickinson Wright PLLC and was made a partner seven years later. She is currently a senior member of the firm’s consultant team.
While practicing law in the corporate setting, Darlow observed first-hand the sexual bias and prejudice that women lawyers face. She notes, “Women are promoted within law firms at a rate significantly slower than men and are leaving law firms at a rate significantly faster than men.”1 In an effort to help other women lawyers overcome these barriers, Darlow personally created a turnover plan to ensure that younger women in the firm would assume her corporate clients. So far 80% of her client work has been taken over by women colleagues.2 She has also addressed the problem of the disparate treatment of women by the justice system at the state level as Chairperson of the Michigan Supreme Court Task Force on Gender Issues in the Courts.
Julia Darlow has used her success in the legal field to assist young women who are pursuing their career goals and has placed them within their reach.
1 “Women and the Law.” Capitol Women. Vol 1, No 2.