Lisa Eliason and Tracy Meek both recently moved up to higher positions in the city law department. But women are still a minority in legal leadership positions.
Lisa Eliason said her new position as Athens City law director is more than a stepping-stone in her legal career — it’s an opportunity to serve as a role model to other women in the field.
Although women have served with the city’s law department before, it’s still rare for women to hold legal leadership positions in Ohio.
Eliason was appointed to the position after former City Law Director Pat Lang stepped down in February to become a judge with the Athens County Common Pleas Court.
“There has never been a woman to hold an elected leadership position in Athens,” she said. “To me, it’s a sign of the times.”
Eliason is the first woman to hold a law director position in Athens. If she wins the bid to keep that seat in November, she’ll be the first woman to hold an elected law position in the city.
According to a 2011 publication from the Ohio State Bar Association, 29.2 percent of all working lawyers in Ohio were women, while 18.5 percent of partners were women. Nationally, 32.9 percent of working lawyers were women.
At the county level, 12 out of 88 county prosecutors are women, according to data from the Ohio Prosecuting Attorneys Association.
In 2010, 25.3 percent of judges in Ohio were women, up from 14.8 percent in 1993.
Kacey Chapellear, chair of the Bar Association’s Women in the Profession section, said there’s still work to be done in closing the gender gap within the legal field, though she said things are beginning to look up.
Chappellear said it’s difficult for women to move up in the legal profession, as many have to balance temporary breaks, such as for maternity leave.
“I think that workplaces are becoming more flexible in terms of recognizing the types of skills women can bring to the profession,” she said.
Since Eliason’s days in law school, she said the number of women interested in the profession has risen dramatically.
Before Eliason received her law degree from the University of Dayton Law School in 1987, she said it was still somewhat rare for women to attend law school.
“Back then only about 25 percent (of students) were women, and even less practiced,” she said. “I was a part of the minority. Now it’s over 50 percent.”
At Ohio University, 47.2 percent of students in pre-law majors were women as of Fall Semester, according to records from the OU’s Office of Institutional Research.
Tracy Meek, the chief city prosecutor appointed to replace Eliason, said the law director has been an inspiration to her.
“It had a huge impact on my career,” she said. “She’s able to realize the challenges that women face in the field and offer guidance.”
Meek said working with the Athens City Law Department has allowed her more opportunities than if she were working in the private sector.
She said some of her colleagues working in the private sector work 80 to 90 hours a week, which can keep them from having a family.
“If you want to have a very successful career in the private sector you have to make sacrifices,” she said. “I was lucky enough to work in the public sector. That’s allowed me to have a family (and still move up).”
Though rare, Meek said she sees the occasional instance of sexism.
Once, during a trial, she said a colleague referred to her as “kiddo,” which she said wouldn’t have happened if she were a man.
Since then, she said having Eliason as a leader at the office has helped.
“She’s just encouraged me to keep on keeping on and instructed me when I felt like I was treated poorly,” she said.
Although Eliason now interacts less with other attorneys and isn’t able to report to court every morning, she said being city law director is all she’s ever wanted to do.
“It’s really the capstone of my legal career,” she said.
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