Women Lawyers Find Arguing Patent Appeals ‘Strange and Lonely’

Women have a clear presence on the bench at the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit: Five of the 12 active judges are women, including the current and incoming chief judges. So are about half of the court’s law clerks.

Yet fewer than 20% of the attorneys arguing in front of them in each of the first five months of this year were women. The percentage is even lower if you take out government lawyers.

There are women who are both capable and senior enough to argue at the court, but some clients and law firms are reluctant ...