Darrell Sapp, Post-Gazette Kimberly Brown is a partner with Downtown law firm Thorp Reed & Armstrong.

By Joyce Gannon
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Kimberly Brown grew up in Waterloo, N.Y., just a few miles from Seneca Falls where the first convention for women's rights was held in 1848.

As a young girl, it bothered Ms. Brown, who is a partner with Downtown law firm Thorp Reed & Armstrong, that the historic events that occurred near her hometown weren't mentioned in her school history books.

She also was annoyed when she couldn't play Little League baseball with the local boys. Even though a girls' softball league was available, "I didn't like the separation of boys and girls."

By high school, she was one of three girls who got permission to enroll in shop classes instead of home economics.

So it is only natural that throughout her legal career, Ms. Brown has been sensitive about discrimination against women and has worked to try to eliminate it.

For her efforts on behalf of women and her work in mentoring younger female attorneys, Ms. Brown last week was one of eight individuals honored by the Allegheny County Bar Association's Women in Law Division. She was awarded the Honorable Carol Los Mansmann Helping Hand Award, which recognizes the judge who was the first woman appointed to the federal bench in Pittsburgh.

Judge Los Mansmann died of breast cancer in 2002.

Ms. Brown, 42, sits on the Women in Law Division's Gender Bias Subcommittee that assists lawyers who contend they've been discriminated against because of their gender. The subcommittee doesn't have power to impose disciplinary measures; instead, it tries to resolve issues "by educating the person whose behavior is at issue," said Ms. Brown.

Among its efforts to inform the public and law firms about gender bias is a policy on sexual harassment that it updated for the bar association.

Since she joined Thorp Reed in 1988 as a summer associate, discrimination against women in law "is less common, but there are still members of the bar who won't treat women equally. There is much less overt bias, but I certainly can't say it no longer exists."

On numerous occasions while handling corporate and commercial litigation cases, Ms. Brown has walked into out-of-town meetings pulling a large document case on wheels and been mistaken for a court reporter.

At Thorp Reed, which has eight female partners compared with 40 male partners and 36 female attorneys out of a total 114, Ms. Brown said she hadn't been deterred by gender issues.

"When I was starting out, there were debates in this firm about whether it was appropriate for women to wear pantsuits in the office, much less court .... But my experience has been really great. I had a lot of responsibility at a young age given to me by male partners. I'm very fortunate."

The disproportionately low number of females who are law firm partners, chief corporate counsels or judges, she said, is the result of women abandoning or cutting back on their careers because of family issues -- and because some men at the top are still not at ease having women in powerful positions.

"People are more comfortable with people like them who play golf and belong to certain country clubs. The federal courts are looking for diversity, but you have to be connected politically and men are generally more connected."

Ms. Brown, who is married but does not have children, acknowledged it's been easier for her to advance than for some of her peers who are mothers.

"It's a hard life because a trial attorney needs to be available 24/7. Sometimes women take themselves out of the running by making choices to be at home more."

She believes that organizations should understand that work-life struggle and "make different accommodations" such as flexible hours and work arrangements for women trying to balance careers with outside demands.

"Women in the early years of their career are in their childbearing years and have to be recognized as being as valuable as the person with a wife who stays home while the children are young."

As pro bono coordinator for Thorp Reed, Ms. Brown's chief focus is negotiating protection from abuse orders for women who have been hit, stalked or harassed by men.

She organizes teams of lawyers and paralegals from her firm to represent such women in court several days a week. Thorp Reed doesn't have a family law practice so it's a volunteer effort.

"It's very rewarding to go in and within a few hours make a difference" by obtaining a PFA order that lasts 18 months, she said. "It gives a sense of balance to my career."

Ms. Brown didn't know Judge Los Mansmann personally but feels she benefited from the judge and other female lawyers who broke barriers before her.

"Women like that really had to prove themselves just in getting hired. So it's important for me to make things better for those coming up."

Kimberly Brown

Job: Partner and pro bono coordinator, Thorp Reed & Armstrong Age: 42 Hometown: Waterloo, N.Y; resides in Manchester, North Side Education: Bachelor's degree, political science, University of Dayton, 1986; law degree, Duke University, 1989 Career: 1989-97: associate, Thorp Reed & Armstrong; 1997-present: partner, Thorp Reed & Armstrong.