In light of a recent study showing female lawyers aren't getting many speaking roles in the courtroom, one federal judge in Texas noted that she's indirectly increased opportunities for women attorneys by encouraging firms to send young lawyers to argue at hearings.

While trying to provide courtroom experience to young lawyers in the age of the vanishing jury trial, Chief Judge Barbara Lynn of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas created a voluntary rule in her court about 10 years ago that said if firms sent young attorneys to argue their own briefs and motions at hearings, she would be more likely to grant an oral argument. Even though her main goal was training the lawyers of the future, many of those getting opportunities are women and minorities—something she hoped would happen. Those opportunities have been amplified as 20 to 30 other federal judges have followed Lynn's lead and created young lawyer rules of their own.

A recent survey by the New York State Bar Association showed that only 25 percent of lead counsel were women, and it was worse in the private sector than the public sector. Just over 19 percent of lead counsel in private representation were women.