Litigation a challenging field for women

LAST NOVEMBER, Sharon Nelles was trying very hard not to think about cookies. The Sullivan & Cromwell partner was about to begin a trial in a massive antitrust suit in Des Moines, Iowa, against her client, Microsoft. It was the second time Nelles was defending the technology giant in a class action that had gone to trial, and this time Nelles wanted her focus to be a little different.

During the first trial in Minnesota two-and-a-half years earlier, Nelles had taken the role of chief of staff for the defense. In addition to examining key witnesses such as name plaintiff David Ellingson, she organized office space, coordinated defense team meetings, and selected the food. No one specifically asked Nelles to take on these administrative duties; she volunteered. “At the same time, there was never an expectation that anyone else would do it,” she says. And it was a comfortable role for Nelles-as an up-and-coming female litigator, she had always strived to please, “to not only write the best brief, but to bring it with cookies.” This isn’t just a metaphorical goal: She actually brought cookies to a last-minute mediation that convened on Mother’s Day several years ago.