Ponzi scheme victims suffer investment fraud, which can literally rob individuals of their savings. Learn here about a Ponzi scheme and what to do if you fall victim to this investment ploy. Ponzi scheme The grandfather of Ponzi schemes was Charles Ponzi, whose ideas for growing money took fruition in the 1920s. In the case of Charles Ponzi, the investment involved…
A 401(k) plan is essential for any American employee who wants to save for his/her retirement. However, chances are you just take a quick look at your balance every month to make sure things are moving forward. But without looking at your statement thoroughly, how would you know if your retirement plan is being misused or mismanaged? According to the…
The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) is an international treaty adopted by the United States and ratified by almost every country in the world. If you have not heard of it, that may be because the United States is only one of seven countries that has failed to sign on to this treaty.…
What do the words “ninja,” “rock star,” and “badass” have in common? It turns out that these words, when listed in job descriptions, are major deterrents for women job seekers. Social science research has called attention to the role of job descriptions in perpetuating gender inequality. For example, a 2011 study entitled “Evidence That Gendered Wording Job Advertisements Exists and…
In late 2014, the Sony Pictures email hack revealed a substantial gender-based pay gap. Of the most notable revelations was that Oscar winner Jennifer Lawrence was paid substantially less than her male co-stars for her role in American Hustle. The hack also revealed that Hannah Minghella, co-president of Columbia Pictures, earns almost $1 million less per year than her male counterpart, Michael de…
For every woman who’s ever questioned if she is paid less than her male colleagues, President Obama has an answer: Let’s run the numbers. According to a proposed rule, businesses with more than 100 employees will soon provide salary data to the EEOC annually, along with the more general information on workforce demographics employers have supplied since 1966. This information, which…
Many of my friends and colleagues initially responded to the story of a group of armed men taking control of an outpost on federally protected lands with a cross between disbelief and humor. Talk of “YallQaeda” and “VanillaIsis” abounded. But beyond the humor, there was also a more sobering discussion – the fact that if the individuals waving around guns and taking…
Earlier this fall I coordinated a happy hour with the DC Women’s Bar Association, and I enjoyed talking with several interesting women (and a handful of men brave enough to come to a WBA event!). I talked with Andi Cullins about her efforts to get more women on corporate boards. Andi explained that she is putting together a network of…
Fellow blogger Kate Kimpel returned from a conference earlier this year and told me how impressed she was with today’s interviewee, who founded the OnRamp Fellowship. The fellowship matches experienced lawyers returning to the profession with law firms for a one-year, paid training contract. As a former lawyer in Big Law (and currently a lawyer with Big Law attorneys as clients), I am…
At dinner with friends last night I asked, over the bread basket, what my fellow diners thought of President Obama’s speech on gun control this week. (Don’t worry, we moved on to lighter fare. At least in terms of conversation.) Although generally well informed, three out of four said they hadn’t watched it. “I saw pictures though,” they all apologized.…