By MATT CHANDLER
mchandler@bizjournals.com | 716-541-1654

Attorney Tammy Riddle sees a lot of opportunities and challenges facing women in Western New York and she hopes to use her tenure as the current president of the Western New York chapter of the Women's Bar Association of the State of New York to make a difference.

Riddle, a civil litigator with Hogan Willig, has served on the WBASNY board for seven years, most recently as president-elect.

Healthy initiatives

As the leader of the 350-member Western New York chapter, Riddle is looking to not only grow the organization, but to reach out to women in the community through the bar.

"My focus this year is going to be on health care issues and access to healthcare," she says. "Not just for attorneys, but for women in the community."

Riddle says despite the national focus on health care in the wake of the sweeping national overhaul, locally, women are lagging behind in many cases.

"What hasn't changed for female attorneys is the fact that women are still the primary caregivers and when you are working and you have a family you are often putting both things ahead of yourself and your health," she said. "Cardiac issues are the number one killer of women, even above breast cancer and I think women don't focus on being healthy enough, so that is something I hope to bring to the forefront."

Under Riddle's leadership, the women's bar is kicking off the initiative by partnering with several local organizations to offer a free mammogram clinic on Oct. 15.

"We want to be able to offer the clinic for women who are either under insured or who are without insurance," she said. "Those types of programs are so important. We can't allow women to go without mammograms and without treatment just because they don't have health insurance."

On equality in the legal profession

Riddle says she is also concerned about opportunities for women in the legal profession. While she notes that law students are roughly equal in gender, that isn't translating to equal opportunities in the workforce.

"I think the decision to have children is a big factor in women advancing in the profession," she says. "It matters where you are in your practice and who you are working for. I've heard there are some firms that aren't as friendly when it comes to flex scheduling for women who want to start a family."

With hours worked factoring in heavily when attorneys are considered for partnership in a firm, Riddle says women may be put at a disadvantage.

"There is a balance you have to strike," Riddle says. "I think the work/life balance can be an impediment to partnership in a firm and it is a big issue for women in the profession."

Riddle says along with partnership issue, where she says there is not equal representation, money remains a divide in the field.

"I think we have certainly come a long way," she says. "But there is absolutely data that supports that female attorneys are not paid the same as their male counterparts, so there are still strides that need to be made." 

Riddle says change, as it has in the past, will come through continued education and women fighting for their due in the profession.

"I think there is still an assumption that if you are a female in a law office you are the paralegal or you are the secretary," she says. "I've seen that firsthand and know others who have as well, so it still exists."

Educating the next generation

Having begun her time on the board by serving as the liaison to the University at Buffalo Law School, Riddle enjoys working with the next generation of lawyers and sees the women's bar as playing a critical role in their development.

"Every year we have a program at UB where we provide an evening where the law students can come and meet one -on-one with attorneys from all different practice groups," she says. "It's really a mentoring-type program where the students can ask the types of questions where you may not be able to get an answer unless you can meet one-on-one with an attorney."

Riddle says the annual event is valuable because it isn't under the pressure of a job interview, but rather an informal networking session where students can learn more about the career they are about to embark on.

"Students often want to ask, 'What do you do in your practice, do you like it', those types of things," she says. "I think it offers a really unique, behind-the-curtains look at the profession."

As the new president, Riddle also wants to clear up what she says is a common misconception about the women's bar — that its members are all women.

"Though our members are primarily female, we do have male members and we love to have them as part of our group," she says. "If men are supporting our mission and they are supportive of the equal administration of justice, we welcome them into our organization."