Ilana Waxman is the managing partner of Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman. Ilana focuses her practices on toxic exposure cases, particularly for clients with mesothelioma and other asbestos diseases. She also represents the families of children born with birth defects due to chemical exposures, Hawai’i residents suffering from Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma as a result of Roundup exposure, survivors of childhood sexual abuse, and other catastrophic injury cases.
Ilana works every day to hold corporations and insurance companies accountable for their role in creating one of the greatest public health disasters this country has ever seen. She is proud to fight for justice for individuals who are suffering from preventable diseases due to the greed or callousness of others.
Here’s what Ilana had to say during our Women’s History Month Women In Law Roundtable Q&A.
Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman: Where do you think we are in terms of gender equality in the legal profession? How do you see the field growing and changing in the future, not just for women attorneys but all lawyers?
Ilana Waxman: It has now been more than 40 years since men and women began graduating from law school in equal numbers. Unfortunately, at the higher echelons, the practice of law is still a very heavily male dominated field.
This is especially true of plaintiff’s firms that represent people who have been injured by corporate misconduct. Those firms are still predominantly male. The leadership in those firms is predominantly male.
To me, this is a serious equity problem. There are so many talented women in the law, and I would like to see my profession become an equal playing field. I’d like to see women represented at 50% at all levels. In partnerships and in firm leadership and in being trial lawyers.
So I’m very proud of the fact that this is a woman-led law firm. The majority of our attorneys are women. I believe that this is a major asset and one of the things that sets our firm apart.
This is especially important in our sex abuse cases. For a woman who has been a victim of a sexual predator, there is a lot of comfort in having a strong woman advocate who can go into the courtroom to fight for justice and accountability.
Happily, the legal profession is changing and opportunities for women continue to increase. In the last decade, I have seen dozens of women trial lawyers fight to bring their cases to trial, and women have been getting absolutely some of the best verdicts in the country. That’s true in sex abuse cases, it’s true in asbestos cases, it’s true in Roundup, and it’s something that I think is gonna continue.
GDW: What is one piece of advice you’ve received that you would pass on to law students and lawyers? Women law students and lawyers?
IW: My advice to all of the young women who are starting out in law is that the sky is the limit. This is a field that offers incredible opportunities for women. If you work hard, if you advocate for your clients in the courtroom effectively, there’s no limit to what you can do. Women can absolutely be leaders of law firms. Women can be trial lawyers. And we are. We’re proof of that here at Galiher DeRobertis and Waxman.
Check out our Galiher DeRobertis & Waxman Virtual Roundtable Q&A: Women In Law for more interviews with our attorneys.
