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Interview with Brenda A. Eckert

IntervieweeInterview with Brenda A. Eckert American

InterviewerInterviewed by A. Susan Peck American, born 1945

Date2016 November 3

DimensionsDuration: 9 Minutes, 37 Seconds

ClassificationsGraphics

Credit LineGift of the Connecticut Bar Foundation

DescriptionOral history interview with Brenda A. Eckert who was interviewed by Susan Peck on November 3, 2016 for the Connecticut Bar Foundation's History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project.

Topics Discussed:

- Early Life: Brenda A. Eckert was born in Hartford, Connecticut on March 28, 1945, and grew up in Newington, Connecticut. Her parents were self-employed; her father ran a milk processing plant and her mother managed the business.

- Teenage Years: As a teenager, Brenda Eckert volunteered as a candy striper at VNA hospital in Newington at age 16 and worked as a sales clerk at Casual Corner in West Hartford. She graduated from Newington High School.

- College Education : She chose to attend Sarah Lawrence College for psychology and physiological psychology. She published an article on brain stimulation research in the Journal of Comparative and Physiological Psychology. She graduated from Sarah Lawrence in 1967.

- Law School Experience : Brenda decided to pursue law due to her enjoyment of arguments. She initially attended Columbia Law School in 1969 but found the environment difficult, especially during the Kent State riots. She left Columbia and transferred to UConn Law School. She graduated from UConn Law in 1973, ranking first in her class.

- Early Career: In the early 1970s, during her job interviews, Brenda Eckert encountered discriminatory questions. She opted for a one-year federal clerkship with Judge Jon Newman in the U.S. District Court in Connecticut, beginning in September 1973. She was Judge Newman's first female clerk and first UConn Law graduate clerk.

- Shipman & Goodwin: After her clerkship, Brenda joined the firm Shipman & Goodwin. She was the only woman lawyer at the firm from 1974 until about 1978. She became a partner in 1979.

- Diversity and Firm Culture Evolution: Brenda Eckert observes Shipman & Goodwin's progress in diversity. The firm has implemented flexible work schedules, maternity/paternity leave, and remote work options for both men and women.

Object number2024.38.40a-b

NotesProject Overview: At the turn of the 20th century, other than Mary Hall, women lawyers were virtually unknown in Connecticut. By contrast, at the turn of the 21st century, law schools were enrolling roughly the same number of women as men. Since their earliest time at the bar, women have become leaders in all areas of the profession at a pace out of all proportion to their brief history and number.

In 1999, the Fellows of the Connecticut Bar Foundation initiated the Oral History of Connecticut Women in the Legal Profession Project. Within the framework of this dynamic project, the Fellows have been creating a permanent video, audio, and photographic historical record of milestone achievements of women as they have become more visible and achieved prominence in the field of law. In 2019, a leadership donation of $20,000 from the law firm of Carmody Torrance Sandak & Hennessey enabled the project to significantly broaden its scope and plan for the future.

Through its first two phases, the project worked with award-winning documentarian Karyl Evans and attorney/photographer Isabel Chenoweth to produce fifty-eight oral history interviews with outstanding female attorneys and 118 portraits of women in the Connecticut judiciary.

The oral history interviews have collected the stories of women whose ingenuity, perseverance, and intelligence dismantled barriers that historically prevented women from pursuing careers in the law. Connecticut has benefited from the efforts of these “pioneers” as they enriched the legal profession by joining the ranks of their male peers and paved the way for more women to join the profession. (Source: Connecticut Bar Foundation)