Ed. note: This is the latest installment in a series of posts on motherhood in the legal profession, in partnership with our friends at MothersEsquire. Welcome Sarah Waidelich to our pages. Click here if you’d like to donate to MothersEsquire.
March is one of my favorite times of the year — as a lifelong basketball fan and a former Division III college player, there is nothing quite like the madness of this month. The sheer volume of games compressed into such a short time span, combined with the unpredictable upsets and unforgettable moments, truly encapsulates the essence of the sport.
This year is particularly special to me, as it feels like women’s sports — and in particular, women’s basketball — are finally getting the attention they are due, thanks to the incredible year and career of Iowa’s Caitlin Clark. Clark has broken most offensive records of note, and on March 3, 2024, she broke Pete Maravich’s 54-year record to become the all-time leading scorer in NCAA basketball (men’s or women’s). And she’s not done yet.
As remarkable as Clark’s season and career have been, what I have found most inspiring is what she has done for women’s basketball as a whole. Clark is the biggest story of this season for women’s and men’s basketball. Girls and boys are clamoring for a picture or autograph from Clark. The AP reported that Iowa road games saw a 150% increase in average attendance. More people are watching women’s games than men’s games. The New York Times reported that women’s sports would generate more than $1 billion in revenue this year, up about 300% from a 2021 estimate.
As we head into the NCAA National Championship tournaments, the women’s competition is getting as much, if not more, attention as the men’s. Even Shaquille O’Neal is more closely following the women’s tournament. Considering all of this, it’s astonishing to recall that until 2022, the NCAA declined to promote or utilize its “March Madness” trademark for the women’s tournament.
I am a lifelong basketball fan. I was playing year-round by the time I was 10. It was my first true love, and I was fortunate enough to continue my career in college, at the small engineering school I attended. As a young girl, I worshiped the likes of Sue Bird and Diana Taurasi — incredible players in their own right. But neither of them captured the imagination of the country like Caitlin Clark.
This year may mark a sea change. Because as fabulous as Clark is, a wave of exceptional players is coming up behind her. Junior Angel Reese led LSU to the national championship over Iowa last year and is poised to make another run this year. Freshman Juju Watkins at the University of Southern California is averaging more points per game than Clark did in her first year. The landmark changes with Name, Image, and Likeness deals offer substantial opportunities for increased visibility and exposure for female athletes. There is every reason to believe that the attention Clark has brought to the game, and the talent following in her wake, will continue to capture the attention of the country.
My basketball career ended almost 15 years ago, and I am now a practicing lawyer and a mom of two little boys. I am filled with gratitude knowing that my sons will grow up in a world where women’s sports are finally receiving the recognition they’ve long deserved. It brings me immense happiness to think that they will have remarkable athletes like Clark to admire and look up to.
Clark’s popularity also gives me hope that other segments of American society, including the legal profession, can make great strides in reaching gender equality. Bloomberg reported in January of this year that for the first time, a slim majority of law firm associates are women. The same report also found that women make up 40% of all attorneys at private firms — another record.
These statistics resonate deeply with my own career in private practice. A decade ago, as I was starting my career focused on patent law, the sense of being the only woman in the room was palpable, and it only seemed to intensify as I progressed. However, in recent years, we’ve made real strides in recruiting and retaining women for our IP Department, even within this traditionally male-dominated field of patent law. Just as Clark’s achievements pave the way for future women athletes, the success of more women in the legal industry continues to provide a clearer path for those who will follow.
There is still much work to do to achieve true gender equality, and to ensure society and our institutions value women’s efforts as much as men’s.
But this year, March is for the girls.
Sarah Waidelich is a partner at Honigman LLP in Ann Arbor, Michigan. She focuses her practice on intellectual property litigation, with a particular focus on patent litigation, and is a Lateral Hiring Partner for the IP Department. Sarah is the mom of two beautiful little boys, and in her free time she enjoys traveling with her husband and sons, baking, and watching sports. You can contact Sarah directly at swaidelich@honigman.com.
