Barbara Babcock’s memoir Fish Raincoats recounts a woman lawyer’s “firsts”

The life and times of a trailblazing feminist in American law. The first female Stanford law professor was also first director of the District of Columbia Public Defender Service, one of the first women to be an Assistant Attorney General of the United States, and the biographer of California’s first woman lawyer, Clara Foltz. Survivor, pioneer, leader, and fervent defender of the powerless and colorful mobsters alike, Barbara Babcock led by example and by the written word — and recounts her part of history in this candid and personal memoir.

“For woman lawyers, Barbara Babcock has led the way. How? By being smarter and tougher than the men; also, more empathetic and self-aware. Funny, shrewd, and telling, her memoir Fish Raincoats is a joy to read.”
— Evan Thomas, author of Being Nixon: A Man Divided

“Life will afford you no better sherpa on the extraordinary journey women have taken in the legal profession than Barbara Babcock. This book should be required reading for anyone who isn’t certain that they have a place at the lawyers table. Babcock’s amazing life has made a space for so many of us. Her story will do the same.”
— Dahlia Lithwick, Senior Editor, Slate

“An immensely engaging, articulate and detail-rich memoir from a pioneer who helped forge the path for women in the legal profession. Barbara Babcock taught, mentored and inspired generations of law students to look beyond the billable hour; she has chronicled her times — the modern Women’s Movement, the challenges and characters she met along the way — with insight, humility and grace.”
— Thelton E. Henderson, Senior U.S. District Judge, San Francisco

“‘But men are writing the history!’ Barbara Babcock thought to herself in response to a sexist comment about women in the law years ago. Not anymore. Babcock spins her formidable legal career into insightful stories about how she made her way and made her field her own. The best kind of personal history.”
— Emily Bazelon, author of Sticks and Stones

Prof. Babcock passed away in 2020. She will be remembered, and not at all just because of this book. Her greatest professional legacy is in her Stanford students, her writings, her creation of legal services for the poor and unrepresented, and her public service in the Dept. of Justice. A compelling new addition to the Journeys & Memoirs Series from Quid Pro Books.

…

Hardcover edition: available at such booksellers as Amazon.com, Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion.com, Powell’s, YBP Library Services, and Ingram catalog.

Paperback edition: available at such booksellers as Amazon.com, our QP eStore page (fulfilled securely by Amazon), Barnes & Noble, BooksAMillion.com, Powell’s, YBP Library Services, and Ingram catalog.

Also available in leading digital formats:

Kindle edition, at Amazon.

NOOK, at Barnes & Noble.

Apple iBooks and iTunes: see it on iPad and iPhone bookstores; previewed online.

And at Google Play and Google Books.

Also in universal ePUB format at Smashwords, and at Kobobooks.

Cataloging: Fish Raincoats: A Woman Lawyer’s Life
Author: Barbara Babcock
Series: Journeys & Memoirs

ISBN 9781610273596 (pbk)
ISBN 9781610273619 (ebook)
ISBN 9781610273572 (cloth)
List price: US $9.99 (ebook) / $25.99 (pbk) / $39.99 (cloth)
Page count: 242 pp.
Published: Aug. 9, 2016