And according to Packard, "If you're angry at something someone did, the fact that they're a woman is going to come up." Since the vast majority of litigants who come through the district court are male, women attorneys say that every day there is the possibility that their gender will create conflict.

But most of the female attorneys claim that none of their clients has ever made an issue out of their sex. "In nine years," says Whatley, "only one defendant has raised the issue."

But aside from the effects on the interpersonal dynamics within Middlesex Courthouse, the increasing presence of women lawyers and judges there may also have an impact on the law itself. As Packard puts it, "The law--that great ungendered being--has changed enormously. Whether women affect this is a question."

"I bring to the bench a set of life experiences that may be different," says Gershengorn. "I wouldn't deny them. I don't think I'm appointed to deny them. I would hope that women who go into litigation would enrich their practice with that perspective."

Ruth Abrams, the only woman currently serving on the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, concurs with Gershengorn. "Even if the law is clear as a bell, sometimes a woman's perception is different," she says.

Men and women at Middlesex say that Abrams' theory applies particularly to cases such as rape. Whatley says that occasionally "men are afraid to use their skills" in a rape case for fear that they will be too agressive, and therefore appear sexist.

But Packard counters that a male defendant accused of rape "may feel uncomfortable talking to a woman about exactly what happened."

And in the cases where a woman has committed a violent crime, Whatley claims that the litigant is "much more likely to go to jail with a female judge. A male judge may think, `Look at the poor little thing.'" In cases of domestic abuse, Gershengorn says that women display "more sensitivity to women seeking restraining orders."

`Sensitivity'

The issue of "sensitivity" predominates in discussions about why so many new women lawyers choose the low-pay and long hours of public service law. "It's definitely a sacrifice," says Alexander.

Some, like Whatley, think that the reason women go into criminal law may be twofold. First, "women are willing to settle for lower salaries." But Whatley also says that "women are more sensitive" and "are more likely to express personal feeling."

But attributing the growing number of women in the courts to traditional ideas about female charity and altruism doesn't sit well with some male attorneys.

"I think that some women, be they attorneys or judges, would like to think that the fact that they are women helps them to understand or appreciate cases more than men--and therefore a more just decision is reached. I don't think so," Packard says. "The individuals make a difference whether they are male or female."

Packard also cites a "mythology that victims in general and women in particular are treated badly...This is a premise and I think it's untrue...If you're a woman and a lawyer and the judge calls you `dearie' and then rules in your favor then there's bias, but what's the effect?"

In the pressure of the daily routine at Middlesex, the issue of gender is often lost in the crises of the moment. But the larger number of women at Middlesex and other courthouses across the state inevitably leads lawyers, litigants and judges to confront their own attitudes about gender.

"I see young women more and more [in the court system] and I like it. [The men] say they like it too, but I wonder," says Abrams. "Women now expect to be treated as equals."