As a pants-hemming, high heel-relishing woman who will never be mistaken for a WNBA star or a runway model, I can relate to the question a litigator poses to the advice columnist Ask Prudence in Slate today. (Um, just scroll down past “The Sperm Donor’s Dilemma.”) She writes that she just started as a partner at a law firm and is tired of clients’ comments about her petite, docile-looking appearance:

But the male clients frequently make comments like, “You don’t look mean” and “You look too nice to be a litigator.” (Women clients never say such things.) Even my own partners have made similar comments. It pisses me off and makes me uncomfortable. I’m a good courtroom lawyer, yet I’m afraid of being written off because I don’t look like a tough guy. I don’t want to jump all over these men, but I want to convey that I’m a fighter in court and that they shouldn’t be making inane comments on my appearance in the first place.

Prudie advises her to get tough in response:

Look them in the eye, let an enigmatic smile play across your lips, and say, “As you know, looks can be deceiving. If our opponents choose to underestimate me, that will be to our advantage.” As for your partners, if they continue to make these comments, don’t get defensive, but do get direct. Tell them that they brought you onboard because they know how skillful you are in the courtroom. Say that you’re sure they don’t mean to imply that a petite woman can’t be as effective a litigator as a large man. End with the observation that now that this issue has been thoroughly litigated, you’re sure the topic can be considered closed.

I like this advice. I would also hope that once the other lawyers and the clients see this attorney in action, they’ll shut up.

One voice we could not fit into today’s story about the changes to the state’s foreclosure law was that of the Foreclosure Prevention Pro Bono Project.

Since its inception two years ago, the project has placed more than 900 cases with volunteer lawyers across the state. More than 1,500 homeowners also have been advised through foreclosure solution workshops staffed by volunteer attorneys.

Jennifer Larrabee, manager of the project with the Pro Bono Resource Center of Maryland, said officials are still trying to determine how, if at all, its system will change under the new law. The workshops will continue, she said, but one possible alteration might be volunteer lawyers shifting their focus toward representing clients in mediation sessions, she said.

Larrabee supports the new law but said it does not lessen the need for volunteer lawyers.

“The intention behind the law is that homeowners be provided a face-to-face, meaningful opportunity to meet with the lender and negotiate with someone with decision-making authority,” she said.