"I definitely credit the pro-bono work I did with my ability to launch my own business so quickly, " says Ms. VandeLeest, who found the pro-bono work through Catchafire.

WSJ: Helping Your Cause��and Your Career

Ms. KEENEN: We've had pro choice pick-ups in Congress in Ohio and Pennsylvania, in Florida and Arizona.

NPR: Party Shift, Ballot Issues Boost Abortion Rights

With the frankness of an old pro, at one point Ms Bradford names different schools of royal-watching.

ECONOMIST: Why the queen has to be seen to be believed

So Ms Halonen, a Social Democratic labour lawyer who is generally viewed as pro-gay and anti-church, could turn out less red than she has been painted.

ECONOMIST: Finland