Buchanan's Diversity & Inclusion Committee Presents

Exploring Intersections
Black History Month | Celebrating HERstory
A Conversation With Paulette Brown
1^st African American Woman President of the American Bar Association

Wednesday, February 10, 2021
12:00 p.m. - 1:00 p.m. EST

In observance of Black History Month, please join Buchanan Ingersoll & Rooney for a virtual conversation with Paulette Brown. We will explore Paulette's HERstory - her historic rise to the top of the ABA; her career journey from in-house counsel to Municipal Court Judge to private practice at a major law firm; and the many glass ceilings she shattered along the way. We will also discuss diversity in leadership at law firms and bar associations, the importance of mentoring women of color in the legal industry and the impact of diversity on the future practice of law.

This program has been approved for 1.0 Ethics CLE credit for PA, and 1.0 credits for the Diversity and/or Elimination of Bias Requirement for CA, NY, NJ and WV. Credit for all other states is available on request pending approval. Please indicate if you need CLE credit on the registration form.

Register here

The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession is proud to host the first-ever virtual World Forum for Women in the Law, from January 27^th through 29^th, 2021. The theme for this conference is Women, Power, and Disrupting the Status Quo.  Learn from women leaders of the legal profession around the world, from a variety of practice types, and step into your own power as a woman in the law.  The ABA is seeking CLE credit for the World Forum.

Visit our website <"www.americanbar.org/events-cle/mtg/web/406298302.html"> for program and registration information.

View the schedule and program descriptions here <"www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/administrative/women/cw-worldforum-virtualbrochure-final.pdf">.

Speakers include:

Christina Blacklaws, Immediate Past President, Law Society of England and Wales

Vivia Chen, Chief Blogger, Senior Columnist, the Careerist; the American Lawyer

Connie Collingsworth, Chief Operating Officer, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

Chantal-Aimee Doerries QC, Head, Atkin Chambers, London

Paula Davis-Laack, Founder and CEO, Stress and Resilience Institute

Patricia Diaz Dennis, Board Member, US Steel; Entravision Communications; Amalgamated Bank

JoAnne Epps, Executive VP and Provost, Temple University

Fatima Goss Graves, President and CEO, National Women's Law Center

Deborah Epstein Henry, Consultant, Speaker, Author

Dr. Milana Hogan, Chief Talent and Legal Officer, Sullivan and Cromwell LLP

Valerie Jarrett, Former Senior Advisor to President Barack Obama; Distinguished Senior Fellow, the University of Chicago, the Law School

Stasia Kelly, Executive Director of Client Relations, DLA Piper

Eileen Letts, Partner, Zuber Lawler

Charisse Lillie, CEO, CRL Consulting, LLC

Lelia Mooney, Executive Director, Center for the Advancement for the Rule of Law in the Americas; Adjunct Professor, Georgetown Law

Meredith Mandell, Associate, Quinn Emanuel

Michele Coleman Mayes, Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary, New York Public Library

Hon. Margaret McKeown, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit

Nancy Northup, President and CEO, Center for Reproductive Rights

Dr. Destiny Peery, Principal, the Red Bee Group

Ingrid Pierce, Global Managing Partner, Walkers

Hillary Sale, Professor, Georgetown University School of Law

Helena Samaha, President and CEO, Lex Mundi

Tshepo Shabangu, Immediate Past Chair, Partner, Spoor and Fisher

Tiziana Sucharitkul, Co-Managing Partner, Director of Dispute Resolution, Tilleke and Gibbons

Joyce White Vance, Former US Attorney and Distinguished Visiting Professor of the Practice of Law, University of Alabama, School of Law

Washington Law Review's purpose is to publish cutting-edge and thought-provoking legal scholarship from both practitioners and students. Doing it responsibly requires our organization to be aware of the inequities, bias, and institutionalized racism that law schools perpetuate. To that end, WLR is particularly interested in submissions from scholars of color, submissions that address legal issues facing marginalized communities, and submissions that discuss legal issues specific to the Pacific Northwest and Alaska.

By drawing from our regional community, WLR hopes to publish more articles about issues that are uniquely important to Washington State and the Pacific Northwest, including the Ninth Circuit. WLR wants to hear from voices that may not have had a platform to speak on legal issues impacting their communities, especially those that have been here since time immemorial and as this region has grown. Overall, WLR seeks to respond to the overdue and critical need for diverse voices in law—voices that our legal community has historically overlooked. This is our privilege and our responsibility.

We invite you to consider submitting an article or essay to WLR and/or sharing this call for pieces with your professional network. More information on how to submit and submission deadlines can be found here: https://www.law.uw.edu/wlr/submissions.

If you have questions or comments, please reach out to Jennifer Seely, our Chief Articles Editor (jseely@washlrev.org), and Monica Romero, our Chair of Diversity & Inclusion (mromero@washlrev.org). Thank you.

The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers. Each year, the Commission honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence within their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers.

The nominations portal, in addition to the criteria and requirements, can be found at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/margaret-brent-awards/nominationinformation/.

The deadline to nominate is January 29th, 2021 at 5pm CST.

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please do not hesitate to contact me at Laura.Tannous@americanbar.org. To learn more about the award, visit www.ambar.org/brentawards.

The Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award recognizes and celebrates the accomplishments of women lawyers. Each year, the Commission honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence within their area of specialty and have actively paved the way to success for other women lawyers.

The nominations portal, in addition to the criteria and requirements, can be found at https://www.americanbar.org/groups/diversity/women/margaret-brent-awards/nominationinformation/.

The deadline to nominate is January 29th, 2021 at 5pm CST.

If you have any questions about the nomination process, please do not hesitate to contact me at Laura.Tannous@americanbar.org. To learn more about the award, visit www.ambar.org/brentawards.

Long-term remote work has changed how lawyers work, engage in business development, emerge as leaders, and network. Staying connected with other lawyers and clients while growing professionally is equally important during these challenging times. Ladder Down 2021 is designed to help you grow professionally and navigate this "new normal." Plus, you'll earn over 20 CLE credits! Program cost is $800. Partial scholarships are available for MAMAs members.  Applications are due December 15th.

Ladder Down is a year-long career and business development program for women attorneys in all practice areas at any level. Our 2021 program is fully remote via Zoom, with meetings approximately once a month. Led by an experienced faculty of career coaches, the program provides a structured, proven approach to help lawyers take their careers to the next level by focusing on helping women attorneys develop skills to build a book of business or rise through the corporate counsel ranks and enhance leadership skills. Faculty members Marianne Trost and Lynn Moran will lead 6 monthly group presentations on Saturday mornings, supported by several small group sessions that allow for individualized follow up and accountability. Panel discussions and individual consultations round out the formal program. Ladder Down participants also benefit from the support, mentoring, and referral network developed between fellow participants.

The year-long program begins January 2021. The 2020 sample schedule, curriculum, faculty bios, tuition, and scholarship information and the application are all posted on the MAMA Seattle website: https://mamaseattle.org/programs/ladder-down/ The 2021 schedule is still being finalized and will post once final. 

This is an amazing opportunity for a select group of women attorneys to have access to personalized business development and leadership training designed to take you and your career to the next level. Past participants have included small, medium, and large firm partners and associates, corporate counsel, in-house counsel, government attorneys, and attorneys in (or looking to) transition.

Although originally developed as an in-person program, in the spring of 2020 the current class moved to a remote forum, and the feedback has been outstanding. Class participants report that they have benefited from the monthly zoom sessions and recommend the program to others working from home, as it has allowed them to stay connected and focus on business and leadership development in our changing environment.

Email ladderdown@mamaseattle.org with questions and for an application. Applications should be emailed to this address as well. 

The program is not limited to mother attorneys or MAMA members; please feel free to share the link with other women attorneys in your network.

This program is a full-representation legal clinic that helps LGBTQ+ families attain legal orders affirming their legal parental relationship with their children.  These are all non-contested cases, and are almost all second-parent adoptions, with a few third-parent adoptions and confirmation of parentage orders.  All work can be done remotely, and representation generally lasts 3-5 months, depending on the family.

QLaw Foundation provides:

-malpractice insurance coverage

-low-bono compensation (between $400 and $800 per completed case)

-6 hours of video CLE training

-technical and filing support as needed (prior family law experience is helpful but not required!)

-template pleadings

-client agreements and initial client meeting support

Attorney requirements:

-Active WA bar license in good standing

-Ability to complete CLE training and start representation in November/December

-Affirmation and support of all LGBTQ+ families, including families of color, families living in poverty, undocumented families, and non-traditional families

We have several families who are waiting to be matched with attorneys and we’d like to get them started as soon as possible!  If you are interested, please fill out our New Volunteer Questionnaire and be sure to indicate that you are interested in the Family Matters Legal Clinic.  And in the meantime, check out our Family Matters Legal Clinic webpage and video for an introduction to LGBTQ+ legal parentage and our program!  Email denise@qlawfoundation.org with any questions.

The Guided Conversations Project addresses the intersectionality of race/ethnicity and gender in the legal profession.  Through structured dialogue women of color and white women can bridge gaps in understanding and build allyship to promote racial equity.

Read the reports here