I am the President and Founder of The Legal Accountability Project (LAP), a nonprofit aimed at ensuring that law clerks have positive clerkship experiences, while extending support and resources to those who do not. I founded LAP in June 2022 in order to foster beneficial clerkship experiences, diversify the clerkship applicant pool, and protect the next generation of attorneys against workplace mistreatment.

LAP was born out of my personal experience with gender discrimination, harassment, and retaliation during and after my DC Superior Court clerkship, which I first publicly shared in written testimony before the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property, and the Internet last March, and have shared in numerous forums since then. I regularly write and speak about judicial accountability and clerkships in order to underscore that law clerks experiencing mistreatment are not alone. 

LAP is the resource I wish existed when I was a WashU Law student applying for clerkships; a law clerk experiencing mistreatment and unsure where to turn for help; and a former clerk engaging in the formal judicial complaint process. LAP works on several initiatives in collaboration with law schools and other stakeholders aimed at increasing transparency in the clerkship application process; diversifying the clerkship applicant pool; holding judges accountable for misconduct; and ensuring safe judicial workplaces. 

LAP’s main initiative this year is a Centralized Clerkships Reporting Database, where law clerk alumni from every institution can fill out post-clerkship surveys about their clerkship experiences—either positive or negative—and every law student at every participating institution can read all the survey responses, in order to identify judges who will create positive work environments and avoid judges who mistreat their clerks. The Database democratizes information and replaces the “whisper networks” which are currently one of the only ways for prospective clerks to obtain information about judges. This initiative ensures that law students have as much information about as many judges as possible, before making important career decisions, considering the outsized influence that a judicial clerkship, and a law clerk’s relationship with a judge, have on future career success. The Database also empowers more diverse students to pursue clerkships through access to information.

Aliza Shatzman

President & Founder, The Legal Accountability Project

Aliza.Shatzman@legalaccountabilityproject.org

https://www.legalaccountabilityproject.org/

Connect with me on LinkedIn / Follow me on Twitter @AlizaShatzman

Read my work on SSRN / Listen to me share my story

Washington State YMCA Youth & Government is hosting the State Mock Trial Tournament on March 24^th and 25^th at the Thurston County Courthouse in Olympia, WA!

This tournament will be convened by Clark County Superior Court Judge Robert Lewis, but we need attorneys and judges to support youth by attending a trial, scoring each segment of the trial, and providing positive and constructive feedback to the participants. Volunteers are a pivotal component to our program and your time and expertise is irreplaceable. It takes over 500 volunteers to run our mock trial program annually.

Friday Round Times Available:

Round 1- 6:30pm (6 open spots)

Saturday Round Times Available: (Low on volunteers)

Round 2- 8:30am (13 open spots)

Round 3- 12:30pm (7 open spots)

Round 4- 4pm (19 open spots)

If you are available and interested, please fill out this google form as soon as possible: https://forms.gle/ocCpMu8HfqUf7Ufk7

If you are unavailable, but know someone who may be interested, please share out the above link or email us directly.

Tony Kelly, a doctoral candidate at George Fox University, is seeking 6-8 African American women partners to interview by the end of February for his dissertation (more details below). Please feel free to circulate this invitation to partners in your network.  Those interested in learning more about this study and/or participating should contact Tony Kelly, Adjunct Professor & Doctoral Candidate at George Fox University tkelly@georgefox.edu or 503-753-7300.

STUDY: Phenomenological Study of African American Female Partners in Top U.S. Corporate Law Firms

PURPOSE OF THIS RESEARCH STUDY

Looking for individuals to participate in a phenomenological study designed to examine African American female attorneys that have attained partnership positions in top 250 U.S. corporate law firms and how they overcame barriers unique to their gender and race on their journey to the top rung of their profession. This study aims to build upon previous research identifying the consistent barriers faced by African American women on their leadership attainment journeys in the corporate world by capturing the lived experience of a select group of Black women that successfully attained the position of partner in a law firm. The primary goal is to determine how these women were able to overcome the barriers on their journey and identify commonalities in their experiences and approaches that propelled them past barriers that hindered other African American women that were unable to make partner in the legal profession.

PROCEDURES

·         Volunteers will participate in three interviews, a written pre-interview, a 60- to-90-minute semi-structured interview, and a follow-up interview if required for clarification and transcript corrections.

·         Interview questions will be designed to capture data that will lead to a textual and structural description of the experiences and ultimately provide an understanding of the common experiences of the participants.

·         Interviews will be recorded for accurate transcript analysis. If you grant permission for interviews to be recorded, you have the right to revoke recording permission and/or end the interview at any time.

IANGEL HAS BOARD OPENINGS. Join us.  Do you have a passion for gender equality and justice? Do you seek an opportunity to use your skills to build a global network to defend the human rights of women and girls? Are you willing to donate time, ideas, and resources to promote gender justice globally?  If you answered yes to the above, consider applying for a position on our board of directors.

The International Action Network for Gender Equity and Law (IANGEL) engages the power of law to promote gender equity locally, nationally, and globally, and is recruiting new members for our board of directors. We offer a unique and inspiring experience, leadership opportunities, working with women bar leaders and activists in a cutting-edge nonprofit women’s rights organization. While we are based in the San Francisco area, IANGEL has no borders; our mission is international. We are a working board, actively engaged in setting organizational strategy, developing projects and partnerships to advance our mission, as well as fundraising, communications, and events. We seek diverse candidates with energy and a commitment to using the power of law to promote gender equality around the world. Desired qualifications include experience in the legal or human rights field, bar or nonprofit leadership, or other work for women’s human rights. A flair for collaboration, networking, and fundraising is also helpful. Learn more about us at www.iangel.org and review our Board Member Expectations here. To apply, send your resume and a cover letter to Julie Gafkay at jgafkay@gafkaylaw.com. We look forward to meeting you.

The Seattle City Council is seeking candidates interested in an appointment as a Commissioner on the Seattle Public Safety Civil Service Commission. The appointment is a three-year term, beginning in 2023. We welcome Washington Women Lawyers members who may be interested in serving on the PSCSC (as well as the Civil Service Commission).

 Please contact me or Andrea Scheele, Executive Director if you have any questions.

Full details here.

The 67^th Annual Estate Planning Seminar

Date:

October 24-25, 2022

Time:

8:00 AM – 5:30 PM, 8:00AM – 5:00PM

Location:

Bell Harbor International Conference Center, 2211 Alaskan Way, Seattle, WA 98121

The 67^th Annual Estate Planning Seminar is the premier estate planning seminar for Washington State and the perfect seminar to get the credits that you need.

For 2022, we will offer a hybrid program again this year. Given the hybrid nature of the conference, and our new location, we are offering 300 in-person seats and an unlimited number of virtual attendees!  Onsite attendees will have access to the speakers, plenary sessions, exhibit area and back by popular demand, a networking lunch buffet! 

More information and registration

More Information:

Erin Ingersoll, erini@meetingvisions.net, 206.898.2613
Lisa Haynie, lisah@meetingvisions.net, 425.260.0433
EPC Organization Website

The American Bar Association's Commission on Women in the Profession (CWP) and the National Native American Bar Association (NNABA) are collaborating to explore the unique experiences of Native American women who navigate the intersection of tribal identity, race and gender in the legal profession.  This research study elevating women Native American attorneys has been designed as a qualitative study consisting of confidential individual interviews to explore their unique experiences and perspectives. 

We need your help to connect to and lift the voices of Native American women attorneys.   Please participate in this study by clicking here for more information. Your registration information as well as the information from your interview are completely confidential and only visible to the researchers and staff at Nextions.

If you have any questions, please contact Autumn Worten of the Nextions research team at autumn@nextions.com. 

The Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department is now accepting applications for its 2022-2023 Diversity Mentorship Program!

Starbucks Corporation

Law & Corporate Affairs Department

2022-2023 Diversity Mentorship Program

The Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department is pleased to invite mentee participants for our Starbucks Diversity Mentorship Program. This program will connect Starbucks in-house lawyers with junior attorneys from diverse backgrounds in one-to-one mentorship relationships. The Starbucks legal department boasts one of the most experienced and diverse groups of attorneys in the region, and our lawyers are excited to share their insights into learning the practice of law, their advice in navigating legal work environments, and for those who are interested, strategies for future career development.

Following a virtual kick-off reception for incoming mentees and their mentors, this program will foster direct, informal interactions over a one-year period to help diverse junior attorneys connect and network in the local community of legal professionals and business leaders. The program is open to all lawyers in private practice in their first four years as an attorney, and who are members of one or more minority bar associations or diversity affinity groups.

If you are interested in applying, please submit a cover letter and resume to Paulina Wu at pawu@starbucks.com by Friday, August 26, 2022. In your cover letter, please identify your current area of practice (and your desired area, if different), your general interest in receiving mentoring, and the minority bar association(s) or affinity group(s) to which you belong. If you have any questions, please direct them to Paulina, and one of our committee members will follow up with you.

Sincerely, The Starbucks L&CA Diversity Mentorship Committee