18^th Annual Images and Perceptions Diversity Conference will be held virtually on October 14, focuses on “Empowering Communities by Embracing Diversity."

The event will include presentations and panel discussions on critical topics in the DEI space, with a focus on the law, education, healthcare and the media.

I thought your members would be particularly interested in hearing about two of the sessions taking place at this year’s event:  

Session I: The Law and Judicial Equity: Moderator: Barbara McQuade (Professor, UM Law). Panelists:  Hon. Pablo Cortes (62A District Court), Hon. Megan Cavanaugh (Michigan Supreme Court), Fadwa Hammoud, (Michigan Solicitor General), and Hon. David Perkins (Wayne County Probate Court).

Session IV: Civil Liberties: Moderator: Dr. Jim Zogby (Arab American Institute). Panelists: Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, and Barbara McQuade (Professor, UM Law).

Additional panelists for the conference include:

·         Rev. Dr. Wendell Anthony, NAACP Detroit

·         Dr. Abdul El-Sayed

·         Rep. Abdullah Hammoud, Michigan House District 15

·         David Knezek, Wayne County Commissioner

·         Richard Lui, MSNBC

·         Dr. Philip Levy, Wayne Health

·         Dr. Adnan Munkarah, Henry Ford Health System

·         John Quinones, ABC News

·         Dr. Michael Rice, Michigan State Superintendent

·         Ray Washington, Wayne County Sheriff

A full agenda and list of panelists are available at the event website, and I have attached a flyer for the event as well.  Individual, group, and sponsorship rates are currently available. The event is MCOLES registered, and CEUs are available where applicable.  

This is an amicus brief that WWL signed this month. Information below:

https://womenlawyersonguard.org/2021/09/women-lawyers-lives-careers-will-suffer-without-abortion-right-brief-warns-justices/

19-1392 Brief.pdf

Dobbs Jackson amicus brief PR-WLG NAWL WBADC.pdf

Mentors, Mentees, and Friends of the Program:

The Joint Minority Mentorship Program (JMMP) is holding a two-day workshop on starting your own law firm or non-profit, co-hosted by WWL and SABAW. The Zoom event is coming up soon: Sat. Oct. 2nd and Oct. 9th, 9am-12:30pm.  Pre-registration required. Details below.  Please spread far and wide as this event is free and open to all!

P.S. We still have a handful of slots for panel participants.  If you have experience starting/running your own law firm or non-profit organization, and are interested in joining a panel discussion, please email me at rania.rampersad@gmail.com.

Cheers,

E. Rania Rampersad

SABAW President / JMMP Founder

-------------------------

Taking the Plunge: A Two-Day Workshop on Starting Your Own Law Firm or Non-Profit

Have you ever thought about starting your own law firm (for profit or not-for-profit)?  Do you worry that you don’t have the resources, the connections, or the mentors to make it happen?  This event is for YOU!  Join the Joint Minority Mentorship Program for an interactive workshop to discover all the information, resources, and support that is out there waiting to help you.  Experts from a variety of backgrounds and practice areas will answer your questions, demystify the process, and give you the tools you need to succeed.  Sessions will place special emphasis on the perspectives of successful lawyers from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds, including women, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ attorneys, attorneys with disabilities...etc. The event is open to all.  Register Here to attend.

What: Two Day Workshop on Starting Your Own Law Firm or Non-Profit

Who: Joint Minority Mentorship Program Follow-Up Event (free/open to all)

Co-Hosts: Washington Women Lawyers and South Asian Bar Association Washington

When: 10/2 and 10/9 from 9am-12:30pm

Where: Zoom (link provided upon registration) 

Full Event Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YsR5aZVJhsZEH2hl-uIiWAfLv9w4sEvjGEt0beLmDwQ/

JMMP is a partnership of several minority bar associations, hosted by SABAW, which pairs mentor lawyers of all backgrounds (including allies) with mentee law students and new lawyers (of any and all historically underrepresented groups) for a year-long program. JMMP is generously sponsored by The Opportunity and Progress Council, Foster Garvey’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.

For questions about the workshop, or more details about the mentorship program, contact E. Rania Rampersad, SABAW President/JMMP Founder, at rania.rampersad@gmail.com.

Taking the Plunge: A Two-Day Workshop on Starting Your Own Law Firm or Non-Profit

Have you ever thought about starting your own law firm (for profit or not-for-profit)?  Do you worry that you don’t have the resources, the connections, or the mentors to make it happen?  This event is for YOU!  Join the Joint Minority Mentorship Program for an interactive workshop to discover all the information, resources, and support that is out there waiting to help you.  Experts from a variety of backgrounds and practice areas will answer your questions, demystify the process, and give you the tools you need to succeed.  Sessions will place special emphasis on the perspectives of successful lawyers from a variety of underrepresented backgrounds, including women, ethnic, racial, and religious minorities, LGBTQ+ attorneys, attorneys with disabilities...etc. The event is open to all.  Register Here to attend.

What: Two Day Workshop on Starting Your Own Law Firm or Non-Profit

Who: Joint Minority Mentorship Program Follow-Up Event (free/open to all)

Co-Hosts: Washington Women Lawyers and South Asian Bar Association Washington

When: 10/2 and 10/9 from 9am-12:30pm

Where: Zoom (link provided upon registration) 

Full Event Registration Link: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/1YsR5aZVJhsZEH2hl-uIiWAfLv9w4sEvjGEt0beLmDwQ/

JMMP is a partnership of several minority bar associations, hosted by SABAW, which pairs mentor lawyers of all backgrounds (including allies) with mentee law students and new lawyers (of any and all historically underrepresented groups) for a year-long program. JMMP is generously sponsored by The Opportunity and Progress Council, Foster Garvey’s diversity, equity, and inclusion initiative.

For questions about the workshop, or more details about the mentorship program, contact E. Rania Rampersad, SABAW President/JMMP Founder, at rania.rampersad@gmail.com.

CJA PANEL & MENTOR PROGRAM - Information session 9/28/21 at noon.  See below.

The conflict panel for the Federal Public Defender for the Western District of Washington, better known as the CJA Panel, is currently accepting applications. Successful applicants will be seasoned criminal defense attorneys with substantial federal defense experience, excellent oral and written advocacy skills, and a demonstrated commitment to representing people who cannot afford to pay for a lawyer.

In addition, we are seeking applicants to our mentor program, which provides instruction and paid second-chair opportunities to experienced attorneys who need more exposure to federal criminal cases before being accepted to the panel.

The  CJA Panel and Mentor Program Combined Application is available at https://waw.fd.org/node/2795.

We are hosting an open house for prospective applicants to learn more about the CJA Panel and Mentor Program on September 28 at noon. Here is the Zoom information:

https://us06web.zoom.us/j/89344186207

Passcode: 737738

Applications are due October 15, 2021. Questions may be submitted to jennifer_kaplan@fd.org.

The Washington State Supreme Court Gender and Justice Commission releases the results of its extensive study of gender, race, and other disparities in Washington State’s court and carceral systems. The report covers topics ranging from youth to adults, from civil to criminal, and from one’s ability to access the courts to one’s legal, financial, family, and health impacts of conviction and incarceration at the end of a case. The report also provides recommendations on how to address the problems identified.

For additional information, please see the attached press release and Fact Sheet, and access the 2021 Gender Justice Study Final Report, Executive Summary, and five pilot project reports on the Gender and Justice Commission webpage.

We invite you to share this report widely. Please email commissions@courts.wa.gov with ideas for how we can increase the reach of this important new research, for speaking engagements, and to partner with us to accomplish the report’s recommendations.

Thank you for your support,

Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud and Dr. Dana Raigrodski, Co-Chairs

2021 Gender Justice Study

What Would Marcus Garvey Do: Community Policing in the Black Lives Matter Era

Developed in partnership with the WSBA Civil Rights Law Section

Reverend Harriett G. Walden, Founder of Mothers for Police Accountability, National Director of the Silent War Campaign, 2020 WSBA Frances B. North Civic Leader Award and commissioner on the Community Police Commission (create by a federal consent decree in 2012 regarding unlawful use of force), will address the intersections of poverty, race, and education in our era's civil rights movement.

Reverend Walden has been appointed to and served on numerous task forces and commissions that involve efforts to improve and heal community-police relations and to achieve greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.  Reverend Walden will lecture on how structural classism challenges current civil rights work and provide an analysis on the Seattle Community Police Commission, formed by federal consent decree in 2012 in response to unlawful use of force.  Lawyers should walk away with knowledge of the laws of community policing, community police advisory boards, and how to start asking the right questions about community health and safety.

It is an absolute honor for the Civil Rights Law Section to host a CLE for all of our members to listen in, strengthen critical analysis necessary for civil rights work, and stay up-to-date on local policy, police reform and accountability measures.

FACULTY
Reverend Harriett Walden

SCHEDULE
5:00 p.m. Webinar Login Opens
5:30 p.m. Webinar Begins
6:30 p.m. Adjourn
6:30 - 7:00 p.m. Post-Seminar Social

American Experience’s new film, Sandra Day O'Connor: The First, premieres Monday, September 13 at 9/8c on PBS. 

About the film: When Ronald Reagan nominated Sandra Day O’Connor as the Supreme Court’s first female justice in 1981, the announcement dominated the news. Time Magazine’s cover proclaimed “Justice At Last,” and she received unanimous Senate approval. But the road was not easy. After graduating near the top of her class at Stanford Law School, O'Connor could not convince a single law firm to interview her, so she turned to volunteer work and public service. A Republican, she served two terms in the Arizona state senate, then became a judge on the state court of appeals. During her 25 years on the Supreme Court, O’Connor was the critical swing vote on cases involving some of the 20th century’s most controversial issues, including race, gender and reproductive rights — and she was the tiebreaker on Bush v. Gore. Forty years after her confirmation, this biography recounts the life of a pioneering woman who both reflected and shaped an era.

Extended Teaser - a two-minute trailer setting up the story of Sandra Day O'Connor.

Sisters in Law - A look at the relationship between Sandra Day O'Connor and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justices who found common ground despite their differences.

International Association of Woman Judges is

creating a fundraising campaign in support of our efforts. According to IAWJ: We will use the funds to provide direct aid to our Afghan members in desperate need and will be working on safe and fair ways to apply the funds. We will also use the funds to support the work of the IAWJ Afghan Women Judges’ Aid Committee, chaired by the IAWJ President, Justice Susan Glazebrook. For the Committee’s work, we need financial support for the translation, interpretation, logistical and administrative support needed to provide direct aid to our members and their families in Afghanistan. Our interpreters and our IAWJ staff have offered their time and expertise to meet this urgent need and we would like to compensate them through unrestricted funds. If we collect excess funds we will use these to support women judges globally who find themselves in need. Donations can be made through check (the IAWJ mailing address is below); through wire transfer; or through the 'Donate' page on the IAWJ website. When donating, please be sure to indicate Afghan Women Judges’ Aid Committee in the memo of your donation. If you have questions about donating or for the wire transfer information, please contact Executive Director, Christie Jones, at executivedirector@iawj.org. International Association of Women Judges 2000 M Street, NW Suite 750 C Washington, DC 20036 Network and Expertise Support The Afghan Women Judges’ Aid Committee is gathering a list of resources and contacts that could assist with ensuring the safety of our Afghan members. We welcome the names and emails of any contacts you might have that might be of assistance as well as any immigration or refugee process information for your country that you are able to share. We are also aware of several members who would like to offer housing for those women judges and their families who are able to be resettled. If you have resources to share and housing to offer, please contact IAWJ Board Secretary/Treasurer Robyn Tupman at rtupman@courts.nsw.gov.au. Letters of Support Earlier this week, each of our member associations received an email calling for them to write letters condemning the situation in Afghanistan and in support of our members. We encourage each association to write these letters and share with the appropriate government officials and media outlets in your country. Please also be sure to share these letters with the IAWJ directly at office@iawj.org as we are collecting them. Donate