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NCWBA Member Organizations
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2019-2020 NCWBA Officers and Board
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Officers
President
Jeanne Marie Clavere
Seattle, WA
President-Elect
Nicolette Zachary
Bloomfield Hills, MI
Vice President-Fundraising and Strategic Partnering
Shiloh D. Theberge
Portland, ME
Vice President-Membership
Sheila Willis
Columbia, SC
Vice President-Finance
Elizabeth Bryson
New York, NY
Secretary
Lindsey Savage
Mandeville, LA
Treasurer
Patricia M. Scaglia
Independence, MO
Immediate Past President
Angel Zimmerman
Topeka, KS
ABA Delegate
Marjorie O'Connell
Washington, DC
ABA CWP Liaison
Amanda Green Alexander
Jackson, MS
Board
Teresa M. Beck
San Diego, CA
Misty Blair
Pasadena, TX
Katherine Brown
Dover, NH
Cynthia Brunet
Montreal, Quebec
Celia Collins
Mobile, AL
Jamison Hall Cooper
Bridgeport, WV
Gina Glockner
Denver, CO
Chris Chambers Goodman
Malibu, CA
Kyleen Hinkle
Tampa, FL
Susan MC Kovarovics
Washington, DC
Poonam Kumar
Minneapolis, MN
Kathleen M. McDowell
Los Angeles, CA
Christine M. Meadows
Tigard, OR
Tami L. Munsch
Kiln, MS
Tori Silas
Atlanta, GA
Diana Theos
Glendale, AZ
Melissa K. Walker
Raleigh, NC
Marisa Ybarra
El Paso, TX
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2020 NCWBA Awards Announced
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We are pleased to announce the recipients of our 2020 Awards, which will be presented on Friday, July 31 as part of our Women's Bar Leadership Summit in Chicago. This year's Public Service Award goes to Minnesota Women Lawyers for their Gender Data Project. Receiving an Honorable Mention in that category is Florida Association for Women Lawyers for their efforts to support the adoption of a rule providing that a court must grant a motion for continuance based on the parental leave of a lead attorney. The 2020 Outstanding Member Program Award goes to the Women Lawyers Forum of the Canadian Bar Association for their Pathways to Power program. Receiving an Honorable Mention in that category is the Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia for their Corporate Counsel and Law Firm Women of Color Task Force. New this year is an award specifically designated for a women's law student association. The inaugural award goes to the Women's Law Caucus of the University of Detroit Mercy School of Law for their Feminine Hygiene Donation Drive.
The Awards Committee thanks all those who took the time and effort to submit nominations. As is often the case, the decision as to which among the many worthy programs should receive an award was difficult. We're proud of the work being done by our member organizations and hope you will begin to think about which of your programs should be nominated for next year's awards. |
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Women's Bar Associations in the Time of COVID-19
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Women bar leaders have always had to face unexpected challenges which require tough decisions about cancellation of events. Although some incidents, such as Hurricane Katrina, have been tragic and had long-lasting consequences, for the most part the precipitating events, although sudden, have also come to an end. Flood waters recede, communities come together to rebuild, volunteers from other regions give assistance. A path forward can be envisioned. Those who were in leadership positions at the time of the terrorist attacks of 9/11 recall the national sense of uncertainty that followed those first dark weeks. A consensus soon developed that the right thing to do was to move forward with the ordinary patterns of life. Indeed, it was sometimes said that if large events were to be cancelled "the terrorists will have won," and the true patriot was one who kept to her ordinary schedule. In the case of the community spread of the novel coronavirus, the opposite is true. In the last few days it has become increasingly evident that the "right" thing to do is to cancel all or at least most in-person events, and promote social distancing while avoiding social isolation.
Cancelling or "postponing" a large event is always a difficult decision to make, for financial and logistical reasons and because of the inevitable disappointment it causes. It is an easier decision to make when you know you are not alone, Oregon Women Lawyers made the difficult decision to postpone its largest event of the year and the largest fundraiser for the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation just hours before Oregon Women Lawyers member Governor Kate Brown directed that all events with attendance over 250 people be cancelled. New Jersey Women Lawyers Association has announced that their 13th annual gala, scheduled for March 31, has been postponed.The GOOD Guys event set for March 19 by Lawyers Club of San Diego has been postponed, as has a CLE scheduled by the New York Women's Bar Association for March 18. Don't be afraid to postpone in-person events, despite the possible financial consequences. In the long run, most of your members will appreciate that you are helping to stop community spread of the virus. Kudos to the Colorado Women's Bar Association for postponing their sold-out judicial reception set for March 16 until June 2 and communicating about registration and refunds. Click here for a link to their Facebook page. Click here for guidelines for nonprofits by the CDC Foundation.
Communicate with your members. Don't wait until you have the "perfect" press release to let them know that you are postponing an event. Give them the basics, and let them know you will follow up with more information when you have it. Communication relieves anxiety and promotes healthy social interaction. Here is an example of how New Jersey Women Lawyers Association informed their members on March 12 of the postponement of the March 31 event.
If you do decide to go forward with an in-person event, spell out in advance the steps you are taking to help with social distancing and ask for attendees' assistance in achieving this. Don't put individual attendees in the position of having to admonish or criticize one another. Consider cutting off registration at a much lower number than you would otherwise like. Make necessary changes in catering, such as eliminating self-service hors d'oeuvres. If you haven't already done so, this is a great time to experiment with livestreaming. Your members will be more forgiving of a poor camera angle at a Facebook Live event than they might be in other circumstances.
If you don't currently have the resources to livestream, find and publicize other options. Invite your members to attend our next free webinar, scheduled for April 23. (See details below.)
Finally, please keep in touch with us to let us know how you are keeping your members connected. You may email us directly or post ideas on our interactive listserv: womenbarleaders@ncwba.org. If you have not yet asked to join our listserv, send an email, stating your affiliation with a women's bar association and you will be added with the email address you list.. |
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Free Webinar: April 23, 11:00 am PDT
It's Not You, It's the Workplace
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Introducing NCWBA's New Executive Director
Christina Simpson
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I truly feel blessed and grateful to take on the role of Executive Director of the NCWBA and am thankful to have been given this opportunity. I am proud to have the opportunity to participate in an organization known for bringing together women lawyers on a nationwide level and for further providing opportunities and resources for the development and success of women in the legal profession. I look forward to growing in this position as Executive Director and getting the chance to meet and learn from so many amazing and dynamic women lawyers.
A little bit about myself: I am from Boston, Massachusetts. I currently run my own practice that focuses on business law and business branding. I work with start-up companies, entrepreneurs and small business owners, advising them on business-related matters, as well as building and protecting their brands' intellectual property. Prior to starting my own law firm I worked in a small firm mainly representing financial advisors and customers in lawsuits, arbitration, and regulatory matters relating to securities, futures and commodities, as well as litigating in state and federal court business matters.
I received my BA from Boston College and my law degree from Brooklyn Law School. I am admitted to practice in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, State of New York, the Southern District of New York and the Eastern District of New York. Finally, I am also an adjunct professor at New England Law School where I teach legal research and writing skills to first-year law students.
Additionally, I have always been an advocate for public service and participation in one's community. I am a frequent presenter of the Intellectual Property Workshop hosted by the Lawyers for Civil Rights--a free workshop for small and aspiring business owners to learn about what intellectual property rights may exist in their business and how to protect them--as well as a participant in the Boston Bar Association's M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program and Law Day in the Schools Program. The M. Ellen Carpenter Financial Literacy Program takes place in high schools across Massachusetts where volunteers teach the students about making informed and effective decisions regarding their finances. The Law Day in the Schools Program allows lawyers to visit Boston Public School classes to teach students in various grades about the legal system and what it means to be a lawyer.
Currently, I am a member of the Lawyers for Affordable Justice Panel and a co-chair of the Women of Color Committee of the Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts. Additionally, I serve on the board of Shelter Music Boston. One of my passions is advocating for and providing services to those in underserved and underrepresented communities. Much of this population are women. I truly believe that service through women's bar organizations is a strong platform in reaching my goal. Women, in general, tend to go unacknowledged in so many industries and areas of life, particularly in the legal field. I want to dedicate myself to ensuring that all women are not only acknowledged for their amazing achievements, but also have access to the resources and knowledge that ensure their success.
I look forward to working with you!
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GOOD Guys (Guys Overcoming Obstacles to Diversity) Programs
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Earlier this month, GOOD Guys programs were held in the UK in London and Birmingham. To learn more about GOOD Guys, click here. The webinar on how to put on your own GOOD Guys event originally set for March 19 has been postponed. We'll let you know when it is rescheduled.
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Women's History Month
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 March is Women's History Month, and if you haven't done so already, now would be a great time to share with your members a link to our publication Raising the Bar: America Celebrates 150 Years of Women Lawyers. We do have a limited number of hard copies available for just the cost of shipping. Let us know if you are interested. Pictured above is board member Misty Blair sharing the publication with Texas Supreme Court Justice Brett Busby at our February 13 event at the court.
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Women's Bars and Feeding America
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We are asking women's bar associations to participate in a day of service on Saturday, May 16 (or otherwise during the week of May 11) at your local Feeding America Food Bank.
Locate your Food Bank here. Brainstorm with them as to how to be of greatest assistance at a time in which the need to feed the hungry will present major new challenges.
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Cocktails with the CSuite
by Gina Glockner
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Colorado Women's Bar Association (CWBA) hosted an inaugural event on January 23, 2020 entitled Cocktails with the CSuite. The event was organized by the organization's Professional Advancement committee in an effort to provide members of the CWBA an opportunity to network with some of the most successful business women in their community. The theme was to elevate and celebrate one another in an effort to spark conversations between the legal and business community. This allowed for education of those unsure where to take their legal career, and created a bridge between women business leaders and the legal community to discuss various challenges or successes applicable to this dynamic group of women. To help members professionally advance their careers, it is important to provide opportunities that are otherwise not present in the community. Bringing together successful business women in the community to enjoy an evening of networking with the organization's membership was a fun, energetic way to accomplish this task.
During the evening, women entered on a red carpet, enjoyed a Champagne cocktail on arrival from a hedge wall gracing the entrance, and enjoyed fun stations around the room such as craft cocktails, wine tasting, cotton candy, popcorn, perogies and appetizers as well as ice cream sandwiches. Those in attendance participated in a joint activity where they connected LinkedIn profiles in order to "continue the conversation" after the evening ended. It was a great success and the feedback from members was overwhelmingly positive!
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Renew Now for 2020!
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Our membership year runs with the calendar year, so if you have not already done so, now is just the right time to renew your group's membership for 2020. Dues for 2020 have not increased, and are based on your organization's membership numbers. We rely on your membership dues and active participation in order to strengthen women's bar groups throughout North America. This year for the first time, women's law student associations are invited to join for free. For more information on renewals or how to join, click here.
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Women Lawyer News
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Remember to check
Women Lawyers News
for articles and unique tools to make practicing law just that much easier.
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