WLALA's Executive Committee with Supervisor Holly Mitchell (from left to right): Jeannine Taylor, Noelle Natoli, Mary McKelvey, Supervisor Holly Mitchell, Janet Hong, Jennie Wang VonCannon and Farah Tabibkhoei |
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From left to right: Mary McKelvey, Lisa McLean and Janet Hong |
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November has always been a month of gratitude for me. No matter what is going on in my life, I stop to count and contemplate my many blessings. The exercise is always inspirational and fulfilling, as the things I focus on seem to seem to expand as I acknowledge and appreciate these gifts.
To begin with, I was fortuitously born into a country where I enjoy basic and fundamental freedoms. As a woman in the U.S., I have the freedom to make the choices that govern my life and to speak out freely both in support of those ideals I support and against those I do not. Seeing the plight of our sisters in Afghanistan has increased my appreciation of the freedom to exercise my own power simply by virtue of having been born into this particular province of the planet. While our country is by no means a perfect one, I believe in its promise of freedom and dignity for all people—women and girls included. This promise is necessarily premised on our rule of law. I am grateful for my legal education that permits me to understand and navigate our legal system.
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WLALA Members: Take Our Survey!
WE NEED YOUR VOICE. We want to make WLALA better—more inclusive, more responsive, and more in line with our mission. To do so, it is absolutely critical that we hear from each and every member of the WLALA community. Please take 3 minutes to complete this survey. Because if we don’t know better, we can’t do better.
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Over the last year, WLALA has doubled down on its efforts to promote equality, belonging and anti-racism in the Los Angeles legal community and beyond, but we need to know whether our efforts are having an impact and what else our members expect from us. To that end, WLALA’s Equity, Belonging, and Anti-Racism Committee (EBAR), co-chaired by Merle Vaughn, Meena Patel, and Ariella Simonds, has launched the 2021 WLALA Member Survey. The survey responses will give us important visibility into who WLALA’s members are and how we can best serve them. We also plan to repeat the survey annually so we can hold WLALA accountable to its commitment to constant improvement.
However, we can’t do this without you. If we don’t hear from a representative selection of WLALA members, we won’t be able to accurately assess how WLALA is doing and the ways we can improve. Even basic demographic information about WLALA’s membership will be skewed if too few members respond. That’s why it is up to each of you to participate in the survey. The great news is that taking the survey is quick and easy: several members have reported it takes no more than 3 minutes to complete!
Each respondent will also be entered into a raffle to win an assortment of prizes.
Survey responses will be anonymous but if you have any feedback you would like to share directly with the EBAR committee, please contact us at [email protected] and indicate in the subject or body of your email that it is intended for EBAR.
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Sowing the Seeds of Social Justice:
Support WLALA Foundation’s Charitable Fund Campaign
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WLALA Foundation’s annual Charitable Fund campaign has officially started! From now through January 2022, make a difference by supporting the WLALA Foundation. All funds donated directly fund WLALA’s programs and projects, including:
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Scholarships: The Foundation’s Ruth Bader Ginsburg Equality Scholarships support law students with demonstrated commitment to issues affecting women, children, or historically underrepresented groups.
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Fellowships: The Fran Kandel Public Interest Summer Fellowships support law students who develop and implement their own public interest law projects. The Inner City Law Center Fellowships provide financial support to law students working at the ICLC providing pro bono services to homeless veterans, including women.
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Power Lunch Mentorship: Through the Beverly Reid O’Connell Power Lunch program, judges and lawyers mentor high school students and provide career education to those from historically underrepresented groups in the legal profession.
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Community Partnerships: WLALA provides support to the Harriett Buhai Center for Family Law and the Downtown Women’s Center.
The Foundation’s fellowship and scholarship recipients impact our community far beyond one summer or semester. Not only do they work on important legal issues which is then continued by our community partners, but many WLALA fellows and scholarship recipients also go on to have careers in public interest.
For example, Danielle Wilkins received a WLALA Fran Kandel Public Interest Fellowship in 2021. Danielle, currently a 3L at USC Gould School of Law, shared about her summer experience as a WLALA Fellow and her future goals during a recent interview you can find below.
From now through January, stay tuned for more information on how advocates like Danielle and organizations supported by WLALA Foundation programs have sowed the seeds of social justice.
Support WLALA Foundation today!
Text “Give” to (213) 262-2638, donate online, or by mail to WLALA; 634 S. Spring St., Ste. 617; Los Angeles, CA 90014
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Do You Want to Work at the
U.S. Attorney's Office?
presented by WLALA's Criminal Justice Section
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Explore Career Options within the
Criminal, Juvenile, and Dependency Courts
of Los Angeles County
presented by WLALA's Criminal Justice Section
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On Saturday October 23, 2021, WLALA Immediate Past President Jessica Kronstadt ran and set a personal record in the Santa Barbara Wine Country Half-Marathon, finishing in one hour, 47 minutes, and 56 seconds. Congratulations, Jessica!
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Congratulations to WLALA's Second Vice President/Treasurer Jeannine Taylor on her well-deserved nomination for the Los Angeles Business Journal's 2021 Leaders in Law Awards for her role as in-house counsel for Keck Medicine of the University of Southern California!
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Save the date! In March 2022, WLALA Immediate Past President Jessica Kronstadt is being honored by the Jewish Free Loan Association at its Wonder Women Gala as a Leading Woman of Los Angeles.
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Request for Attorney Mentors |
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Has a mentor impacted your career? Now is the time to pay it forward with WLALA's Law Student Mentor Program! WLALA has over 100 women law students seeking a mentor like you. Click on the button below to show your interest and share how much time you’d be willing to commit... no amount is too small and the rewards are unlimited! |
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WLALA Facebook Networking |
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We are excited to announce that WLALA has created a Facebook page for members called WLALA Networking where you can connect with other members.
Please note that you must be a member to join. Before posting, please be sure to read the Rules
and Guidelines.
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WLALA Postcard Designed by Polk Paper |
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WLALA Immediate Past President Jessica Kronstadt has donated these beautiful postcards, which were specially designed for WLALA by Schuyler Polk of Polk Paper and Grace Cope. Only a limited number of sets of these postcards are available. All proceeds will benefit the WLALA Foundation.
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Welcome to Our New Members |
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Kalei Aricayos
Rebecca Asuan-O'Brien
Nancy Avila
Catherine Bauer
Tricia Bigelow
Emily L. Brinkman
Elizabeth Buttitta
Rina Carmel
Teresa Chen
Cathy A. Chittenden
Lisa Cole
Lindsay Cronin
Colleen Deziel
Darby Dickerson
Shannen L. Dilag
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Lesley Green
Jennifer A. Hansen
Tiffany-Paige Hernandez
Margo L. Hoy
Kimberly Kamkar
Sarah Khanghahi
Ruby LeMorin
Hemma R. Lomax
Armine A. Margaryan
Lara Markarian
Rosa Martinez-Genzon
Jane E. Randolph
Vanessa Widener (Hindley)
Rebecca Winthrop
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WLALA is offering one complimentary year of membership to WLALA's local sister bar organization members at APAWLA, BWL, and LLBA; New Admittees (those who passed the bar after January 1, 2021); and Law Students!
Offer is good until December 31, 2021. Membership will be good for one year after you register.
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WLALA webinars have been recorded and are available for purchase. Following your purchase, access to the recording will be sent via email. If MCLE credit applies, the materials will be sent after we receive confirmation that the video has been viewed. |
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Podcast: 19th Amendment Speaker Series |
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The 19th Amendment Speaker series features interviews with successful, inspirational, and impactful women in entertainment, sports, politics, law, academia, and business. Originally recorded in Summer/Fall 2020 as part of the 19th Amendment Speaker Series, this podcast is presented in conjunction with the National Association of Women Judges and the Los Angeles County Bar Association. Here are six ways to listen to the podcast:
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iDepo will make a donation to WLALA if you schedule a court reporting or videotaped deposition with them as follows:
- $20 donation to WLALA for each court reporting services of at least 100 pages per day.
- $50 donation to WLALA for each videotaped deposition with at least 100 pages per day.
When scheduling, please email or call and mention code "WLALA."
iDepo will send donations to WLALA within 90 days after receipt of payment of invoices.
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Indira Cameron-Banks is a legal unicorn. In the middle of a global pandemic, she decided to do something brave—especially so because she is a woman of color—and start her own firm so that she can fight social justice causes on behalf of the “little guy/gal” through litigation. What makes her unique is that she is eminently qualified to do so on multiple levels.
Inidira started her career as a civil litigator doing products liability and professional liability cases. She then spent 13 years as an Assistant U.S. Attorney (“AUSA”) at the Civil Division of the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Los Angeles doing both affirmative and defensive financial litigation, and eventually became the Chief of the Financial Litigation Unit (affectionately dubbed the “FLU”). A couple of years ago she pivoted and became an AUSA in the Criminal Division and also served as Special Counsel to the U.S. Attorney—adding criminal law to her repertoire and broadening her management experience. In 2020, she left to run a legal services program at Inner City Law Center, a nonprofit poverty-law firm.
During the COVID pandemic, she found herself reflecting on the fact that she was mid-career, balancing work and home life, and in the middle of a global awakening in terms of social justice. From her time working for the largest employer in the United States, the federal government, and also from working at a nonprofit organization funded by and required to work within existing bureaucratic structures, Indira realized that to effect real social change she needed to challenge the bureaucracy. Four months ago, Indira hung out her shingle to focus her formidable legal skills to challenge social infrastructure and structural barriers (both removing them and helping people disproportionately impacted by them) with the goal of helping humanity. She is licensed to practice in California, Massachusetts, and Connecticut, and particularly enjoys using her wealth of experience with financial fraud and asset recovery to help clients ranging from crime victims, small business owners, women, people of color, and the homeless. WLALA is excited to have Indira on the Board!
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How a Tiny Bit of Gender Bias Adds Up to Hurt Women’s Careers
by Jessica Nordell
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APAWLA Young Lawyers and Law Students (YLLS) is having an ongoing Resume Review Workshop. To participate you must be an active APAWLA member. Please send in a Word copy of your resume and/or cover letter to [email protected]. You will be assigned an APAWLA board member who will review and suggest revisions in the document with track changes. The anticipated turnaround for feedback is one week. Please be sure to maintain prompt communication. This is an ongoing workshop open until the end of the pandemic.
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Loyola Law School / LAIPLA - TechTainment™ 7.0
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Los Angeles Intellectual Property Law Association (LAIPLA), in conjunction with Loyola Law School, continues its annual TechTainment™ program for a seventh year. TechTainment™ is a conference that explores the intersection of Technology, Entertainment, and the Law—focusing on cutting edge technology, its effect on the entertainment ecosphere, and how the law and society keep up with these changes. This year's focus will be on issues and trends in the Metaverse, Digital Music Rights Management, Investment in Entertainment/Media Businesses, Talent Contracts, and Video Gaming.
This year's virtual conference will incorporate time for networking before and after the panels, using Zoom Breakout Rooms. The conference has also been approved for five hours of MCLE credit.
SCHEDULE
(All times in PST)
9:00 – 9:30 AM: Keeping Up with New Trends at the Intersection of Technology and Entertainment
9:30 – 10:30 AM: Hot Button Issues in the Video Gaming Industry
10:30 – 10:40 AM: Networking – Zoom Breakout Rooms
10:40 – 11:40 AM: Negotiating Talent Contracts in the Dynamic, Ever-Shifting Entertainment World
11:40 AM – 12:10 PM: Networking – Zoom Breakout Rooms
12:10 – 1:10 PM: Keynote with Harry E. Sloan, Founder of Eagle Equity Partners, moderated by Variety’s Andrew Wallenstein
1:10 – 1:20 PM: Networking – Zoom Breakout Rooms
1:20 – 2:20 PM: That’s So Meta – Exploring the Metaverse
2:20 – 3:05 PM: Digital Music Rights Management
3:05 – 3:30 PM: Networking – Zoom Breakout Rooms
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California Lawyers Association's 45th Annual
IP Institute
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The California Lawyers Association Intellectual Property Law Section’s annual flagship program, the IP Institute, is virtual this year. Speakers will cover up-to-date case law, practice guidance, and current views on state-of-the-art and developing areas in intellectual property during these changing times, including:
- the interplay between geopolitics and IP trends in the 2020s
- evolving policies on pharmaceutical patents, healthcare investment, and drug pricing
- CCPA, CDPA, and CPRA – updates on the US privacy landscape
- navigating open source in product development
- Trademark Modernization Act and Case Act
- false advertising disputes before the National Advertising Division
- best practices for petitioners and patent owners in Inter Partes Review proceedings at the PTAB
- cannabis-related patents post Farm Bill
- AI-enabled technologies: IP protection and ethics
- best practices for IP due diligence, technology transactions, and licensing
- NCAA athletes and right of publicity
Featured speakers include:
- Judge Kalyan Deshpande (PTAB)
- Amy Cotton (USPTO)
- David Carson (Copyright Claims Board)
- Jilana Miller (Epson America)
- Jordan Jacobson (Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation)
- David Wallace (Johnson & Johnson)
- Gideon Myles (Dropbox)
- Professor Kal Raustiala (UCLA School of La
- Professor Christopher Morten (NYU Law School)
- Donna Haddad (IBM Data and Watson AI)
- Gabe Martinez (The Clorox Company)
Earn up to 16 Hours of MCLE, which includes 1 hour of Legal Ethics, 1 hour Competence Issues, and 1 hour of Recognition and Elimination of Bias in The Legal Profession and Society.
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Add, follow, and tag us!
#WLALA #WLALAFoundation
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