JOIN A COMMITTEE OF THE WOMEN IN LAW SECTION!
The Women in Law Section (WILS) invites all
members to join our Section’s Committees. Please choose up to three committees
and send your preferences to Tiffany Bardwell at [email protected]
Thank you. We appreciate your participation
and are looking forward to an exciting year!
WOMEN IN THE LAW
SECTION 2019-2020 COMMITTEES:
1) Champions:
Men Advancing Women Committee – engages men as partners to
advance women in the profession, the Association, and
society-at-large. Activities include Drinks & Dialogues (small get-togethers
to discuss gender issues in a “safe environment” for men and women); CLE programming;
reports and/or publications; commenting on news and issues; and
supporting policies that advance women. Chairs:
Deborah Kaye & Mark Berman
2) Communications
Committee – promotes the work and activities of the Women in the Law
Section, including on social media and the NYSBA Communities site. Chair: Leona
Krasner
3) Development and Sponsorship Committee - This
Committee is responsible for developing a financial sponsorship plan for the
Women in Law Section to support the various programs and events that the
Section holds. Committee members also work to engage in relationships with
companies, vendors and law firms to provide financial support for the
activities and mission of the Women in Law Section and of NYSBA. The Committee
works closely with senior leadership on strategic operational strategy and
execution of that strategy. We are ramping up our sponsorship efforts for
2020 for upcoming programs from our General Counsels Committee, Champions
Committee, and Emerging Lawyers and Membership Committees, to name a few.
If you have an interest in finance and/or outreach to develop ongoing
relationships with companies, vendors to the legal profession and law firms to
support the Women in Law Section, this is the Committee for you. Chair: Ellen
Makofsky
4) Equity in the Legal Profession Committee – works
to advance women in the legal profession. Activities may include, but are not
limited, programming, reports, scholarship, recognition, networking and
engagement with other Sections, outside law firms, and corporations to advance
such interests. Chair: TBD
5) Emerging Lawyers Committee – for law students, recent graduates, and new attorneys
seeking to promote opportunities and relationship-building for women in the
legal field. This Committee focuses on the unique challenges that affect women
who are new to the legal profession and supports their professional development
and success. Programming includes networking events for women lawyers at
varying career stages, a panel featuring women leaders in different practice
specialties, and the opportunity to learn about the variety of career paths
available for women with law degrees (such as private practice, in-house and
public service, and non-traditional careers for lawyers). Chairs: Christina Singh-Bedell
& S. Monroe Solomon
6) Women’s Gender Issues Committee – works
to address specific issues and rights that may impact women, children and
families. Examples include, but are not limited to, domestic violence, human
trafficking, and gender violence. Professionally, the Committee may also work
to address women as leaders or on boards, or the development of specific
skills, such negotiations. Chair: Pamela Bass
7) General Counsels Committee - for
current and former in-house counsel in private, public or not-for-profit
practice who seek to develop strategies, tactics to help advance women lawyers
they work with internally and outside counsel. The Committee also serves to
support women in-house counsel to help them advance in their careers through
exchange of knowledge, support, and career advancement and opportunities. Chair: Frettra DeSilva
8) Legislative Affairs Committee -
responsible for identifying and recommending the Women in Law Section’s
legislative agenda to the Section’s EC for adoption. In addition to the
activities cited in Section By-Laws Art. VI Section 3, the Committee members
also will participate in the identification of new or existing New York State
legislation relating to issues of interest to women, draft written evaluations
and memo of support of proposed legislation as it may affect women, and present
such reports to the Women in Law Section’s Executive Committee for adoption,
and when requested by the WILS’ Chair or EC, to the NYSBA’s EC or House of
Delegates for their consideration. Committee members should expect to
participate in regular conference calls, to review potential legislation, to
conduct research and make recommendations to the Section regarding the
legislation, and to draft and edit memos supporting or opposing the
legislation. Committee members may also be asked to participate in a
meeting with the State Bar’s lobbyist, hold a program, or develop partnerships
with other State Bar sections. The time commitment is estimated to be
between 15-25 hours annually. The peak Committee activities occur between
January and June 30th. Chairs: Denise Bricker & Sarah Simpson
9) Membership and Engagement Committee – works
to recruit, retain and engage members to the Women in Law Section and seeks to
advance and promote the mission. Committee members are the membership
ambassadors of the Section. Chairs: Meredith Palermo (downstate) & Kim Wolf
Price (up state)
10) Partners Committee – (for
current and former partners or executive level counsel in private practice).
This Committee focuses on the unique challenges
that affect women who are partners in law firms. Among other things, it
will explore ways to maximize client development, firm leadership and
mentoring. The members of the Committee will have an opportunity for
networking with other women partners and for fostering a strong and supportive
community for women partners throughout New York State. Chair: Danielle Lesser
11) Annual Meeting, Program, Awards and CLE
Committee – Organizes programs annually for the Section. Please choose a subcommittee. In addition to
working on a team, you may also be asked to participate as a speaker or
moderator of a program. There is
extensive interaction with leaders in our profession on all of the
subcommittees. Chairs: Sheryl Galler & Laura Sulem.
- Annual
Meeting Subcommittee (meets from late summer through the NYSBA Annual Meeting in
January) Organizes our Annual Meeting program, the annual Edith I. Spivack
Symposium which is held at the Annual Meeting of the NYSBA.
- Awards
Subcommittee (meets September through November and in January) Chooses recipients
for the Ruth G. Schapiro and Kay Crawford Murray Memorial Awards and
participates in the awards ceremonies.
- Women on
the Move Subcommittee (meets Spring to late October) Organizes the
late October Women on the Move CLE conference.
- Programming
Subcommittee (meets throughout the year) Creates CLE and non-CLE events
throughout the year.
12) Reports, Surveys and Publications Committee - is
responsible for drafting reports in response to Reports submitted to the House
of Delegates for consideration; conducting surveys on behalf of the Section;
and preparing articles, blogs, publications, Journals, or exhibits to promote
the equality and fair treatment of women in the legal profession and all women
under the law. Chairs: Margaret Sowah & Kathleen Scott
13)
Women in the
Association Committee – works to advance women in the Bar Association.
Chair: Morghan Richardson
