Women Criminal Defense Attorneys: Current Happenings for Women Criminal Lawyers
Women criminal lawyer groups and criminal defense organizations continue to create opportunities for women to connect, support, and learn from one another:
The DC Women’s White Collar Defense Association is holding a luncheon today October 29, 2014 at 12:30pm hosted by Crowell & Moring, 1001 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW, Washington, DC. It will be a great opportunity to network with women in the field. The two previous events organized by the DC group have been a “who’s who” of powerful women lawyers, featuring Supreme Court Justice Elena Kagan and SEC Chairwoman Mary Jo White. To learn more about the Women White Collar Defense Association click here.
NACDL’s 10th Annual White Collar Seminar will be held in Washington DC from November 5 through 7th, with the Fall Board meeting being held the morning of November 8th. It is always a terrific seminar and if you are a white-collar practitioner, it is a must-attend seminar. The NACDL’s Women’s Initiative has organized a networking lunch on November 7th at a local restaurant called Mio Restaurant, 1110 Vermont Avenue NW, Washington, DC which is very close to the conference location. For more information on how to RSVP see the agenda here.
NACDL just released a new CLE DVD called Women Defenders: The Best of the Best featuring some of the best women defenders in the country sharing their experience and knowledge. The DVD is a collection of live seminar lectures from the women who received the highest ratings from seminar attendees. In recognition of Breast Cancer Awareness Month, a percentage of all the proceeds will be donated to the Breast Cancer Research Foundation.
There are many opportunities for women criminal practitioners to get involved in the ABA Criminal Justice Section. I am honored to be serving as co-chair of the Defense Function Committee with Jon Sands this year. One of our stated goals is to support “Women and Diversity: The face and color of the legal profession is changing. The defense function must make every effort to reflect and incorporate the change in the legal profession. Women are increasingly over half of law school graduates. They must be brought into the fold, and provided with the support, and opportunities that see them achieve leadership roles in the criminal defense field and in local, state and national bars. Diversity encompasses race, ethnic background, sexual orientation, culture and also age. The criminal defense function must do a better job of ensuring diversity.” And there are plenty of other opportunities for women criminal lawyers to become more engaged and connect with other women throughout the country through the ABA Criminal Justice Section: There is the Women in Criminal Justice Committee and the Women in White Collar Subcommittee of the White Collar Crime Division.
Get engaged and involved, you won’t be sorry that you did. And I hope to see you at either one of the NACDL events or the next ABA Criminal Justice event.