NHWBA Is Now Accepting Nomination for the 2011 Marilla M. Ricker Achievement Award

The Award is named for the woman who petitioned the New Hampshire Supreme Court for the right for women to practice law in New Hampshire. In 1890, with all justices concurring, Marilla Ricker won the right women lawyers have today. In 1907, Marilla Ricker stated, "I think we should all work for equal suffrage, and I trust the time is not far distant when no man or woman will ever admit that it was ever opposed in New Hampshire. I want New Hampshire to be the banner state of the east on the equal suffrage question."  The Award named in honor of Marilla Ricker honors outstanding women lawyers in New Hampshire who have achieved professional excellence or paved the way to success for other women lawyers or advanced opportunities for women in the profession or performed exemplary public service on behalf of women.  The full list of past award recipients is listed on our website.  The 2011 nomination form is on our website.  

All nominations remain active for a period of 3 years, so if you have nominated someone within the past 2 years, you do not need to submit a new nomination, but you are welcome to submit any additional information/updates about your nominee.

One of the best things that we can do to support other women is to help them be recognized for their accomplishments, so please do not be shy and nominate someone you think is deserving of some recognition!

Click here for the 2011 nomination form 

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The deadline for nominations is July 31, 2011.

Save the Date: Thursday, September 22, 2011

NHWBA Annual Fall Reception at the Concord Country Club  

Please save the date and join us at our new location for the Annual Fall Reception when we present our Marilla M. Ricker Achievement Award to a woman lawyer who has achieved professional excellence, paved the way to success for other women lawyers, advanced opportunities for women in the profession or performed exemplary public service on behalf of women.  Cocktails and refreshments will be provided. 

Stay tuned for the announcement of the 2011 award recipient!   

 Save the Date: Tuesday, October 11, 2011

An Evening with Judge Nancy Gertner

followed by

Book Signing and Wine and Cheese Reception

at the UNH School of Law  

 NHWBA members can receive 20% off Judge Gertner's book!   

"A riveting legal memoir by a superstar lawyer, a compassionate judge and a page turning writer. In Defense of Women is a rare treat: an insider  

with an outsider's perspective speaking truth about power."

-Alan M. Dershowitz, author of Supreme Injustice

Receive a discount with Beacon Press while supporting NHWBA!

NHWBA is now a member of the Beacon Press affiliate program, which will allow our members to purchase books through Beacon Press, such as Judge Gertner's book,  In Defense of Women, at a 20% discount while NHWBA receives 10% of each purchase.  To enjoy this benefit, please type in NHWBA for the affiliate code on check out.  

Take a sneak peak at Judge Gertner's book -   

click here to read an excerpt. 

Pick up this must-read at a discount - and be sure to join us on October 11th to hear Judge Gertner discuss her experiences detailed in the book!

 In April 1994, with twenty years of groundbreaking and controversial cases behind her, Nancy Gertner was appointed to serve as a Federal Judge in Massachusetts. In her book, In Defense of Women: Memoirs of an Unrepentant Advocate, Gertner reflects upon her career as an outspoken, "outsider" lawyer, advocating criminal and civil cases focused on women's rights, civil liberties, and breaking down the gender barriers of the 1970s and 80s.

In Defense of Women chronicles one woman's revolutionary career at a time when the world around her was trying to hold her back. For young lawyers looking for guidance, Gertner writes that, when it comes to becoming a judge, there is "no right way, no clear path," noting that, "the issue is less where you start than where you end up." The lessons she imparts about fighting for what you believe in, and striving against all odds to create the life you want for yourself, ring as true for women in the 21st century as they did in the 1970s. Gertner wrote the book to record those struggles. "I wanted to memorialize these stories, if only for my kids, my friends, myself," she writes. "I had been there, done that. It had been quite a ride; important lessons had been learned personally and professionally; and maybe-just maybe-some good had been done."

Thank you to all who made this year's food drive such an amazing success - We collected more than 1113 pounds of food, which will provide meals for approximately 870 children, and more than $2,000 in monetary donations for the New Hampshire Food Bank! 

NHWBA would like to recognize the following phenomenal firm and individual participants in our 2011 Food Drive: 

Volunteer Opportunities 

Looking for ways to serve your community? Consider volunteering with one of these important groups that supports women:  

Goodwill Mentoring Program

Goodwill of New England has two mentoring programs seeking volunteer mentors: Goodbridges is a mentoring program for women offenders coming out of prison and GoodGuides is a program for youthful offenders leaving the Sununu Youth Services Center.  Both programs are geared toward eliminating recidivism by helping these offenders reduce their risk factors for reoffending and encouraging them to re-enter society as a meaningful participant. Mentors will be involved with recovery coaching, job readiness and placement, and assisting the offenders to make community resource connections. Both programs require the mentee to be re-entering the communities of Concord, Nashua or Manchester (or surrounding towns).  Click here for more information about the program.

Contact  Holly Haines or Kelly Paquette to learn more about the mentoring experience.

Mentor applications can be found here: Goodbridges application and GoodGuides application 

The Women's Initiative

A new organization born from the merging of Commission on the Status of Women, New Hampshire Women's Lobby Alliance, and The New Hampshire Women's Policy Institute. The mission of the Women's Initiative is consistent with our own - to advance the social, economic and political opportunity and equality for women in New Hampshire. The vision of the Women's Initiative is to use outreach and advocacy to help make New Hampshire a place where women can achieve their social, economic and political potential. Click here  to read about their mission and program areas. Contact Connie Rakowsky for more information about how to get involved.

National Association of Women Lawyers

2011 Annual Meeting & Awards Luncheon

WHEN:    Wednesday, July 20 - Thursday, July 21

WHERE:  The Waldorf - Astoria

               301 Park Avenue

               New York, NY

WHAT:     The NAWL Annual Meeting will include CLE programs on The Invisible Barrier of Unconscious Bias in the Legal Profession and Strategies for Employers to Overcome Unconscious Bias and Empower the Success of Women Attorneys. 

Speakers include Jerry Kang, UCLA School of Law, Lisa Horowitz, McDermott, Will and Emery, Susan Blount, Prudential Financial, Inc., Hon. Delissa Ridgeway, US Court of International Trade, Michele Coleman Mayes, Allstate Insurance Company, Luis Diaz, Gibbons, P.C., Sylvia James, Baker Botts, LLP, and Lauren Stiller Rikleen, Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership.

The NAWL Annual Awards Luncheon will also be held.

Click here for more information! 

NCWBA 2011 Women's Bar Leader Summit

Strength Across Borders

August 5, 2011 - Toronto, Ontario 

You're invited to the NCWBA's 2011 Women's Bar Leader Summit on Friday, August 5th in Toronto for a full day of ideas and inspiration for how women's bar associations can make a difference.  Attendees will share best practices and learn from panels on: 

• Combating Sex Trafficking - ways for women's bar groups to help domestically and internationally
• The Law Society's Justicia Program to promote advancement and retention of women in private practice
• 30 tips in 30 minutes - 30 free or low-cost tools and technology to help women's organizations do more with less
• Women Supporting Women? - A discussion of women lawyers' support for other women lawyers
• Best Practices - insights into challenges and practices of Women's Bar Associations locally, nationally and internationally

Throughout the day, there will be opportunities to get to know colleagues active in women's bar associations.  The Summit is followed by a reception with US District Court Judge Nancy Gertner discussing her book In Defense of Women. 

 Click HERE for more information and to register!