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Thanks To the Following for Your Speedy Renewals

Women Lawyers Section of the Birmingham Bar

Women Lawyers of Alameda County

Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles

Women Lawyers of Sacramento

Colorado Women's Bar Association

Women's Bar Association of the District of Columbia

Florida Association for Women Lawyers

Hillsborough Association for Women Lawyers

Women's Bar Association of Illinois

Coalition of Women's Initiatives in Law (Chicago)

Iowa Organization of Women Attorneys

Kansas Women Attorneys Association

Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts

Women's Law Section of the Maine State Bar Association

Minnesota Women Lawyers

Mississippi Women Lawyers Association

New Hampshire Women's Bar Association

North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys

Women's Bar Association of the State of New York

Oregon Women Lawyers

South Carolina Women Lawyers Association

Association for Women Lawyers (Wisconsin)

Canadian Bar Association Women Lawyers Forum

Need a membership form or want more information about membership? Click here.

2013-2014 NCWBA Officers and Board

President

Andrea Carlise

Oakland, CA

President-Elect

Lauren Tucker McCubbin

Kansas City, MO

Vice President-Fundraising and Strategic Partnering

Katherine L. Brown

Dover, NH

Vice President-Membership

Amanda Green Alexander

Jackson, MS

Vice President-Finance

Wendy E. Weigler

Denver, CO

Secretary

Nicolette Zachary

Bloomfield Hills, MI

Treasurer

Barbara Harris Chiang

San Francisco, CA

Immediate Past President

Pamela Berman

Boston, MA

ABA Delegate

Marjorie O'Connell

Washington, DC

Board

Teresa M. Beck

San Diego, CA

Misty Blair

Houston, TX

Robin Bresky

Boca Raton, FL

Melinda J. Caterine

Portland, ME

Celia J. Collins

Mobile, AL

Leigh-Ann Patterson Durant

Rockland, MA

Hon. Joan B. Gordon

Baltimore, MD

Christina A. Jump

Dallas, TX

Andrea Kramer

Boston, MA

Laura Schulteis Kwaterski

Milwaukee, WI

Karen Lockwood

Boulder, CO

Kathleen McDowell

Los Angeles, CA

Monica Parham

Washington, DC

Suzanne Prysak

Chicago, IL

Linda Robertson

North Vancouver, BC

Adwoa Ghartey-Tagoe Seymour

Atlanta, GA

Patricia Sturdevant

Sacramento, CA

Laura Caldera Taylor

Portland, OR

Melissa K. Walker

Raleigh, NC

Annie Jen Wang

New York, NY

Angel Zimmerman

Topeka, KS

Executive Director

S. Diane Rynerson
Portland, OR

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January 2014

Is Speed Networking Right for Your Women's Bar Association?

Every women's bar association, either explicitly or otherwise, lets its members know that one of the benefits of membership is networking. As every bar leader knows, there are opportunities for networking with every personal contact. Your members, on the other hand, may not yet be savvy about networking or may not recognize the opportunities for networking you have created through your events and programs. Even though lawyers know they must network, some think of it as artificial and awkward. Click here for more about networking by women lawyers.

Consider creating an event for the purpose of networking, letting all attendees know that they are there to meet and engage with many people, not just their usual circle of friends and colleagues. One way to lighten the mood and to assist those who find it difficult to initiate conversations with new people (or to extricate themselves from conversations) is to hold a speed networking event, Speed networking typically involves two groups of people who rotate in a preset pattern at preset intervals in order to maximize interactions.

Might those who think of networking as artificial and awkward think a speed networking event qualifies as both? Yes--but the format levels the playing field. Everyone follows the same rules, and the result generally is lots of laughter and genuine enjoyment. When designing a speed networking event, consider a theme and publicize the event accordingly. Is it to welcome new members or new bar admittees? Is it to introduce members to those in other fields of practice? One advantage of a speed networking event is that attendees expect merely to have a structured opportunity for introductions. They will not go home disappointed with their mentor match or frustrated that they couldn't speak for just a few minutes with the senior lawyer they'd been wanting to meet. For models beyond the "round robin" approach most commonly associated with speed networking, click here. For advice to speed networking attendees of a Harvard Graduate School of Education event, click here.

Arizona Women Lawyers Association is holding a speed networking happy hour this month, and Queen's Bench is holding its third annual Business Development Speed Networking event. Both events are modestly priced, and members get a reduced, or free rate.

2014 Public Service and Outstanding Member Program Award Nominations Deadline is Friday, January 31

Take time now to think about the programs and services that made a difference to the public or your membership in 2013. Each year the NCWBA honors one or more members' programs which serve the public or the members' own membership in ways that are particularly unique or noteworthy. Shining a spotlight on these programs honors the volunteers who make them a success and makes a difference nationwide as other groups adapt programs for their own associations. The deadline for submission of this year's awards, which will be presented in Boston on August 8, is Friday, January 31. Click here for more information, examples of previous award submissions, and a downloadable nomination form.

Save the Date--Friday, August 8

It's not too soon to reserve your hotel room at Boston's Nine-Zero Hotel, where we have a special rate for those planning to attend our 2014 Women's Bar Leadership Summit on Friday, August 8. As the date nears, good rates for Boston hotel rooms will become harder to find, so take time to make your reservation now. The Summit will be at Suffolk University Law School, in the heart of downtown Boston. The Awards Luncheon will take place at the Boston College Club, a short walk away. We will have more details soon about our speakers and programming, but we can promise opportunities to be inspired, to network with women's bar leader colleagues from across North America and to get great ideas for ways to make your women's bar association or section more responsive to the needs of your members.

Help us plan future Summits by completing our Summit Location Survey.

The Invisible War--Friday, February 7

Join the Women's Bar Association of Illinois and the NCWBA on Friday, February 7 at 5:30 pm for a free showing of the film, The Invisible War, an award-winning documentary about sexual assault in the US military. The film will be followed by a discussion led by Professor Felice Batlan. The screening will take place at IIT Chicago-Kent College of Law, 565 W. Adams Street. Advance registration is not required.

On Monday, February 10, at the midyear meeting, the ABA House of Delegates will be addressing the issue of sexual assault in the military with a resolution asking Congress to enact legislation that will help to strengthen avenues of redress for victims. The resolution also urges collaboration among federal, state and local jurisdictions in supporting victims and witnesses and prosecuting offenders. The NCWBA, through our delegate to the House, Marjorie O'Connell, will be co-sponsoring the resolution. To read a preliminary copy of this and other resolutions and reports, click here.

Shattering the Echo Chamber

The NCWBA special events and programming committee has initiated a program called "shattering the echo chamber," with the purpose of developing programming to help women's bar organizations involve more men, particularly men in managing partner-level positions, within our member organizations in order to better and more quickly address women's issues and advance women lawyers. To help the committee determine what programming will be most effective, we would appreciate just a few minutes of your time to answer a brief survey.

NCWBA Listserves

The NCWBA has three listserves. The NCWBA@yahoogroups.com listserve is an interactive list which is a great resource for breaking news, brainstorming, job announcements or referral requests. Membership is limited to those who are involved with women's bar associations as a leader or member. To join this opt-in only list, send an e-mail describing your involvement. In an effort to reduce spam, Yahoo Groups recently imposed a requirement that all members be added by accepting invitations to join. Instructions for joining the group will be sent to those opting in. Two other listserves are hosted directly by NCWBA, so we are able to add e-mails upon request without further steps. These two groups are for current presidents or incoming presidents of member organizations only and for executive directors (or those volunteers who perform administrative functions for member associations) only. All listserves are opt-in only, so please contact us if you would like to join any of these.

Does Your Organization Have an Event to Share?

Member organizations are invited to have links to significant upcoming events on our "Members" page of our website. Send us your links!

2014 Membership Year

Our membership year runs with the calendar year. We are currently in the membership grace period, but do take time to renew now. Membership renewal forms for 2014 have been mailed. Can't find your renewal form or need more information? Click here. If you have questions, contact us. We do value your ongoing support!

National Conference of Women's Bar Associations | info@ncwba.org | http://www.ncwba.org
PO Box 82366
Portland, OR 97282

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