2014 NCWBA Member Organizations

2014-2015 NCWBA Officers and Board

Lauren Tucker McCubbin

     

December 2014 

On July 31 in Chicago, as part of our annual Women's Bar Leadership Summit, member organizations of the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations will be honored for their work in service of the public or on behalf of their own membership. The awards are a way of thanking volunteers for a job well done and inspiring other organizations to create similar programs. Deadline for submission of the nominations is Friday, January 30. Click here for a nomination form.

And if you are brainstorming 2015 program ideas, take a look at some of the programs which have received awards in past years. Links provide details which may enable you to imagine ways in which to adapt the program to your organization's needs.

We've witnessed a significant amount of progress on judicial nominations over the past year.  When the Senate adjourned on December 16, the number of vacancies on the federal bench dropped to 38, for the first time falling below the number of vacancies (55) that existed on January 20, 2009.  Earlier this year, the number of women appointed by President Obama to the federal bench exceeded that of any prior President. In addition, this year several notable "firsts" were confirmed, including the first Native American female federal judge; the first female circuit judge from Utah; the first female judges in the Eastern District of Tennessee, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, the Southern District of Illinois and the Western District of Virginia; and the first female African-American federal judges - ever -- in Georgia.  

 

Although these appointments are truly changing the face of the federal judiciary, we still have a long way to go. Despite many years of law school classes where women make up almost half of students, only one-third of active federal judges are women. The percentages are much lower for women of color. And the 38 federal court vacancies mean that some courts are not fully staffed, and that people around the country must wait for justice.

 

In 2015, our nation must continue the progress that has been made on increasing the diversity and reducing the vacancies in the federal judiciary. This success should make us care more, not less, about ensuring that this progress continues. 

 

You're invited to join a conference call on Wednesday, January 7, 2015 at 2 p.m. ET, with Christopher Kang, Deputy Counsel to the President, to discuss increasing diversity in our federal courts and making sure they are working at full capacity. This call is off-the-record and closed to the press. The call will be sponsored by the National Association of Women Lawyers, the National Conference of Women's Bar Associations (NCWBA), and the National Women's Law Center. Representing the NCWBA on the call will be President Lauren Tucker McCubbin and President-Elect Katherine Brown.

 

People across the nation, but especially women, depend on our federal courts for justice.  We deserve courts that are fully staffed, and that are more reflective of the diverse population of this nation.  We can't afford to wait any longer. Register for this call with the women's legal community today. Registration closes at 5:00 ET on Tuesday, January 6.

Ida Abbott

 

Have you wondered how to "shatter the echo chamber" and involve men as active partners in changing law practice in ways that will enable everyone to utilize their skills and talents to the fullest without being held back by old stereotypes? Join us on Friday, February 6, from 2:30 to 4:30 at the George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston as Ida Abbott, author of the newly-published book, Sponsoring Women: What Men Need to Know, describes practical steps that managers can take to advocate for the advancement and retention of women in the legal profession.

 

Ida Abbott will be joined by a panel including Amy Chronis, Partner, Deloitte & Touche, Mark Coffin, managing partner of Seyfarth Shaw's Houston office, the Honorable R.K. Sandill of the Harris County District Court in Houston, and Michele Coleman Mayes, chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and Vice President and General Counsel  of the New York Public Library.

 

Jointly sponsored by the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, National Conference of Women's Bar Associations and Texas Women Lawyers, this will be an opportunity to learn about ways in which to engage men in efforts to increase diversity in the legal profession and to meet your colleagues from around the country who are interested in moving the discussion forward.

There is no charge to attend the program, but those who wish to attend are strongly advised to register for the ABA Midyear Meeting. There is no charge for registration, and ABA membership is not required to do so. Click here for more information about the Midyear Meeting and a link to registration. 

The NCWBA maintains three separate listserves. Presidents and Presidents-Elect of our member associations are eligible for our Presidents Circle listserve.  Executive Directors and those who take on primary administrative tasks for member organizations which do not have paid staff are eligible for our Executive Directors listserve. Anyone involved with women's bar associations as a leader or member may opt to join our NCWBA listserve on Yahoo Groups.  This is an interactive list which is a great resource for referral requests, job announcements and other matters of interest to women's bar associations. To join this list, send us an e-mail with your name and the e-mail which you wish to use, describing your involvement in a women's bar association. Let us know if you know of people who wish to be added to any of our lists.

____________________________________________________

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