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WBA
Endorses Maureen Monks for Probate and Family Court
Women's Bar Association
Urges Governor's Council to Confirm Maureen Monks'
Nomination to Middlesex Probate and Family Court
BOSTON, MA -May 19,
2008 - The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts
(WBA) has officially endorsed the nomination of Maureen
Monks to serve as an Associate Justice of the Middlesex
Probate and Family Court. In letters to each member of
the Governor's Council, the WBA asked for her
confirmation, stressing Monks's extensive experience in
family law and her leadership on issues that affect
families and underrepresented groups throughout the
Commonwealth.
For more than 20 years,
Monks has been a family law practitioner, working with
issues including guardianship, divorce, adoption and
estate planning. She has devoted countless hours to
educational and pro bono endeavors. Monks has
served as a co-instructor of the Battered Women's
Advocacy Project at Suffolk Law School, on the Board of
Directors of the Massachusetts Law Reform Institute, as
a volunteer for the Women's Bar Foundation Family Law
Project for Battered Women and as pro bono
counsel to lesbian and gay victims of domestic violence
for the Gay and Lesbian Advocates and Defenders.
"Maureen Monks is a
distinguished attorney, dedicated teacher and tireless
advocate for the underprivileged,” said WBA President
Kathy Jo Cook. "She has been a strong leader on issues
of critical importance to the WBA's mission of creating
a just and equitable society. It is our hope that the
Governor's Council will strengthen the bench by
confirming her nomination to the
Middlesex Probate and Family Court.
This endorsement continues
the WBA's strong tradition of endorsing qualified
judicial candidates. In 2007, the WBA endorsed the
nomination of Margot Botsford to the Massachusetts
Supreme Judicial Court and spoke out to support judicial
independence. The WBA's Appointments, Awards and
Endorsements Committee encourages and supports women in
seeking nominations to the bench and works throughout
the year to identify and endorse qualified judicial
candidates.
"Because the WBA has a
deep commitment to the principles of equality and
justice, we take seriously the prospect of endorsing any
judicial candidate," said WBA Appointments, Awards and
Endorsements co-chair Christine Netski. "Our committee
and our leadership performed extensive research
concerning Monks's qualifications. We are proud to say
that we support her and we believe that she will be a
great asset to the bench.”
About the Women's Bar
Association of Massachusetts
Founded in 1978 by a group of activist women
lawyers, the Women's Bar Association is one of the
oldest and largest bar associations in the country.
Today, the organization boasts a membership of nearly
1,600 women lawyers, judges and law students across
Massachusetts. The WBA is committed to the full and
equal participation of women in the legal profession and
in a just society. The WBA works to achieve this mission
through committees and task forces, and by developing
and promoting a legislative agenda to address society's
most critical social and legal issues. Other WBA
activities include drafting amicus briefs, studying
employment issues affecting women, encouraging women to
enter the judiciary, recognizing the achievement of
women in the law, and providing pro bono services to
women in need through supporting its charitable sister
organization, the Women's Bar Foundation. For more
information, visit
www.womensbar.org.
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