Looking Ahead to a New Year for the WBA

 It is a pleasure for me to write this column as the new President of the Women’s Bar Association. I am both honored and excited to undertake this leadership role. I strongly support the WBA’s commitment to the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. For nearly 30 years, the WBA has been a critically important voice for the rights of women, minorities, and other disenfranchised groups. We have made our voice heard in the legislature, in the judiciary, in the legal profession, and in the community in which we live. During my presidential term, I hope to continue and build upon our important work, and I look forward to working with the members of the WBA to further our goals.

This year, we will continue to advocate for our legislative priorities under the leadership of Ann Morse Hartner, Chair of the WBA Legislative Policy Committee. These priorities include protecting the right of same sex couples to marry, ending discrimination in insurance, ensuring that incarcerated women are treated humanely during their pregnancies, modernizing the inheritance laws affecting women, and protecting nursing mothers from discrimination. We will continue to file amicus briefs in cases affecting the rights of women and other underrepresented groups under the leadership of Andrea Kramer, Chair of the WBA Amicus Committee. We will continue to work with the Commonwealth’s Judicial Nominating Committee and provide resources to women entering the judiciary under the leadership of Chris Netski, Chair of the WBA Appointments, Awards and Endorsements Committee. We will continue to provide pro bono legal services to the victims of domestic violence programs and others through the Women’s Bar Foundation, our charitable sister organization. And we will continue to serve the needs of women attorneys throughout Massachusetts through our 21 committees and 13 mentoring circles.

In recent years, much has been said about the failure of women attorneys to advance in the legal profession at rates equal to men. This problem is particularly pronounced at major law firms, where women constitute only 16% to 17% of equity partners despite the fact that they are nearly 50% of each incoming class. I believe that law firms want to solve this problem, and indeed it is in their economic interest to retain their talented women attorneys. As a partner at a law firm myself, I understand the economic costs of attorney attrition and the disruption to client service that may result. The WBA has always supported women attorneys struggling with career choices, and will continue to do so. I believe we are ready to go to the next step, and support law firms and other legal organizations in their efforts to retain and advance women attorneys.  Over the next several months, I will be meeting privately with the managing partners of law firms throughout Massachusetts to discuss what they perceive to be the challenges to the advancement of women attorneys at their firms, what has worked, what hasn’t, and - perhaps most importantly--what the WBA can do to help them in their efforts. We will then plan our next steps, which will be tailored to what Massachusetts law firms want and need.  Stay tuned!

I would like to close by saying a few words about outgoing President Kitty O’Connor. Kitty and I have come to know each other very well over the last year, and I am in awe of her accomplishments. Kitty is a consummate professional who is truly and selflessly devoted to women’s rights. She helped advance the WBA’s legislative priorities, particularly with respect to spousal elective share, which is finally moving forward after many years of stalling in the legislature. As President, Kitty fostered a spirit of collegiality on the board and made every person feel that her voice was heard. Kitty served as President of the WBA while practicing law full-time, taking classes at night, and raising her young granddaughter. Kitty, I congratulate you on a terrific year, and look forward to continuing our work together.