Highlights of Presidency:
The 2007-2008 year was a year of growth, expansion, and many “firsts.” It was a year of reaching out, inclusion, and with it a sense that we at WBASNY and those outside our immediate circle have more in common than our differences. By-laws were amended as we collaboratively worked to make WBASNY matter.
Committees are at the heart of any organization; it is where ideas are born and take shape. Words also matter, so the Working Mothers Committee was renamed the Working Parents Committee. And to ensure everyone could participate, WBASNY members were encouraged to bring their children to board meetings. The Working Parents Committee also continued its ongoing work on the statewide Parental & Family Leave Survey issued to state and local government offices in New York on the availability of parental & family leave, part-time and flextime positions for attorneys.
Some committees are established in response to what is happening at the time. We established an Education Committee in response to changes in the law taking place focusing on children with disabilities. The Intellectual Property Committee was in response to Federal Legislation to support granting patents to “first to invent” vs. “first to file”, a disadvantage to inventors, often women, who did not have financial resources.
The newly formed Health Committee spearheaded an October green ribbon campaign to increase awareness of depression in women. The Committee established a “Health Corner” in the WBASNY newsletter, addressing health issues affecting women. In March 2008 the Health Committee, together with the Children’s Rights Committee, presented a groundbreaking event at Fordham Law School, entitled “How the Legal System Addresses Mental Health Issues Affecting Children,” a multi-dimensional approach to understanding child brain development and mental illness.
The Reproductive Rights Committee focused on privacy rights and codifying those rights on the 35th anniversary of Roe v Wade. The Press and Public Relations Committee was created to not only prepare press releases but advise chapters on how they could publicize major events. The Judicial Screening Committee created the guidelines for use in evaluating judicial candidates; that year we screened for two vacancies on the Court of Appeals. The Legislation Committee vetted bills, many of which we supported, such as the Fair Pay Restoration Act (FPRA) and No-Fault Divorce.
As we continued to expand our reach and work towards increasing diversity in WBASNY, the newly formed Diversity Committee actively reached out to minority bar associations, organizing joint programs and events throughout the state. Programs ranged from professional gatherings and information sharing, to mentoring high school students to increasing diversity in private law firms by creating internship opportunities for minority students. We also invited minority bar associations to our March board meeting at Fordham Law School, as well as Fordham Law student. It was the same meeting where the late Chief Judge Kay dazzled us with her warm presentation, taking her trademark red shoes off on stage, aptly naming her talk with us “A Conversation with Friends.” And friends we were.
WBASNY co-sponsored a “No Fault Divorce” Summit – together with the Office of Court Administration, NYS Bar and NYC Bar Association and pushed for the expansion of the NYS Parent Education Awareness Program, protecting children embroiled in divorce or separation with a child center approach.
Looking to the future of WBASNY three important by-laws amendments were passed: 1) Long Range Planning Standing Committee, which was embraced with energy and optimism and an understanding that we needed to intentionally move forward as an organization and, 2) the addition of the position “Corresponding Secretary” to WBASNY’s leadership, not only necessary for the increasing growth of our communications network, but to add an additional voice from a another chapter, as WBASNY continued to grow and an increasing number of chapters were being formed.
That year, I had the honor of attending the Finger Lakes chapter’s first installation dinner.
Connecting further, throughout the year, we met with Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau and Chief Judge Kay to discuss issues important to the courts and issues important to WBASNY. We invited Judge Pfau to our January board meeting to give a “State of the Court” address which informed our members in real time the successes and challenges facing the court, attorneys, and litigants — and the State of the Court address became an annual tradition at WBASNY.
On the international front we continued to reach out and WBASNY’s International Women’s Rights Committee furthered our influence beyond our borders. Although WBASNY had obtained DPI status (Department of Public Information) with the United Nations, we expanded WBASNY’s international profile by filing for Special Consultative Status with ECOSOC (Economic and Social Council) which was approved by the United Nations the following year and gives WBASNY the ability to consult with other entities such as NGO’s, Bar Associations from other countries, and UN Departments, in areas in which we have expertise.
WBASNY co-sponsored, with the League of Women Voters, a United Nations “Briefing on the Effects of War on Women Around the World.” We met with the International Women’s Rights delegation of Iraqi lawyers to discuss women’s issues, co-sponsored a rally to support lawyers and judges in Pakistan who were dealing with the suppression of the rule of law in their country; and met with a delegation of women lawyers from South Africa who had recently established a Women’s Bar Association, to share our expertise and experiences. In April 2008 we hosted a magnificent event at the UN- “Women, Peace and Security: A New Reality-Multidisciplinary Approaches to Security Council Resolution 1325,” which addressed the impact of armed conflict on women and children and women’s contribution to conflict resolution and sustainable peace. Important long-lasting relationships with then Deputy Prosecutor Fatou Bensouda of the International Criminal Court and others were forged.
In May 2008, in my capacity as WBASNY President, I authored an article, “Women and the Rule of Law: The Last 50 Years.” in celebration of Law Day which was published in the New York Law Journal.
In sum, during my term as WBASNY president, our collective work elevated WBASNY’s engagement, outreach, and commitment to Women’s Rights to the international level.