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President 2009-2010 Lisa Gilford |
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AUGUST 2009
After a year filled with many unexpected events and challenges for our nation and for our world, I would like to begin my tenure as President of the National Association of Women Lawyers by offering my sincere appreciation and gratitude.
Thank you.
Thank you to all of our members, sponsors, honorees, distinguished guests, colleagues and friends for supporting NAWL over the past year.
Thank you because, despite the downturn in the economy, despite the tightening of our collective budgetary belts, all of you have shown that NAWL and its mission are important to you. Thank you because, due to your support and the energetic and attentive leadership of Lisa Horowitz, we have had a terrific year. A year filled with hallmark professional development programming for women lawyers, including a sold-out Mid-Year Program in Atlanta and a standing-room-only General Counsel Institute in New York. A year filled with continued advocacy for women’s rights and access to justice through our Amicus Committee. A year in which we have continued to act globally on behalf of our sisters in other countries through the International Committee. A year in which we have spoken out against injustices such as the California Supreme Court upholding Proposition 8. A year in which we have gotten together to network, support good causes, and remember the importance serving the less fortunate through our NAWL Nights of Giving, the brainchild of Lisa Horowitz, and sure to be a lasting legacy.
It should be no surprise that NAWL continues to grow and thrive, even in the tough times. After all, this organization has been around for 110 years and has survived two World Wars, the Great Depression, recessions of all sizes and many other world altering events. Throughout this time, NAWL members -- male and female -- have worked together to improve the status of women in and under the law, thus improving the legal profession as a whole.
We have accomplished a great deal in the last year, and we should be proud of ourselves. We also have a great deal to look forward to. I, personally, am looking forward to the confirmation of Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor, NAWL’s Arabella Babb Mansfield Award winner in 2000, as the third woman and first woman of color to serve as a Justice. I look forward to seeing what the newly minted White House Council on Women and Girls will contribute. And I look forward to another year with the NAWL Board, and meeting with new and longstanding members and supporters at our programs and events.
Please do not hesitate to contact me at Lisa.Gilford@alston.com if I can be of service to you or your organization.
Lisa Gilford
NAWL President 2009-2010
