Items of Interest


  • 11/12/2018 3:17 PM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    We are excited to announce that we have total of four 1L Diversity Scholarships available this year in addition to a 1L Patent Prosecution Scholarship in our Seattle office!

    We would very much appreciate your help in bringing our diversity and patent scholarships information to the attention of your first-year law student members! Our online application site will be open on December 1st through January 2nd for our Patent Prosecution Scholarship and through January 6th for our Diversity Scholarship. Please click here for more information.

    Additionally, we want to invite 1L students who might be in Pacific Northwest over the holidays to come meet us at the following event:

    Seattle: Seattle Area Legal Recruiting Association (SALRA) is hosting their annual Diversity Reception on Thursday, January 3, 2019 at 5:00 pm (at Schwabe Williamson and Wyatt). It will be a great opportunity to meet attorneys and recruiters from firms all over Seattle, most of whom offer 1L Diversity Scholarships. Although information is not yet updated, please visit the SALRA website here for more details within the next couple of weeks.

    If you have any questions, please don’t hesitate to contact us!

    For New York, Portland, and Washington D.C. Scholarships

    Hiroko Peraza

    Diversity Outreach Recruitment Manager

    Email: hirokoperaza@dwt.com

    For Seattle 1L Diversity and Seattle Patent Scholarships

    Brook Dormaier

    Law Student Recruiting Manager

    Email: brookdormaier@dwt.com


  • 11/08/2018 3:54 PM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    MAMA Seattle is thrilled to announce it is now accepting applications for the 2019 Ladder Down program. Information about the program, the 2019 schedule, and applications are available here:

    http://www.mamaseattle.org/ladder-down.html

    Ladder Down is a business development program for women attorneys in all practice areas at any level. It lasts a year and the class meets once or twice a month. Led by an experienced faculty of nationally recognized career coaches, the program provides a structured, proven approach to help lawyers take their careers to the next level by focusing on helping women attorneys develop skills to build a book of business or rise through the corporate counsel ranks and enhance leadership skills. Faculty members Marianne Trost and Lynn Moran will lead group presentations on Saturday mornings, supported by monthly small group sessions that allow for individualized follow up and accountability. Panel discussions and individual consultations round out the formal program. Ladder Down participants also benefit from the support, mentoring, and referral network developed between fellow participants. Also, as a participant, you will receive 27.5 CLE credits.

    The year-long program begins January 11, 2019, and the application deadline is December 1, 2018. The schedule, curriculum, faculty bios, tuition, and scholarship information and the application are all posted on the MAMA Seattle website.

    This is an amazing opportunity for a select group of women attorneys to have access to personalized business development and leadership training designed to take you and your career to the next level. Past participants have included small, medium, and large firm partners and associates, corporate counsel, in-house counsel, government attorneys, and attorneys in (or looking to) transition. Email ladderdown@mamaseattle.org; mhaddad@helsell.com; or rachel.reynolds@lewisbrisbois.com with questions or contacts to previous class participants about their experience.


  • 10/24/2018 4:20 PM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    Once again in partnership with The Judicial Institute, Seattle University Law School is sponsoring the 2019 Judicial Institute Fellows Clinic for those attorneys from a diverse background interested in pursuing a judicial career in the future.  Please note the Judicial Institute has a new website:  www.judicialinstitutewa.org

    APPLICATION PROCESS & FEE – DEADLINE Friday November 9, 2018

    Interested applicants with at least eight years or more of experience should submit a letter of interest, resume, and an application. The application materials are available at www.judicialinstitutewa.org 

    Fellows accepted into the Judicial Fellows Clinic will be assessed a $100 fee. If this fee will pose a hardship, please notify the Judicial Institute at info@judicialinstitute.org.

    CONTACTS

    Chach Duarte White, Chair of the Application and Selection Committee, 206-499-1681 or info@judicialinstitute.org.


    More details are here.

  • 10/02/2018 11:45 AM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    MAMA Seattle invites you to attend our next monthly lunch seminar:

    How to Lean In While Leaning Out

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When:

    Tuesday, October 2nd, 2018, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m. Presentation will be from 12-1, with networking time before and after.

    Where:

    Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, 1420 Fifth Ave., Suite 3400, Seattle, WA 98101

    RSVP: through Big Tent (preferred if you are a MAMAS member) or by email to lunchseminars@mamaseattle.org. Please identify if you will attend in person in Seattle or if you will participate by phone.

    How to lean in while leaning out: A panel discussion featuring four attorneys who will discuss taking time off or working part-time while raising young kids and address how to stay engaged and on track while on extended leave or part-time in order to facilitate the move back to “leaning in.”

    Averil Rothrock. Averil Rothrock has over 20 years of litigation experience and has advocated in more than 50 appeals in Washington’s Court of Appeals and 14 review proceedings before the Washington State Supreme Court, in addition to regular work in the Ninth Circuit. Averil also helps clients who are not parties use the amicus curiae process to provide input to the courts on issues of concern. Averil served as Chair of the Appellate Section of the King County Bar Association from 2012-2013. Averil is a member of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association, which admits members based on demonstrated appellate credentials. Averil serves on the Board of the King County Bar Foundation and the WSBA’s Civil Litigation Rules Drafting Task Force and performs pro bono work for Grandmothers Against Gun Violence, the ACLU and the Southern Poverty Law Center. Averil started as an associate at Schwabe in 1994 as a commercial litigator. She has reinvented her practice a few times, and counts career survival after “off-ramping” among her accomplishments.

    Sharon Rutberg. Sharon Rutberg is a founding member of Salmon Bay Law Group, PLLC, located in Ballard and providing legal services in the areas of estate planning and probate. Sharon is also the mother of two young-adult children. She returned to practicing law in 2014 after a hiatus of 14 years. Sharon began her legal career in corporate litigation and government regulation in Washington, D.C. She worked at Wilmer, Cutler & Pickering (now WilmerHale), the U.S. State Department, and the Office of the White House Counsel, where she worked on the Whitewater hearings. In 1997, Sharon left full-time paid employment to raise her two young children. With unexpected family moves to the Bay Area and then Seattle, a planned short break turned into a long period away from the practice of law. In the interim, Sharon was a “stay at home mom” with a series of part-time work roles, paid and volunteer, law-related and otherwise. In 2006, Sharon started a freelance legal editing business. Sharon became a member of the Washington State Bar Association in 2014. Today, Sharon is a member of the Real Property, Probate & Trust (RPPT) Sections of the Washington State Bar Association and King County Bar Association, serves on the editorial board of the Washington Bar Association’s RPPT Newsletter, and volunteers with the International Refugee Assistance Project (IRAP). She also belongs to the National Association of Elder Law Attorneys (NAELA) and the Washington Association of Elder Law Attorneys (WAELA). Sharon is currently pursuing a LLM in Elder Law at Seattle University School of Law. When she is not practicing law, Sharon enjoys reading, walking her dogs, and spending time with her husband and children.

    Robin Schachter. Robin Schachter is Director of Corporate Relations at Gamoran Legal Consulting. Robin was a member of the MAMA Seattle board of directors for five years, serving as its President in 2015. She has been an advocate for the success of women and mothers in the legal profession for her entire career and was instrumental in bringing the Ladder Down program to Seattle. Her daughter is now a sophomore in high school. Robin will be happy to show you the photos of her little grandsons, courtesy of her stepdaughter and daughter-in-law! Robin was a partner at the law firm Ryan Swanson & Cleveland for 10 years, after starting her civil trial law career there as an associate. In 2013, she joined the legal recruiting firm of Gamoran Legal Consulting, where she helps law firms and corporate legal departments find great lawyers, and works with individual attorneys to hone their career options. She regularly advises attorneys who have taken sabbaticals or breaks in their traditional careers, and is proud to have placed several women in new legal careers during a pending pregnancy. Prior to becoming a lawyer, Robin worked as a stage manager for the Alaska Repertory Theatre in Anchorage and founded a semi-professional theatre company in Fayetteville, Arkansas. She managed field operations and sales for her family’s national fresh produce marketing business, based from a vineyard in the Finger Lakes of New York, and helped run a residential contracting and spec home company before moving to Seattle to attend law school at the University of Washington. Her nontraditional career path helps Robin advise others on how to identify and market the strengths and talents we develop throughout all aspects of our lives.

    Elisa Ford. Elisa Ford is a solo practitioner whose practice focuses exclusively on humanitarian and family immigration law. Elisa is a former Clerk to the Honorable Robin Hunt of the Washington State Court of Appeals, Division II and has a diverse background in public interest law and complex statutory and regulatory analysis. She served as a Policy Analyst for the Maryland State Legislature and as an Associate at a small plaintiff’s law firm in Baltimore, MD, focused on providing relief to inner city-children poisoned by lead paint. Dedicated to promoting access to legal services, Elisa has provided pro bono legal services as a volunteer with the CARA Family Detention Pro Bono Project (CARA), the Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP), and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND). In May of 2015, Elisa traveled to Dilley, Texas, where she spent a week volunteering with CARA to provide pro bono legal assistance to women and children refugees detained in prison-like conditions at the South Texas Residential Detention Center. Elisa also enjoys volunteering at One America's Citizenship Day events in WA, helping low-income legal permanent residents prepare naturalization applications. When not working, Elisa enjoys exploring the trails and waterways of the Northwest with her husband and twin 8-year old boys.

    We encourage you to attend our lunch seminar in person to facilitate both networking and a lively discussion.

    Please bring your lunch, join us for this presentation, and meet fellow MAMAS members! Cookies will be provided.

    For those who cannot attend in person, we offer the option to participate by phone.

    Call in #: 888-757-0729; Passcode: 1396142354#

    When attending via telephone, please use your mute button to prevent background noise, but do not place the call on hold. Some firms have hold music, which is disruptive to the presentation. If you need to leave the call briefly, please hang up and call back in when you are able.

    MAMA Seattle would also like to thank our

    Platinum sponsors:

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

    Garvey Schubert Barer

    K&L Gates LLP

    Yarmuth Wilsdon PLLC

    Gold sponsors:

    Keller Rohrback LLP

    Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

    Perkins Coie LLP

    Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

    Summit Law Group PLLC

    www.MAMASeattle.org


  • 07/21/2018 12:03 PM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    Washington Women Lawyers is seeking nominations for individuals to receive two very special awards at our upcoming Annual Event this October:

    Passing the Torch Award. Intended to recognize an individual who has gone above and beyond with regard to mentoring women lawyers and “passing the torch” to others in a way that supports the WWL mission of furthering the full integration of women in the legal profession, promoting equal rights and opportunities for women, and preventing discrimination against them.

    Legacy Award. Created in 2009 to memorialize the inspiring personal and professional legacies within the organization, such as the legacies of founding and key sustaining members, so that current and former members can understand, honor and build upon that progress.

    This is a golden opportunity for you to show a fellow member that you’ve noticed their contributions and believe them worthy of special WWL recognition!

    To nominate someone for an award, please fill out the appropriate form and return it to Liz Findley at secretary@wwl.org by Saturday, August 4, 2018. A list of past award recipients is included with the nomination forms and can also be found on the WWL website.

    Thank you, and we look forward to spending time with you at the Annual Event on October 12, 2018!



  • 07/20/2018 4:35 PM | WWL Admin (Administrator)
    Gonzaga University is offering a Certificate in Women’s Leadership, a 3-
    month, non-degree course to learn skills and practices for advancing women in
    the workplace. Applications are due Aug. 3. Learn more at
    https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/departments/women-in-
    leadership/certificate-in-womens-leadership.

    Gonzaga University is offering a Certificate in Women’s Leadership, a 3-month, non-degree course to learn skills and practices for advancing women in the workplace. Applications are due Aug. 3. Learn more at https://www.gonzaga.edu/school-of-leadership-studies/departments/women-in-leadership/certificate-in-womens-leadership.


  • 06/05/2018 11:45 AM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    MAMA Seattle invites you to attend our next monthly lunch seminar:

     

    TIPS FROM IN-HOUSE COUNSEL:

    HOW TO GET AND KEEP OUR BUSINESS

    ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

    When:

    Tuesday, June 5th, 2018, from 11:45 a.m. to 1:15 p.m.  Presentation will be from 12-1, with networking time before and after.

     

    Where: 

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP, 1201 Third Ave., Floor 22, Seattle, WA 98101

     

    RSVP:  through Big Tent (preferred if you are a MAMAS member) or by email to lunchseminars@mamaseattle.org.  Please identify if you will attend in person in Seattle or if you will participate by phone.

     

    This panel will share tips and insights from the in-house perspective—what to do and not to do to get and keep their business. 

     

    Tori Lallemont.  Tori is General Counsel at 98point6, a company providing expert, on-demand primary care, diagnosis, and treatment from board certified physicians via private and secure in-app messaging.  Tori currently manages a team of six and focuses on the corporate practice of medicine, HIPAA, contracts, ERISA, and employment matters.  Prior to joining 98point6, Tori’s practice focused on all aspects of healthcare privacy, security, FDA regulations, pediatric research and clinical trials, and pharmaceutical and device development.  She has a law degree and Masters in public health from of the University of Washington.  Tori has an 18-month-old son who is obsessed with Elmo and The Lorax. 

     

    Kristina Bennard.  Kristina is Senior Corporate Counsel, Litigation at Expedia, Inc., where she manages regulatory compliance, litigation regarding industry regulation, and legal advice to Expedia Government Affairs concerning short term rental and tax regulations for Expedia’s subsidiary, HomeAway.  Prior to joining Expedia, Kristina spent time in-house at The Boeing Company, and in private practice at Yarmuth Wilsdon and Davis Wright Tremaine, where she focused her practice on complex commercial litigation.  She’s a graduate of Harvard Law School.  And, she’s a mom to a delightful and active nine-year-old daughter.   

     

    Pamela Helman.  Pamela is Senior Corporate Counsel at MOD Pizza where she is the head of Litigation and Employment Law.  She works in conjunction with the business groups daily to mitigate risks to the company.  Prior to joining MOD Pizza, Pam was an employment lawyer with several law firms, most recently Littler Mendelson in Seattle, where she advised employers on a broad range of employment matters, including non-competition/solicitation agreements, wage and overtime, discrimination and harassment, privacy, leave policies, and handbooks.   

     

    Pam is a graduate of The Pennsylvania State University and University of Pittsburgh School of Law, she also spent a semester abroad at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem.  She was a participant in the 2017 Ladder Down Class.  Pam and her husband, Michael, live in Redmond with their two adorable kids - an eight year old son and a seven year old daughter.  Pam comes from Pittsburgh, PA and is learning to accept her kids’ new found love of the Seahawks, as long as they are not playing the beloved Steelers.

     

    Brittany Johnson.  Brittany is a global commercial attorney at Starbucks Coffee Company.  She specializes in domestic and international licensing/franchising transactions and has helped Starbucks expand throughout Latin America, Asia, and Europe.  Brittany is also the lead lawyer for Starbucks Latin America & Caribbean.  In this role, she advises the business unit on everything from supply chain matters, to digital and technology agreements, to marketing campaigns. 

     

    Brittany is an advocate for increasing diversity in the legal profession and is the current co-chair of the Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Diversity & Inclusion Committee.  As co-chair, Brittany is responsible for all department diversity and inclusion programming, including the Starbucks law firm diversity survey, the mentorship program, and the Gregoire Fellows program.  Starbucks recently selected Brittany as the company’s 2018 Fellow for the Leadership Council on Legal Diversity.

     

    Prior to joining Starbucks, Brittany practiced franchise and distribution law at the Denver, Colorado office of a large national firm.  She’s a graduate of the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and attended the University of Colorado as an undergraduate, where she studied International Affairs.

     

    Brittany is also the proud mother of a two-year-old son, Logan, who loves to make messes and mischief.  Brittany loves traveling and enjoying great food, wine, and scenery with her husband and college sweetheart, Brian.  She’s currently training for her first half-marathon and welcomes any and all running advice and tips!   

     

     

    We encourage you to attend our lunch seminar in person to facilitate both networking and a lively discussion. 

     

    Please bring your lunch and join us for this presentation, and meet fellow MAMAS members!  Cookies will be provided. 

     

    For those who cannot attend in person, we offer the option to participate by phone.

    Call in #: 888-757-0729;  Passcode: 1396142354#

     

    When attending via telephone, please use your mute button to prevent background noise, but do not place the call on hold.  Some firms have hold music, which is disruptive to the presentation.  If you need to leave the call briefly, please hang up and call back in when you are able.


     

    MAMA Seattle would also like to thank our

     

    Platinum sponsors:

    Davis Wright Tremaine LLP

    Garvey Schubert Barer

    K&L Gates LLP

    Yarmuth Wilsdon PLLC

     

    Gold sponsors:

    Keller Rohrback LLP

    Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP

    Perkins Coie LLP

    Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt

    Summit Law Group PLLC

     

    www.MAMASeattle.org

     

     


  • 05/22/2018 8:00 AM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    STRAPWA NATIONAL SEX TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE

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    Event to be held at the following time, date, and location:

    Tuesday, May 22, 2018 at 8:00 AM 
    - to -
    Thursday, May 24, 2018 at 12:00 PM (PDT)

    Greater Tacoma Convention Center
    1500 Commerce Street
    Tacoma, WA 98402

    View Map

    Attend Event

    Share this event:

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    STRAPWA National Sex Trafficking Conference

    Combating Sex Trafficking Through a Multi-Disciplinary Approach

    STRAPWA would like to remind you of our upcoming

    National Sex Trafficking Conference!

    May 22nd-24th at The Greater Tacoma Convention Center in Tacoma, WA

     

    8 days left of our Early-Bird Special Pricing! Now through March 31st, get single attendance tickets for $285!

    We are now offering a group rate, as well! If you buy 5 or more tickets, each ticket price goes down to $150!!

     

    Interested in having your agency table at our conference? For $250, your agency can join other local and national businesses in a fantastic networking opportunity! 

     

    We now have a complete list of all of our speakers avaliable to view! At the bottom of this email is a list of our speakers through Sched: with the Sched app, you can also see our formal agenda, a complete list of speakers, and set up your own customized agenda to use at our conference. 

     

    Currently, we have a room block at Hotel Murano, 0.2 miles away from the Greater Tacoma Convention Center, for a King Delux or Delux Two Double at $150/night. If you purchase a hotel room, tell Hotel Murano that you are with the Rebuilding Hope room block. We hope to have you join us in May 2018! 

     

    Continuing Education credits are avaliable through this conference! For specific questions regarding continuing education credits, please contact for further information. 

     

    To respond to the demand for professional training and development of a multi-disciplinary team approach to commercial sexual exploitation/sex trafficking around the county, Rebuilding Hope! Sexual Assault Center for Pierce County will be hosting a national sex trafficking conference event for professionals who work with 

    children, youths and adults who experience sex trafficking. The conference will provide top-level training across multiple tracks in order to meet the educational needs of a multi-disciplinary team response to sex trafficking, including focus areas for mental health providers, clinicians, social work/service providers, advocates, first responders, law enforcement, prosecutors, judges, medical providers, forensic interviewers and community coalition mobilizers.

    Tacoma/Pierce County, Washington professionals and community members have found it necessary that multiple opportunities to gain quality, up-to-date and diverse training every year be made available not only to professionals and community members from the Pacific Northwest, but also from across the United States. This conference aims to provide such an opportunity by welcoming nationwide responders to the country's sex trafficking problem in order to share valuable information across disciplines and to engage in ongoing networking in the hopes of forming a unified alliance to reducing and, ultimately, eliminating sex trafficking in our neighborhoods. We aim to ensure our workshops provide the most requested topics of interest and are instructed by the highest quality of trainers who are experienced and relevant to the current fight against sex trafficking.


  • 05/10/2018 10:00 AM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    Sexual Harassment: Changing the Conversationsa FREE 75-minute webcast on May 9, 2018, 10:00 a.m. PST

     

    Invite your colleagues, employees and friends to a discussion about the needed conversations regarding our workplace environments, behaviors and culture. This program, available live in-person and via webcast, will focus on beginning or changing the conversations about creating a respectful and positive work atmosphere. It is not intended to address the legal issues associated with sexual harassment.

     

    Our hope for the program is to share information about the important conversations and point to useful materials available on the topic.  You may consider gathering colleagues and watching the program in a group setting and encourage further discussion following the program. This is a member service and is not intended to offer CLE credit as it has not been developed with MCLE rules in mind.  

     

    Click on the link for the program registration page, bit.ly/2Ghe8ml or share the program link with other professionals.   

     


  • 04/25/2018 10:19 AM | WWL Admin (Administrator)

    Starbucks Corporation Law & Corporate Affairs Department 2018-19 Diversity Mentorship Program Starbucks Law & Corporate Affairs Department is pleased to solicit participants for the Starbucks Diversity Mentorship Program. This program will connect Starbucks in-house lawyers with private practice junior attorneys from diverse backgrounds in one-to-one mentorship relationships. Starbucks legal department boasts one of the most experienced and diverse groups of attorneys in the region, and its lawyers are excited to share their insights into learning the practice of law, succeeding in law firm and other private practice environments, and for those who are interested, planning for in-house career opportunities. 


    Following a kick-off reception for incoming mentees and past participants, this program will foster direct, informal interactions over a one-year period to help diverse junior attorneys learn their craft and network in the local community of legal professionals and business leaders. The program is open to all lawyers in private practice in their first six years as an attorney, and who are members of one or more minority bar associations or diversity affinity groups. 


    If you are interested in applying, please submit a cover letter and resume to Sonya Goykhman at sgoykhma@starbucks.com by Friday, June 1. In your cover letter, please identify your current area of practice (and your desired area, if different), your general interest in receiving mentoring, and the minority bar association(s) or affinity group(s) to which you belong. If you have any questions, you may contact committee chairs Joanie Kim (jokim@starbucks.com) or Brittany Johnson (brijohns@starbucks.com).

If you are a member or from the public and have an event or news to share, please post it here below!  All events or news must be of interest to WWL members.

Note: WWL reserves the right to delete any comments that are not of interest to WWL members.