The 2021 Lavender Law® Conference will be held virtually from Wednesday, July 28 through Friday, July 30.
The Career Fair will be held on Friday, July 30 from 2:00pm – 6:00pm Eastern.
Lavender Law® features general attendance sessions, on-demand workshops, and specialty programming designed for family law practitioners, transgender advocates, corporate counsel and those interested in pursuing a career as a member of the judiciary.
On-Demand Workshops
In addition to live conference programming, all Lavender Law® registrants have will access to over 60 on-demand workshops. These 90-minute workshops will become available on Wednesday, July 28 and may be accessed until Thursday, September 30. Please click on ‘On-Demand Workshops’ below and scroll down to view program descriptions and speakers. (Please note that speakers are still in progress for some workshops; check back in May for final program lineups.)
Note on CLE Reporting
Following the conference, you will be sent information explaining how to report your attendance for CLE credit in your state. Each on-demand video that you watch will display a numerical code at some point in the video. Please write down these codes as you watch, as you will need them later on when reporting attendance.
Please note that while you are welcome to watch as many on-demand programs as you would like, you may only claim up to 7 on-demand programs (10.5 hours’ worth) for CLE credit. You will also be able to claim CLE credit for three of the plenaries being shown during the live portion of the conference (4.5 hours available), as well as for other live programming that offers CLE credit, such as programs housed within Institutes.
2021 Program Schedule
All times listed below are in Eastern Time.
- Wednesday, July 28
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Wednesday, July 28, 2021
Time Event Speakers Location 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Guided Conversations TBA Guided Conversation for Law Students What to Expect this Week!
Whether you're a first-time law student attendee of Lavender Law® or have been to the conference in prior years, you won't want to miss this informative session! Join this discussion led by leaders in the LGBTQ+ Bar's Law Student Congress to learn about all the Conference offerings, particularly those relevant to law students. Get your questions answered, and meet students from around the country as we kick off Lavender Law® 2021.
Led by LSC Co-Chair Danielle LeGrand, LSC Board member Will Lanier, and LSC Board member Servando MartinezWill Lanier (Fordham University School of Law)
Servando Martinez (University of Nevada Las Vegas School of Law)TBA Guided Conversation for Lawyers Welcome to Lavender Law®!
Whether you're a first-time attendee of Lavender Law® or have been to the conference in prior years, you won't want to miss this conversation in the Lavender Lounge! Join the LGBT Bar's Chief Program Officer, Judi O'Kelley, for an informal chat to say hi, ask questions about the week's schedule or the platform, and get a solid start as we kick off Lavender Law® 2021. Drop ins are welcome!Judi O'Kelley (Moderator) (National LGBTQ+ Bar Association) TBA 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Welcome and Awards Program TBA Leading Family Law Practitioner, Leading Legal Aid/Legal Service Practitioner, and Dan Bradley awards will be presented.TBA TBA 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm General Attendance Plenary I TBA The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress The advent of the Biden/Harris administration heralds a reboot of federal policy with respect to LGBTQ+ equity. The past four years of the Trump/Pence administration witnessed tremendous rollbacks of hard-won gains, such as the revocation of President Obama's commitments to transgender servicemembers serving openly and equally, the elimination of sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination provisions in Sec. 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the issuance of Department of Education guidance falsely purporting that Title IX does not protect transgender students in schools, etc. Moreover, the former administration assailed the LGBTQ+ community with new harms, including regulations allowing homeless shelters to discrimination against transgender people, court briefs filed by the US Department of Justice taking the position that businesses must be permitted to opt out of complying with local pro-LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination laws, nominating anti-LGBTQ+ judges to the federal courts, and many more. This panel will discuss the progress that the Biden/Harris administration has made in working to reverse this damage and advance its stated commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Our speakers will also explore the extent to which both the new President and the 117th Congress are likely to be able to achieve significant progress toward the overall well-being of LGBTQ+ people, through avenues such as the Equality Act as well as other legislation which would disproportionately benefit LGBTQ+ people.Alphonso David (Human Rights Campaign)
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen (National Center for Transgender Equality)
Pamela Karlan (Department of Justice)
Sharon McGowan (Lambda Legal)
Tobias Barrington Wolff (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)TBA 2:15 pm - 3:45 pm General Attendance Plenary II TBA A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices Four trailblazing Supreme Court Justices will discuss their unique backgrounds, their pathways to the bench and the barriers faced along the way. The Justices will each touch upon the challenges they still face as LGBTQ judges and why being out and being visible matters even more in today’s society. After the discussion, the Justice will be answering your questions about how to continue an LGBTQ pipeline in the legal profession.
Not for CLE credit.Justice Andrew McDonald (Connecticut Supreme Court)
Justice Sabrina S. McKenna (Hawaii Supreme Court)
Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodriguez (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico)
Justice G. Helen Whitener (Washington Supreme Court)TBA 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Guided Conversations TBA Guided Conversation for Law Students Zoom Like a Professional!
Your résumé is on point, but how's your lighting? Prepare for the virtual Career Fair by visiting with Elisabeth Steele, Zoom Stylist at Elisabeth Steele, LLC (www.elisabethsteele.com). Elisabeth provides lively and engaging workshops to legal professionals on how to communicate effectively on camera using tips from news broadcasters, cinematographers, gamers, and YouTubers. Join us in the Law Student Lounge for lessons from Elisabeth; there will be time for everyone to practice and bump up your Zoom skills to prepare for your Friday interviews.
Taught by Elisabeth SteeleElisabeth Steele (University of Hawai'i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law) TBA Guided Conversation for Lawyers Racial Equity in the Workplace: Have Legal Workspaces Changed since the Summer of 2020?
Join Hogan Lovells' Global Head of Diversity & Inclusion and LGBT Bar Board Member Bendita Cynthia Malakia in the Lavender Lounge for a guided informal talk about how legal workplaces have - or have not - changed over the past year to reflect the national demand for racial equity.Bendita Cynthia Malakia (O’Melveny & Myers) TBA 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm VIP/Top Sponsor Panel (By Invitation Only) TBA Uncertainties for Law Firms and Companies in a COVID-19 World BY INVITATION ONLY.
While work never stopped, even during the worst of the pandemic, the return to the workplace invites new challenges to employers in every industry. How do employers contend with staffing and hiring uncertainties, a reticent or skittish workforce, increased remote work, and keeping equity, diversity, and inclusion front and center as the landscape continues to change? Our esteemed panel, moderated by award-winning legal search consultants, Major, Lindsay, & Africa, explores these challenges and more during this exclusive VIP session. This event is invitation-only and open to in-house counsel and representatives from Lavender Law sponsors at the Partners, Counsel, and Patron levels. If you haven’t received your invitation please contact Seth Rosen at seth@lgbtqbar.org.Andrean Horton (Myers Industries)
Kimberly A. Hulsey (Major, Lindsey & Africa)
Jesse Ryan Loffler (Cozen O'Connor)
Laura J. Maechtlen (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)
Carol Tate (Intel)
Alex Touma (White & Case LLP)TBA 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Black LGBTQ+ Legal Professionals Caucus: Annual Meeting TBA 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Reception and Entertainment TBA - Thursday, July 29
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Thursday, July 29, 2021
Time Event Speakers Location 11:00 am - 12:00 pm Guided Conversations TBA Guided Conversation for Law Students Advice on Returning to Law School After COVID
After over a year at home, many of us have become familiar with new routines and expectations for law school. However, with more and more schools planning for in-person classes in the fall, we all need to prepare for our new, or perhaps old, normal. Join the Law Student Congress for some tips and advice on what to expect from in-person law school and how to re-adjust to a new learning environment!
Led by LSC Co-Chair Mari Nemec and LSC Board Member Clay GoodeClay Goode (Santa Clara University School of Law) TBA Guided Conversation for Lawyers Back to the Office: Re-entering the Work Domain after a Year of COVID
Join LGBT Bar Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Director Dru Levasseur in the Lavender Lounge for a conversation about how lawyers are managing the return back to the workplace after a year plus of absence due to COVID-19 restrictions. We'll be discussing what firms (large and small) and companies are doing differently, what new protocols are in place, what the comfort level of various groups of employees has been, how equity is or is not being considered, and more.M. Dru Levasseur (National LGBT Bar Association) TBA 12:00 pm - 12:30 pm Welcome and Awards Program TBA Student Leadership, Michael Greenberg, Frank Kameny, and 40 Best LGBTQ+ Lawyers Under 40 awards will be presented.TBA TBA 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm General Attendance Plenary III TBA Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement The spring and summer of 2020 sparked a national call for a reimagining of how law enforcement is conducted and what we all accept as the core aspects of policing, as well as for how it is planned and funded as part of healthy state and local community budgeting. While the wide-spread demand for a reassessment of community priorities with respect to the role of law enforcement versus other social agencies, and the understanding of the connection between law enforcement and systems that uphold white supremacy, are relatively nascent for many Americans, this new recognition of truths long-known to people of color in America echoes a long-term tension between law enforcement and LGBTQ+ advocates. From illegal bar raids to unequal enforcement of public decency laws to "walking while trans" arrests, LGBTQ+ people have been inequitably targeted by police for decades. This panel will assess the ways in which law enforcement overreach has harmed both communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities, and the substantial harms done where those communities overlap. The panel will spend time discussing what "reimagining policing" could look like, and what considerations policymakers need to take into account for maximum equity. Moderated by Karen DeMeola.Gabriel Arkles (Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund)
Jon W. Davidson (Freedom for All Americans)
Anjelica Hendricks (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)
Senator Jamie Pedersen (Washington State Senate)TBA 2:15 pm - 3:45 pm General Attendance Plenary IV TBA Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools Law schools play a critical role for the entire legal profession. Not only do our law schools train future lawyers in direct legal skills and knowledge, they also establish norms for how the next generations of attorneys view their fellow professionals. These norms guide the profession and set the rights, responsibilities, and courtesies granted to fellow lawyers and all people who come in contact with the legal system. By focusing on the systems impacting LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and people with disabilities within the law school environment, and by working to understand how people with identities that intersect each of those groups are often marginalized in that environment, law schools have the opportunity to better support all their constituencies during their time in the building. This panel will delve into the deep issues of racial, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity equity challenges that permeate the legal profession, and discuss the transformations law schools are working toward to imbue respect for all people in all who pass through their doors.Christopher Czerwonka (Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law)
M. Dru Levasseur (National LGBT Bar Association)
Dean Kimberly M. Mutcherson (Rutgers Law School)
Kellye Testy (Law School Admission Council)TBA 4:00 pm - 5:00 pm Guided Conversations TBA Guided Conversation for Law Students Getting the Most From the Career Fair!
Join the Law Student Congress Board and your fellow law students for a conversation about what to expect from the Career Fair and the other career-focused programming on Friday, and learn how you can put your best foot forward.
Led by LSC Co-Chair Mari NemecTBA Guided Conversation for Lawyers Ten lessons from "I am not a cat." We've been zooming for more than a year, but have we been ZOOMING? Learn to ZOOM like a star by adding a working knowledge of camera angles and lighting to your lawyering toolkit, improving your audio and video quality with things you already own, and staging your set with cinematic flair. Elisabeth Steele has been teaching folks (mostly lawyer-types) how to webcam using lessons from cinematographers, YouTubers & online gamers of color since 2020 as a Zoom Stylist at Elisabeth Steele, LLC (www.elisabethsteele.com). Join us in the Lavender Lounge for a fun, interactive workshop - there will be lots of time to practice your new Zoom skills! (If you didn't get the reference, please watch "I am not a cat.")Elisabeth Steele (University of Hawai'i at Manoa William S. Richardson School of Law) TBA 4:00 pm - 5:30 pm Corporate Counsel Speed Networking (By Invitation Only) TBA Corporate Counsel Speed Networking (Sponsored by White & Case LLP) BY INVITATION ONLY.
Not for CLE credit.TBA TBA 6:00 pm - 7:00 pm Women of Color Dinner TBA 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm Frick Museum Virtual Tour TBA We are delighted to offer our attendees the opportunity to watch a live 360° virtual tour with a curator from the world-renowned Frick Museum! Frick Madison is the temporary home of The Frick Collection, presenting a substantial gathering of highlights from the permanent collection reframed in a setting that inspires fresh perspectives.TBA TBA 7:00 pm - 9:00 pm IALGBTQ+J Meeting (Day 1) TBA LGBTQ+ Judges Welcome Reception: 7:00pm-9:00pm
For judges only. Please contact the IALGBTQ+J for more information.TBA TBA - Friday, July 30
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Friday, July 30, 2021
Time Event Speakers Location 10:45 am - 11:00 am Welcome and Announcements TBA 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Career Services and Job Search Strategies for LGBTQ+ Law Students TBA A panel of legal practitioners with experience working in government, non-profit, and different sized law firms, moderated by a legal career services professional, will discuss the tools, considerations and critical aspects to find, research and evaluate entry level employment in today’s legal market. Law students and career development professionals only.
Not for CLE credit.Marla Butler (Thompson Hine)
Grover Cleveland (Moderator) (Lessons for Sharks LLC)
Amy Crawford (Civil Actions Bureau at Cook County State's Attorney's Office)
Matt Telford (Major, Lindsey & Africa)
Fred Thrasher (National Association of Law Placement)
Jason Wu (The Legal Aid Society, New York)TBA 11:00 am - 12:30 pm Making The Move: Best Practices for Lateral Candidates TBA Considering a move in the next few years? Wanting to know more about the job market for laterals, and how to best position yourself as your seniority increases? This workshop will address the unique needs of law firm associates considering a lateral move. Our panel of experts will discuss topics including the best timing for lateral moves, the pros and cons of working with a recruiter, resume tips and suggestions, the job application process, relocation searches, interview "dos and don'ts", and how to manage the offer and acceptance stage of a search. Attendees will leave with a solid understanding of the lateral search process and with a sense of market trends - and they will feel prepared should a change be in their future.
Not for CLE credit.Ru Bhatt (Major, Lindsey & Africa)
Peter Y. Malyshev (Reed Smith LLP)
Christopher M. Repole (Jackson Lewis P.C.)
Jamie Rodriguez (Holland & Knight)
Amber Thomson (Mayer Brown)TBA 11:00 am - 5:00 pm Friday Practice Area Institutes The LGBT Family Law Institute® (FLI) will be held on Saturday, July 31. Please check the Saturday tab for more information.TBA Corporate Counsel Institute (Sponsored by White & Case LLP) Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA TBA Employment Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA TBA Intellectual Property Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA TBA Transgender Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:15am - 6:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA TBA Trust & Estates Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 2:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA TBA 11:30 am - 9:00 pm IALGBTQ+J Meeting (Day 2) TBA Judicial Education Institute: 11:30am - 1:00pm
LGBTQ+ Judges Annual Meeting: 1:30pm - 3:30pm
LGBTQ+ Judges Closing Social Event: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
For judges only. Please contact the IALGBTQ+J for more information.TBA TBA 12:30 pm - 2:00 pm How to Go In-House: Career Advice for Law Students and Laterals from Seasoned In-House Counsel TBA What kinds of skills, experience, and working habits do in-house recruiters look for in prospective attorneys hoping to go in-house? In this workshop, experienced in-house counsel will discuss the best strategies needed for attorneys to land in-house employment. We will discuss ways to gain business acumen in firm positions and how to market this experience to hiring companies. In addition, we will talk about the importance of choosing an industry and how to gain expertise in order to forge connections with potential employers. Making connections is not only a good way to meet people who can help you search for a new position, but it is also a great way to learn more about the ins and outs of business law and the kinds of challenges you may face as in-house counsel. Participants will leave this workshop with a better idea of the path to in-house counsel and the crucial resources needed to proceed, as well as the confidence to go out and pursue the job of their dreams.
Not for CLE credit.Stanley C. Ball (Eaton Corp)
Christine Coldiron (T-Mobile)
Rose Deggendorf (Intel)
Ren Gaffney (Convergent Energy + Power)
Nona Lee (Arizona Diamondbacks)TBA 1:00 pm - 4:00 pm 1-on-1 Law Student Career Counseling and Resume Review TBA All law students registered for the conference are invited to pre-register for a one-on-one career counseling session with an experienced attorney. You'll enter the counseling Zoom Room through the Lavender Law platform (log-in info will come closer to the conference), and then you'll be placed in a break-out room with your designated counselor. Be prepared to share your screen with a current copy of your resume. Your counselor can talk with you about resume presentation, interview skills, the realities of various career path choices, navigating the Lavender Law Career Fair, and more.
Not for CLE credit.TBA TBA 2:00 pm - 6:00 pm Career Fair TBA - Saturday, July 31
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Saturday, July 31, 2021
Time Event Speakers Location 12:00 pm - 5:00 pm LGBT Family Law Institute® (FLI) TBA LGBT Family Law Institute® Saturday, July 31, 12:00pm - 5:00pm. Please see the Institute’s page for more information.TBA TBA 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates TBA Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates Saturday, July 31, 1:00pm - 6:00pm.
The LGBT Bar’s “Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates” seeks to provide interested legal professionals with the tools they need to end up on the other side of the bench. This intensive workshop welcomes legal professionals from all backgrounds and parts of the country, as the LGBT Bar believes diverse perspectives bring diverse experiences to the bench – and diverse experiences lead to better judgments. Invitation is required. Please see the Judicial Nuts & Bolts page for more information and to apply to attend (applications close July 23).
Not for CLE credit.Judge Rachel Bell (Davidson County General Sessions Court)
Judge Michael Fitzgerald (Central District of California)
Hon. Darrin Gayles (Southern District of Florida)
Judge Mike Jacobs (Moderator) (State Court of DeKalb County)
Justice Sabrina S. McKenna (Hawaii Supreme Court)
Judge Michael McShane (District of Oregon)
Judge Jill Rose Quinn (Circuit Court of Cook County)TBA - On-Demand Workshops (Available from 7/28 through 9/30)
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Event Speakers On-Demand Workshops A Comprehensive Look at Privacy Issues Affecting LGTBQIA Employees The workshop will focus on practical guidance for employment lawyers on privacy issues affecting LGTBQIA employees. Presenters will start with a discussion on whether federal and state laws protect against the disclosure of employees's LGBTQIA status. For government employers, the discussion will include whether an employee's LGBTQIA status qualifies as private medical information under the Fourteenth Amendment's Due Process Clause. The presenters will then analyze whether Title VII provides protection and also review state law torts including intentional infliction of emotional distress and invasion of privacy. The workshop will then examine employment policies regulating the use of social media or using social media in employment decisions, with a focus on social media posts on LGTBQIA status and/or political support of LGBTQIA rights. It will include key case law and legislative developments regarding the use of social media in hiring decisions through employees discharged for social media use. For government employers, the discussion will include the unique constitutional issues public employers face when employees use social medial to voice their opinions. The presenters will then identify best practices to promote and protect privacy interests.Sam Castic (Blackhawk Network)
Judge Jill Rose Quinn (Circuit Court of Cook County)
Vincent Rizzo (Hinshaw & Culbertson)A Conversation with Groundbreaking LGBTQ+ Supreme Court Justices Four trailblazing Supreme Court Justices will discuss their unique backgrounds, their pathways to the bench and the barriers faced along the way. The Justices will each touch upon the challenges they still face as LGBTQ judges and why being out and being visible matters even more in today’s society. After the discussion, the Justice will be answering your questions about how to continue an LGBTQ pipeline in the legal profession.
Not for CLE credit.Justice Andrew McDonald (Connecticut Supreme Court)
Justice Sabrina S. McKenna (Hawaii Supreme Court)
Chief Justice Maite D. Oronoz Rodriguez (Tribunal Supremo de Puerto Rico)
Justice G. Helen Whitener (Washington Supreme Court)Advocacy with a Drawl, Y'all: A Case Study in Southern "No Promo Homo" Laws The case study is a powerful tool to generate new ideas by illustrating theory and method using real life, illustrative examples. In this Lavender Law Workshop, we will dive into the story behind the South's "No Promo Homo" Law. There is a complex interplay between law, culture, politics, religion and LGBT rights in the South. To push the needle forward on diversity, we need a diverse arsenal of advocacy tools that resonate with the many diverse corners of our country. Covering many forms of advocacy, this workshop will focus on methods being employed in the courtroom (Judicial Advocacy), the classroom (Educational Advocacy), dining room (Family Advocacy), and the boardroom (Corporate Advocacy). Using an interactive case study format, participants will meet the key players who successfully challenged anti-LGBT legislation in South Carolina using both traditional and alternative advocacy methods. Each case study is a story, and sharing stories has transformative power because it builds empathy and allows us to see the world through new perspectives. At the center of this story and joining the panel will be a high school student and Plaintiff. By the end of the workshop, participants will understand that advocacy comes in many shapes, sizes, and accents, and leave with actionable tips and methods to advocate for progressive causes in conservative leaning jurisdictions (both in and out of the courtroom).Eli Bundy
Kevin Hall (Womble Bond Dickinson (US) LLP)
Caitlin Ryan (Family Acceptance Project)
Zaylore Stout (Zaylore Stout & Associates, LLC)
Nicholas Tiger (Capital One)After Bostock: How the Supreme Court’s Landmark Ruling is Shaping Legal Advocacy Beyond Employment for LGBTQ+ People The presenters will focus on practical guidance to enforce the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the combined cases of Bostock/Zarda/Stephens, holding that the prohibition on sex discrimination contained in Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 includes a prohibition against both gender identity and sexual orientation discrimination. The panel will address how this landmark holding will affect judges’ interpretations of other federal statutes including the Fair Housing Act and Title IX, as well as constitutional protections, and how we can enforce this ruling in the broadest way possible.Taylor Brown (ACLU)
Katie Eyer (Rutgers Law School)
Michelle Garcia (New Mexico Legal Aid)
Amy Whelan (National Center for Lesbian Rights)After Fulton: (How) Are Trump’s Judges Trumping LGBTQ+ Civil Rights Protections? The Supreme Court’s decision in Fulton v. Philadelphia will tell us more about how, and at what speed, Trump’s appointments to that court are reshaping First Amendment doctrine and whether our half-century old civil rights framework remains effective even as the Equality Act proposes to update and expand its coverage. This panel will discuss the implications of the Court’s Fulton decision(s) for government contracting with faith-based social service agencies and other enforcement of nondiscrimination rules as against free exercise objections. It also will address recent lower federal court decisions in First Amendment cases, and their implications for both federal and state legislative efforts to expand religious exemptions from civil rights and other public welfare laws.Alison Gill (American Atheists)
Sharita Gruberg (Center for American Progress)
Douglas NeJaime (Yale Law School)
Jennifer (Jenny) Pizer (Moderator) (Lambda Legal)Aging & End-of-Life Legal Issues in the Transgender Community The population of the US is rapidly aging, at the same time as more people understand themselves to be transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming. Are our legal systems, housing supports, and long-term care system prepared to welcome and provide person-centered care to transgender and nonbinary people as we age? This workshop shares knowledge about aging in the transgender and nonbinary community, and surfaces questions about transgender and nonbinary people’s lived experience that may not be reflected in the way legal services are currently provided across the lifespan. We will have a transgender attorney of color ground our discussion by speaking about his lived experience as a lawyer and elder in the movement for transgender justice. We will talk about new municipal and state policies that recognize X gender markers on death certificates. In thinking about planning for aging and anticipating some of these challenges, a trusts and estates attorney will share her legal approach to providing legal advice to transgender and nonbinary people, and we will offer for consideration specific durable healthcare power of attorney provisions to protect trans and nonbinary people's access to hormone replacement therapy and use of affirmed name, gender, and pronouns, after cognitive decline. Workshop participants will have a deeper understanding of how traditional aging supports, including the law, may be problematized for people of transgender and nonbinary experience, and how dementia may compound those barriers.Ian Anderson (Transgender Law Center)
Kylar Broadus (Trans People of Color Coalition)
Paula Kohut (Kohut, Adams & Randall, P.A.)
Ashe McGovern (Office of the Mayor, City of New York and NYC Unity Project)
Ames Simmons (National Center for Transgender Equality)AIDS at 40: Reflections on HIV Law and Policy and The Road Ahead Four decades after the first cases of AIDS were recorded, more than 75 million people have acquired the disease worldwide.Scientists agree that the epidemic is far from over and, even with major treatment advances and improvement in understanding the illness, hurdles remain in the effort to eradicate the disease. The legal environment—laws, enforcement and justice systems—has immense potential to better the lives of HIV-positive people and to help turn the crisis around. However, the legal system has been used to perpetuate stigma, undercut public health, and create negative outcomes for women, sex workers, people of color, and LGBTQ communities. This workshop will examine the progress that has been made in protecting the rights of people living with HIV, how those rights are currently being threatened, and what can be done to protect them in the future.Taylor Brown (ACLU)
Linda Dixon (Mississippi Center for Justice)
Catherine Hanssens (Center for HIV Law & Policy)
Eric Paulk (Georgia Equality)
Brad Sears (Williams Institute)Back to the Basics: Advising Other Professionals in 2021 in Family/Estate Planning and Taxation Issues to Best Advise Their LGBTQ+ Clients If we have learned nothing else in the last four years, it is that despite our many legal and societal gains, our LGBTQ+ community is still very vulnerable to sudden changes in the laws that potentially affect the recognition and status of our families and our relationships. This panel of advocates and family / estate planning experts will discuss some of the current issues we see every day in our offices as we do our best to advise our LGBTQ+ clients in a continually shifting legal landscape, including such issues as: what options each state offers in recognizing LGBTQ+ relationships (i.e., marriage versus other forms of relationship recognition); what workplace protections or lack of protections impact our relationship status; how we can best guide persons transitioning to effectuate name changes, gender marker changes, birth certificates, drivers licenses and passports as well as meeting their needs in the estate planning process; and what about may be at risk through pending legislation. Join us to learn more about how each of us as family and estate planning attorneys can become better advisors to our LGBTQ+ clients.Terrence Franklin (Sacks Glazier Franklin & Lodise LLP)
Wendy Hartmann (Law Offices of Wendy E. Hartmann)
Olivia Hunt (Moderator) (National Center for Transgender Equality)
Jennifer (Jenny) Pizer (Moderator) (Lambda Legal)Being Out in Large Law Firms Panelists will discuss a range of issues facing law students and young lawyers who are considering a career at a large law firm. We also will discuss coming out after you already have started at the firm. Finally, we will be discussing how lawyers can do pro bono work for the community while still fulfilling their career goals.
Not for CLE credit.Maddy Dwertman (Baker Botts)
Rosa Morales (Crowell & Moring LLP)
Ryan Nishimoto (Arnold & Porter)
Rosalyn Richter (Arnold & Porter, ret. Justice, Appellate Div. of the New York Supreme Court, First Department)
Jeffrey Trachtman (Kramer Levin)Being Queer and Indigenous: What it Means to Decolonize Gender and Sexuality Decolonization for Indigenous people and liberation for queer people are inextricably linked. Attendees will be introduced to how sexuality, gender, and culture coexist and interact through the lens of different Indigenous groups. Panelists will then explore colonization’s negative impacts, amongst many, on Indigenous values and cultures. In particular, this workshop will trace two distinct sets of Supreme Court cases -- the Marshall Trilogy for Indigenous people of the continent and the Insular Cases for Indigenous people of the territories -- and how these prevailing legal constructions have informed and continue to inform what it means to be Indigenous and queer.Hon. Shawna Baker (Cherokee Nation Supreme Court)
Precious Benally (Columbia Law School)
Ian Tapu (Hawaii State Judiciary)
Ann E. Tweedy (University of South Dakota, Knudson School of Law)
Marcia Zug (University of South Carolina School of Law)Better Lawyering Through Mindfulness Is your mind constantly going at 150 mph? Do you find yourself wasting precious time thinking about the past or worrying about the future? Do you struggle to keep your attention on a task? Are you always multitasking, unable to focus? Is stress or anxiety keeping you from doing your best work? Mindfulness and meditation practice is the key to increasing focus and productivity! In this interactive workshop, you'll learn: the latest research on lawyer burnout, stress (including minority stress), anxiety, depression, and other issues lawyers face; effective tools for stress and anxiety management; understanding the stress response, distinguishing between good stress and bad stress; how mindfulness can decrease distractions and increase productivity; simple practices you can incorporate into your day to let go of stress and return to homeostasis; increasing awareness and noticing when you're distracted; tips for increasing focus and productivity; using mindfulness and meditation to work with the inner-critic and let go of unproductive thought patterns; and the importance of self-care and caring for your well-being.Jeena Cho (JC Law Group PC)
Jon Krop (Mindfulness for Lawyers)
Noah Lewis (Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund)
Laura J. Maechtlen (Seyfarth Shaw LLP)BIPOC Neurodiversity & Mental Health During the Covid-19 Pandemic The past year of responding to the ever-changing policies and protocols associated with the Covid 19 Global Pandemic have left many feeling frustrated and exhausted. Those with mental health challenges or who are neuro-diverse have reported their conditions were exacerbated during the Pandemic due to bereavement, isolation, decrease/loss of employment and/or struggles with child care. Statistically, those who identify as Black and Indigenous People of Color (BIPOC) have disproportionately suffered these conditions at a higher rate than those who self-identify as White. Additionally, members of the LGBTQ+ community have reported increased challenges with mental health and neurodiversity than their Cisgender, Heterosexual counterparts. The legal community is no exception to the disparity. This workshop will discuss the affect of the Pandemic on the Mental Health and Neurodiversity of LGBTQ+ attorneys from a BIPOC perspective.Alejandra Caraballo (Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Alexander Chen (Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic)
Kelly Durden Posey (Inspired Inclusivity Consulting, LLC)Born Perfect: New Victories & Challenges in the Movement to End Conversion Therapy The movement to ban conversion therapy for minors is the most successful legislative campaign in the movement today, with 20 states and more than 85 localities enacting bans since California became the first state to do so in 2012. But as this campaign gains momentum, anti-LGBTQ groups have escalated their opposition, bringing new federal lawsuits seeking to invalidate these lifesaving protections and launching a counter-legislative campaign to immunize conversion therapists from any legal accountability. At the same time, efforts to find a way to challenge religiously-based conversion therapy counseling have taken on new urgency, as this branch of the conversion therapy movement continues to grow and take on new forms. This workshop will explain the latest legal arguments being used to attack conversion therapy laws, new efforts to pass legislation protecting conversion therapists, and new strategies to combat religiously-based conversion therapy.Curtis Galloway (Conversion Therapy Dropout Network)
Adam K. Hersh (Selendy & Gay PLLC)
Casey Pick (The Trevor Project)
Diego Sanchez (PFLAG)
Mathew Shurka (Born Perfect/National Center for Lesbian Rights)Bridging the Gap in LGBTQ+ Rights Litigation: A Community Discussion on Bisexual Visibility in the Law The opening portion of this session will be a presentation by Nancy Marcus, a longtime advocate for the bi+ community and Lambda Legal alumna. This portion of the session will outline various forms of bisexual erasure and invisibility in the law and legal discourse, and the harms that can result from failing to recognize bisexuality as a valid sexual orientation in legal contexts. This portion of the session also will trace the lack of recognition of the bi+ community in significant LGBTQ+ rights jurisprudence, including marriage equality litigation and major decisions of the United States Supreme Court in other areas such as Romer v. Evans and Bostock v. Clayton County. The second portion of this session will be a roundtable discussion moderated by Judge Mike Jacobs. Participants in the roundtable will include attorney members of the bi+ community and representatives from the major LGBTQ+ legal advocacy organizations. The discussion will focus on highlighting successes for bi+ inclusion in LGBTQ+ advocacy, analyzing occasions when bi+ inclusion has been lacking in LGBTQ+ advocacy, and brainstorming ways to improve bi+ inclusion in legal brief writing and argumentation in the future.Alexander Chen (Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic)
Judge Mike Jacobs (Moderator) (State Court of DeKalb County)
Bendita Cynthia Malakia (O’Melveny & Myers)
Nancy Marcus (California Western School of Law)
Imani Rupert-Gordon (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Sarah Warbelow (Human Rights Campaign)
Ezra Young (Law Office of Ezra Young)Community Driven Anti-Discrimination Legislation: Closing the Gender Affirming Care Loophole We will discuss our efforts in Washington State to write and pass (hopefully) a bill prohibiting health plans from excluding specific gender affirming procedures and using doctors with no medical expertise in medical necessity reviews.Donato Fatuesi (UTOPIA Washington)
Mattie Moonie (Swedish Medical Center)
Ari Robbins (Washington State Attorney General's Office)
Dana Savage (Washington State Attorney General's Office)
Catherine West (Legal Voice)Creating LGBTQ+ Trainings for Judges Educating the judiciary on LGBTQ issues often falls to LGBTQ bar associations or attorneys, especially in states that are less than friendly to the LGBTQ community. In this workshop, attendees will learn how to create interest in and develop LGBTQ education programming for judges, and/or how to integrate LGBTQ issues into existing judicial education. Topics to be addressed include drumming up interest in LGBTQ trainings, selecting effective presenters and crafting programming that will best benefit LGBTQ people and communities in your state or local area.Todd Brower (UCLA School of Law Williams Institute)
Judge Amy Dawson (Hennepin County District Court)
Hon. Robert Lee (Broward County Court)
Hon. D. Zeke Zeidler (Los Angeles County Superior Court)Discrimination to Incarceration Pipeline for LGBTQ+ People: A Litigation Perspective This workshop will discuss how discrimination and the criminalization of LGBTQ people have led to a disproportionate number of LGBTQ people being in custody, issues that impact incarcerated LGBT+ people, and litigation skills for prison advocacy. Panelists are litigators who have successfully challenged state departments of corrections policies related to healthcare for transgender people, housing placement, and the discipline of people living with HIV. The panel will focus on litigation skills for prison litigation including the Prison Litigation Reform Act (PLRA) and the administrative grievance process, the use of the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA) in litigation, and constitutional claims. The panel will also discuss discovery issues and the use of expert witnesses. Recently, panelists have served as counsel for amici in cases concerning judicial bias against transgender litigants (United States v. Varner), claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) for violence against transgender people in custody (Gladney v. United States), and social transition as medically necessary treatment for gender dysphoria (Keohane v. Jones). These experiences will inform the discussion on how courts treat cases brought by incarcerated LGBTQ people. Panelists have been counsel or counsel for amici, in some of the leading cases for incarcerated LGBTQ people including Edmo v. Idaho (challenge to Idaho Department of Corrections ban on surgery), Diamond v. Georgia (challenge to Georgia DOC's freeze-frame policy), Hicklin v. Precythe (challenge to Missouri DOC's freeze-frame policy), and Dorn v. Michigan DOC (challenge to Michigan DOC's policy directive that disciplined people living with HIV with administrative segregation). Panelists are also involved with policy and legislative work to address the harms that LGBT+ people face while in custody.Chinyere Ezie (Center for Constitutional Rights)
Shawn Meerkamper (Transgender Law Center)
Richard Saenz (Lambda Legal)
Steven Slawinski (Western District of New York)
Amy Whelan (National Center for Lesbian Rights)Effectively Advocating for LGBTQ+ Victims with a Focus on Trans Victims of Color This panel will examine how to better serve LGBTQ+ victims of crime, with a special focus on transgender victims of crime, through advocacy within government agencies, community partners, law enforcement, and more. The importance of working with community-based transgender rights groups and LGBTQ+ rights groups will be highlighted as a way for law enforcement agencies to combat the historic mistrust marginalized populations have with the Criminal Justice System. The panel would also discuss the historic inequities faced by black and indigenous people of color in the trans community and discuss the intersectionality in this community between elevated levels of violence and the historic inequities associated with disparate access to education, housing, healthcare (including mental health), and employment opportunities. This panel will focus on how different agencies and organizations can work together to pool resources and share information through outreach and referrals to better support LGBTQ+ victims of crime, specifically transgender women of color, that are interacting with the criminal justice system. Also telling is the underreporting by LGBTQ+ victims of crime who make the concerted decision to not engage the criminal justice system or are not counted because of misgendering or trans-erasure. The panel will also discuss trans victims of crime’s experiences with the criminal justice system including interacting with the police and the importance of being treated with dignity and respect in courtroom. The panel will also discuss the importance of educating and bringing awareness to the topic which can benefit law enforcement agencies and court personnel, but also the families of transgender victims of crime and discuss how a family’s wishes do not always coincide with the victim’s chosen community. The panel will examine how to address LGBTQ+ victim’s issues from multiple angles to provide more comprehensive support for LGBTQ+ victims of crime and intimate partner violence including medical advocacy, domestic violence advocacy, court advocacy, and community focused responses to crime and victimization.Jessie McGrath (Los Angles District Attorney's Office)
Channyn Lynne Parker (Chicago Howard Brown Health)
Gavin Quinn (Moderator) (Cook County State's Attorney's Office)
Mario Treto, Jr. (Chicago Howard Brown Health)Estate Planning: Everything You Need to Know But Didn't Think to Ask! You skipped "Wills, Trusts & Estates" in law school, but are getting a queasy feeling that your work for your client may have an impact on your client's estate planning issues‚ but are not sure how, or what to do about it. Or, you're just plain concerned about your own future and the future of key people in your life. Either way, this session is for you! It will provide an overview of basic and more advanced estate planning issues to highlight the things you or your client needs to consider and do, and the impact marriage may have. It will review in particular the basic document tools for estate planning: Healthcare Power of Attorney & Advance Directive; Durable General Power of Attorney; Last Will and Testament; Disposition of Bodily Remains. It will touch on issues relating to the children of LGBT couples, and addresses the impact the SECURE Act has on non-married LGBT couples. It will also address pitfalls and how to avoid them: prenuptial agreements; proper execution of documents; litigation regarding the validity of estate planning documents; guardianship options. Finally, the session will provide a brief overview of public benefits to which your client or client's family members may be entitled (e.g., Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, et al.), and the eligibility requirements for those benefits. The session will provide guidance on how to avoid inadvertently jeopardizing eligibility for public benefits, and provide some alternatives for simple estate planning for low-income individuals and couples.Paula Kohut (Kohut, Adams & Randall, P.A.)
Dale Noll (Akerman LLP)
Brad Richter (Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP)
Murray Scheel (Whitman-Walker Legal Services)Family Rights for LGBTQIA+ Folks: U.S. Surrogacy and Parentage Laws Recent debates about surrogacy present some of the most complex and compelling human rights issues of our time – including family rights for LGBTQIA people, ethical issues in assisted reproduction, and race, gender, and disability justice. Surrogacy is a global form of family formation wherein a person agrees to become pregnant and give birth to a child that another person(s) intend to parent. Although often undertaken by infertile different-sex couples, surrogacy is also an important form of family formation for the LGBTQIA community. Because surrogacy implicates the rights and interests of multiple stakeholders, it critical to use a human rights framework informed by the values of the reproductive justice, disability rights and justice, and LGBTQIA movements. This panel will explore surrogacy in the U.S. where there are no federal laws and state laws vary widely, ranging from complete bans to varying levels of authorization. Across the country, state legislatures are considering new surrogacy laws—to either fill a gap in law or to reform existing laws. It is critical that these laws incorporate a human rights framing to ensure that the rights of all parties are protected, including persons who act as surrogates. This panel will 1) provide an overview of the current legal landscape of surrogacy laws in the United States; 2) share a set of human rights-based guiding principles on compensated gestational surrogacy developed to inform proactive state legislative efforts, and 3) explain current parentage laws and the role of surrogacy in family formation for the LGBTQIA community.Courtney Joslin (UC Davis School of Law)
Cathy Sakimura (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Karla Torres (Center for Reproductive Rights)Fighting for the Rights of TGNCNBI People in Prisons and Jails: A Legislative Perspective This workshop will focus on current legislative and organizing efforts to combat the discrimination and mistreatment experienced by TGNCNBI people incarcerated in prisons and jails. Despite progressive legislation protecting against gender identity discrimination in some states, almost all transgender, gender non-conforming, and non-binary people are housed in prisons or jails based on sex assigned at birth in violation of their constitutional rights and federal laws and perpetuating the high rates of sexual abuse and assault experienced by this community behind bars. However, this past September, California passed the Transgender Respect, Agency, and Dignity Act (SB132), landmark legislation that requires correctional agencies to make housing decisions based on where TGNCNB people believe they will be safest. Similar efforts are underway to pass New York's Gender Identity Respect, Dignity, and Safety Act. This panel will feature formerly incarcerated people and advocates working on these bills and the challenges faced in these efforts, as well as updates on related litigation across the country.Grace Detrevarah (The Osborne Association)
Erin Harrist (Legal Aid Society (NYC))
Mik Kinkead (The Legal Aid Society (NYC))
Bamby Salcedo (TransLatin@ Coalition)
Amy Whelan (National Center for Lesbian Rights)From Kimball to the Failla Commission: New York State Unified Court System as Case Study Over the last 50 years, the New York State Unified Court System has gone on a journey from actively harming the LGBTQ community to becoming a significant, if imperfect, engine of equality and inclusion. The complicated story of that evolution involved many players and painful struggles. The creation of The Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission in 2016 started a chain reaction of further positive changes, internally and externally, that has led to a brighter future and can hopefully serve as a model for court systems in other jurisdictions.Justice Elizabeth Garry (State of New York Supreme Court, Appellate Division, Third Judicial Department)
Justice Marcy Kahn (Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court for the First Judicial Department)
Milo Primeaux (Just Roots Consulting)
Matthew Skinner (The Richard C. Failla LGBTQ Commission of the New York State Courts)
Justice Michael Sonberg (Supreme Court of the State of New York)
Judge Richard Tsai (Manhattan Civil Court)Human Rights and Trade: Using Ancillary Tools as Carrots and Sticks to Promote The Biden Administration's Human Rights Agenda In recent years, international trade measures and instruments have been used not only promote and develop trade, but also to promote important, ancillary measures such as human rights. For example, at the end of 2018, the United States, Mexico, and Canada agreed to include a provision promoting the inclusion of LGBTQ+ people in the workforce in a new trade agreement, the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA). Similarly, the U.S. Government has recently imposed a ban on the importation of cotton and tomatoes from the Xinjiang region of China based on concerns about forced labor in the region and the treatment of the Uighur population. Although these measures go beyond the primary goals of trade agreements and other measures (i.e., to facilitate trade and eliminate trade barriers), they are a recognition that international trade policies have significant spillover effects and therefore cannot be considered in a vacuum, and it is expected that the new Biden Administration will use these tools to promote both its trade and human rights agendas. Come learn about an alternative tool and unique lens to address human rights considerations. The workshop will explore human rights provisions in FTAs, including LGBTQ+ related provisions, the inclusion of such provisions in future trade agreements, and the use of other trade tools such as sanctions to promote human rights . As part of the workshop, experts in the field will provide an overview of various trade tools such as FTAs, import bans, and sanctions, including their enforcement mechanisms, and will discuss how these trade tools compare to other international treaties and agreements that have been the primary bases of promoting human rights in the international arena. As part of this discussion, the panelists will consider the effectiveness of human rights provisions in FTAs, import bans, and sanctions, and whether trade-related instruments should be used as carrots and sticks to promote human rights. The workshop is intended for audiences with all levels of knowledge of international trade law and will include foundational introductions to each issue. Even if you have no current knowledge of international trade law, come learn about these hot topics in what is sure to be a lively and interesting discussion.Padideh Ala’i (American University, Washington College of Law)
Justin Becker (Sidley Austin LLP)
Stacy Ettinger (K&L Gates)
William Isasi (Covington & Burling LLP)Human Trafficking and the Black LGBTQ+ Community: Identifying and Protecting the Margins While human trafficking is an international catastrophe that affects all swaths of the population regardless of gender, sexual orientation, class, socioeconomic status, or creed, statistics of survivors demonstrates an alarmingly disproportionate number of people of color and LGBTQ+ individuals who are trafficked. This workshop identifies the factors that contribute to the vulnerability of people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, the legal issues that accompany the prosecution of predators and the advocacy of victims, and the resources and expertise necessary to support the survivors of human trafficking.Aisha Canfield (Ceres Policy Research)
Dr. Margie Gill (Tabitha’s House)
Angela Irvine-Baker (Ceres Policy Research)
Vincent Mosley (Law Office of Terri K. Benton)
Jennifer Swain (youthSpark, Inc.)
Eric Wright (Georgia State University)Intersectional Education: LGBTQ+, Racial, and Disability Diversity in Law Schools Law schools play a critical role for the entire legal profession. Not only do our law schools train future lawyers in direct legal skills and knowledge, they also establish norms for how the next generations of attorneys view their fellow professionals. These norms guide the profession and set the rights, responsibilities, and courtesies granted to fellow lawyers and all people who come in contact with the legal system. By focusing on the systems impacting LGBTQ+ people, people of color, and people with disabilities within the law school environment, and by working to understand how people with identities that intersect each of those groups are often marginalized in that environment, law schools have the opportunity to better support all their constituencies during their time in the building. This panel will delve into the deep issues of racial, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity equity challenges that permeate the legal profession, and discuss the transformations law schools are working toward to imbue respect for all people in all who pass through their doors.Christopher Czerwonka (Hofstra University, Maurice A. Deane School of Law)
M. Dru Levasseur (National LGBT Bar Association)
Dean Kimberly M. Mutcherson (Rutgers Law School)
Kellye Testy (Law School Admission Council)Intersex Rights, Reproductive Health Care, and Bodily Essentialism: Legislative Considerations Legislative recognition of intersex lives is at an all-time high across the world. interACT: Advocates for Intersex Youth is one of the largest intersex-led legal organization in the US. As activists continue to engage with lawmakers and others responsible for policy impacting this population, increasing awareness has led to an uptick in mention of the “i” without full understandings of how to center the lived realities of intersex people. This lack of common understandings on behalf of those in power regarding best practices to achieve meaningful change for the intersex community include whether advances in intersex rights will negatively impact reproductive health care and how to address attacks on transgender medical care while being mindful of the experience of intersex youth, who are often subjected to harmful medical interventions in infancy. Questions remain including to what extent the impacted group can and should be involved in decision-making, how to allocate resources in an equitable manner, and the impact of trauma on activism and the long term sustainability of a movement thus far underrepresented in LGBTQI legal decision-making spaces. This panel suggests a number of guiding principles to ensure good outcomes, including examples of legislation and related media, as well as potential pitfalls to avoid.Bria Brown King (interACT)
Sylvan Fraser (interACT)
Alesdair Ittelson (interACT)Intimate Partner Violence in the LGBTQ+ Community: Perspectives from the Bench Judges routinely preside over cases involving intimate partner violence. Our understanding of IPV has grown in the past several decades. Violence in intimate partnerships has moved from being considered a private matter to a pervasive social problem that requires a nuanced and targeted response from our justice system and our courts. While framed as gendered-based violence for important reasons, this approach has sometimes compromised our understanding of IPV in LGBTQ+ relationships and therefore reduced our ability to respond to it. As members of our LGBTQ+ community (and their families) are more openly interacting with judges, it is important to recognize the complexities of IPV in these relationships. Our panel of judges will discuss IPV and share their experiences with it in the family, juvenile and criminal courts. The panel will discuss specific concerns to the rainbow community and how unique considerations and challenges can arise when IPV becomes an issue in the courtroom. This means challenging unconscious bias and striving for cultural humility, while working to ensure that access to justice is attainable for all persons that interact with our courts, both as members of the Bench and of the Bar.Judge Rachel Bell (Davidson County General Sessions Court)
Judge Christopher Bowen (Superior Court of California, County of Contra Costa)
Judge Julie Emede (County of Santa Clara Superior Court)
Judge Amy Sakalauskas (Nova Scotia Provincial Court)Leveraging Diversity Capital Effectively Presented by Xerox.*
Navigating the politics of an organization is one of a professional's most challenging barriers to success. Understanding how to leverage your diversity capital, a more nuanced version of political capital, can be even more fraught with difficulty given the flat and small nature of many legal departments, the opaque nature of many partnerships, the inconsistency across government agencies and the unwritten rules that impact LGBTQ+ people in the workplace. There is very little research on how LGBTQ+ people can and should use diversity capital in the workplace in establishing their own career path, how it presents in the job search, and how and when to use it to connect with clients. This interactive session with case studies will describe what diversity capital is and help LGBTQ+ legal professionals, including those with multiple marginalized identities, leverage that diversity capital effectively for themselves and others they want to elevate in the workplace.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Xerox.Sheri Crosby Wheeler (Fossil Group, Inc.)
Rebecca Glatzer (Major, Lindsey & Africa)
Bendita Cynthia Malakia (O’Melveny & Myers)
Michelle Peak (Sunbelt Rentals, Inc., NAM & Canada)
LaNitra Webb (Hogan Lovells)LGBTQ+ Immigration Landscape Under the Biden Administration The last four years saw a continuous attack on and demonizing of immigrants. The previous administration focused on preventing immigrants from entering the United States and made it increasingly difficult for immigrants to find safe haven in the US. Starting from the discriminatory travel ban that targeted Muslim-majority countries to the attempts to completely disassemble asylum protections, the previous administration implemented policies and regulations that were a frontal attack on the principles of immigration. LGBTQ immigrants were particularly impacted. This workshop will discuss the changes that need to be made to ensure a more just and equitable immigration system. In particular, we will discuss which Trump-era policies need to be revoked, what policies and legislation should be in place, and what the Biden administration has done to date to address the problems in our immigration system. We will focus in particular on areas of immigration law that impact LGBTQ and PLHIV asylum seekers and binational couples.Omar Gonzalez-Pagan (Lambda Legal)
Geoffrey Louden (AsylumWorks)
Amitesh Parikh (Immigration Equality)
Ming Wong (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Keren Zwick (National Immigrant Justice Center)LGBTQ+ Issues in the Workplace: Emerging Trends in Employment Law The decision by the U.S. Supreme Court in Bostock v. Clayton County clarified that Title VII offers protections against discrimination and harassment for LGBTQ+ individuals in the workplace. But, did Bostock really improve the workplace experience for all LGBTQ+ individuals? In this session, the presenters will discuss a state of the law as well as practical guidance for employment lawyers on LGBTQ+ issues in the workplace, including a discussion on how employers can make their workplaces more open and inclusive for members of the LGBTQ+ community. If you have questions after viewing this panel or would like to discuss the content reviewed, please contact Brian McGinnis at bmcginnis@foxrothschild.com.Don Davis (Epic Games)
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan (Lambda Legal)
Brian McGinnis (Fox Rothschild LLP)
Denise M. Visconti (Littler Mendelson)LGBTQ+ Lawyers Who Write, LGBTQ+ Writers Who Practice Law Have you fantasized about writing a novel, short story, personal essay, or opinion piece? In this workshop, four accomplished and published writers will describe how they entered and traveled the road to writing, how their non-legal writing impacted their professional development and how their legal practice impacted their writing, how a lawyer who is interested can start and sustain a writing career, and how to get published. Not for CLE credit.David Francis (Norton Rose Fulbright)
Robyn Gigl (Gluck Walrath, LLP)
Michael Nava (Self-Employed)
William Weinberger (Parker Milliken)LGBTQ+ Leadership in Law Firms and Corporate Legal Departments Seasoned LGBTQ+ legal professionals provide real talk about their success journey, how they’ve navigated authentically while overcoming obstacles along the way. This session will provide practical tips to individuals who identify as LGBTQ+ and aspire to positions of leadership within their organizations (as well as to allies regarding how to advocate for and support LGBTQ+ attorneys within their companies & networks).Chip English (Davis Wright Tremaine)
William T. “Toby” Eveland (Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LLP)
Mike Jackson (Microsoft)
Nona Lee (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Monica Lopez Reinmiller (T-Mobile)LGBTQ+ Rights in the Post-Kennedy Era There is no doubt that Justice Kennedy has been the Supreme Court's conservative champion of LGBTQ+ rights. With his retirement and Justice Ginsburg's death, the Court has taken a decidedly rightward tilt. What does this mean for LGBTQ+ rights? As we approach the 35th anniversary of the hideous and hurtful Bowers decision, it is fair to ask if we might return to those dark days. The panel will look at the Kennedy-era LGBTQ+ opinions along with Bowers and discuss their current vitality.Larry Levine (University of the Pacific, McGeorge School of Law)
Catherine Smith (University of Denver Sturm College of Law)
Kyle Velte (University of Kansas School of Law)
Ezra Young (Law Office of Ezra Young)LGBTQ+ Seniors: The Stonewall Generation and the Challenges of Aging Presented by Wiggin and Dana LLP.*
For LGBT older adults, the strength and resilience gained through confronting a lifetime of discrimination and the horrors of the HIV/AIDS epidemic are necessary tools for the next stage of life. The Stonewall generation often faces more significant challenges than their non-LGBT counterparts in accessing the systems and services designed to help support healthy aging. In this session, you will learn about some of these unique challenges experienced by LGBT seniors; the barriers to and tools for accessing Social Security, Medicare/Medicaid, Veteran’s Benefits and other aging supports; and legislative efforts to protect and target resources at the needs of LGBT and HIV-affected seniors.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Wiggin and Dana LLP.M. Geron Gadd (Moderator) (National Health Law Program)
Karen Loewy (Lambda Legal)
Aaron Tax (Moderator) (SAGE)LGBTQ+ Workers' Rights After Bostock The Supreme Court's 2020 decision in Bostock v. Clayton County, which extended Title VII reach to sexual orientation and gender identity, was a tremendous victory for LGBTQ rights. But the fight for LGBTQ worker justice is far from over. This panel will explore the hurdles that remain for workplace equity, including an outdated Title VII, forced arbitration, enforcement gaps, and the looming threat of religious exemptions. It will also explore how LGBTQ workers across the country are organizing to make change.Kate D'Adamo (Reframe Health and Justice Consulting)
Remington Gregg (Public Citizen)
Jared Odessky (Legal Aid at Work)
Sejal Singh (Public Citizen)
Aimée-Josiane Twagirumukiza (National LGBTQ Workers Center)Meeting the Needs of LGBTQ+ Older Adults and Caregivers: Ethical, Legal, and Practical Challenges Presented by AARP Foundation.*
LGBTQ older adults and their heterosexual, cisgender peers face many common aging-related challenges that have significant implications for professional service providers and caregivers. For example, older adults can experience cognitive impairment that affects their relationships with lawyers, financial service providers, business partners, loved ones, and caregivers. Many older adults, irrespective of sexual orientation and gender identity, experience heightened vulnerability to financial exploitation, fraud, abusive guardianships, and physical abuse even in the absence of cognitive impairment. And older adults, regardless of sexual orientation and gender identity, must negotiate the practical challenges associated with maintaining their dignity and autonomy as their need for long-term supportive services and housing supports grows. These shared challenges require lawyers and caregivers to interact with, anticipate the needs of, and support older adults in dynamic ways. Yet for LGBTQ older adults who have experienced historical and or compound discrimination, the challenges associated with aging can present unique ethical, legal, and practical challenges for professional service providers and caregivers. Older LGBT adults, depending on their status as out or closeted, membership in other minority groups, employment history and financial circumstances, access to housing and relevant healthcare supports, estrangement from their families of origin and other social connectedness, and geographic location, need lawyers and support providers to account for their unique circumstances. For example, older LGBTQ adults might need to delegate powers to partners that circumvent legal restrictions and default asset distribution rules or family rejection of partners, identify people to exercise powers when family members and close friends are unavailable, plan for supportive housing arrangements that do not require them to re-closet, and plan for long-term care and support when they (after years of underemployment and employment discrimination) lack substantial savings. LGBTQ caregivers also face many challenges shared by heterosexual and cisgender peers, but they too face unique caregiving challenges as a result of their own experiences of discrimination, single and compound, which can include fewer social supports and financial resources. For example, LGBTQ caregivers may struggle to care for parents and other loved ones when there is friction between parents and partners, or, alternatively, when there are warm relationships between parents and partners, but no children to assist with caregiving. Closeted LGBTQ caregivers can face increased psychological strain when trying to reconcile caregiving responsibilities with the maintenance of other relationships, and myriad logistical challenges when they share lives with partners and cannot readily move an aging parent in need of care into their home. LGBTQ caregivers, like heterosexual and cisgender peers, often struggle with their dual roles as members of the "sandwich generation." During this panel discussion, we will explore the unique legal and support needs of older adults, the ethical issues that arise for lawyers and other supportive service providers as they seek to meet the needs of older adults, and the needs of caregivers as they attempt to support older adults. By reviewing relevant legal and ethical rules, legal options, a range of supportive services, and hypotheticals that help to illuminate the challenges faced by LGBTQ older adults and caregivers and potential resources to meet those challenges, we will explore ways to assist both LGBTQ older adults and those who love them meet their respective needs.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of AARP Foundation.Avery Belyeu (Lambda Legal)
Denny Chan (Justice in Aging)
M. Geron Gadd (Moderator) (National Health Law Program)
Tim Johnston (SAGE)
Shelly L. Skeen (Lambda Legal)Never Either/Or, But Always Both (and More): Centering Race in Sexual Orientation and Gender Identity Inclusive Training and Professional Development With the continuing increased social awareness of the need to address systemic and personal racism, particularly in light of the extrajudicial public murder of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and others during these past two years, it is even more critically important to fully embrace intersectionality in the presentation of training and professional development relating to sexual orientation and gender identity (SOGI). The numerous facets of racial (in)equities must be centered in SOGI programming and the presentation of LGBTQ+ inclusive legal/judicial practices or else we run the risk of communicating a message that LGBTQ+ = White. This session, which draws from the experiences of judicial and legal diversity and inclusion training professionals, will address practical ways to substantively acknowledge the intersectionality of identity and experience and concrete ways to incorporate discussions on race and racism into programming on sexual orientation and gender identity.Arielle Adler (Lowenstein Sandler LLP)
Lisa Burke (New Jersey Administrative Office of the Courts)
Judge Shannon Frison (Massachusetts Superior Court)
M. Dru Levasseur (National LGBT Bar Association)
James Alexander Lewis V (New York City Bar Association)
Jean-Marie Navetta (PFLAG National)
Nicole Seawright (City of Philadelphia)On the Team: The Latest Legal and Political Strategies to Ensure Equal Opportunities for Transgender Athletes In the past year, issues relating to transgender athletes have become front and center in our nation's courts and legislatures, with more than 20 states proposing laws that would ban transgender students from playing any school sports. This workshop will bring together some of the nation's leading experts--including a young transgender athlete who has had to fight for her right to play school sports--to share the latest legal and political strategies to ensure equal opportunities for transgender athletes. How does trans-inclusion fit within the legal framework of Title IX? Why are some feminists joining with far-right groups to exclude trans girls and women from women's sports? How are advocates fighting back against these new political attacks?Paul Castillo (Lambda Legal)
Ashland Johnson (Inclusion Playbook)
Jennifer Levi (GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders)
Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Maya Reddy (Law Student at University of Pennsylvania Law School)
Susan Williams (The Transformation Project)Otherism and Conspicuous Minorities: the Shared Experiences of the LGBTQIA and AAPI Community Asian-Americans have recently found themselves in the spotlight for the wrong reasons. Scapegoating and anti-Asian rhetoric surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic preceded a rise in anti-Asian violence in everyday America. While community organizers and activists warned of the predictable cause-and-effect between the two, many view the recent spike of violence as discrete, random, and non-systemic. This panel discussion will attempt to dispel the notion that any upward trend in stereotyping or hate crimes happens in isolation, and without social and political roots. It will address the Asian-American community’s long, complicated history as “others” in American society – dating back to the 19th century when xenophobia laid the groundwork for Asian fetishization and dehumanization. These social biases were eventually codified into law. The panel will also address how this experience overlaps heavily with that of the LGBTQ community who, before recent gains, were negatively associated with vice, hyper-sexualization, and immorality – all of which were used to justify sodomy laws and marriage bans. Finally, the panelists will share their first-hand experiences breaking down barriers and promoting workplace equity, emphasizing the importance of being an ally and why they personally have become one.Ross Allen (Cepheid)
Heaven Chee (Yetter Coleman LLP)
Stephen Kulp (Tucker Law Group)
Nona Lee (Arizona Diamondbacks)
Angela Lim (Viz.ai, Inc.)Out in Enforcement: Challenges and Issues in Federal Government Enforcement Careers Many LGBT attorneys work for federal government enforcement agencies - whether the Department of Justice, FBI, SEC, or others. Working in this field can present a host of challenges, including embedded homophobia, transphobia, and sexism in law enforcement, work with diverse judges and juries, and general issues working in a complex and difficult field. This workshop will address issues in government enforcement careers for LGBT attorneys, including coming out, affinity groups, and working under management that may change with the political winds. Not for CLE credit.Melissa Schraibman Grinberg (Treasury Inspector General for Tax Administration)
Sharon McGowan (Lambda Legal)
Fitzann Reid (U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission)
Jamar Walker (United States Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia)
Justin Weitz (U.S. Department of Justice)Parentage, Partnership, and Property: Family Law and Estate Planning for Polyamorous Clients This workshop will focus on the nuts-and-bolts of how to serve polyamorous clients, including topics such as the importance of conflict waivers, leveraging existing communication skills for mediation divorces, permutations in a trust for a thruple or quad, utilizing practical steps such as name changes to bind a family, and third-parent judgments of parentage, among others. This will be hands-on training, with MCLE materials that attendees can take back to use at their own firms. There are far too few attorneys proficient at handling the large CNM (consensual non-monogamy) population. Come to this workshop and take our client referrals... please!Diana Adams (Diana Adams Law & Mediation, PLLC)
Toby Adams (Toby Adams, Attorney at Law)
David T. Nguyen (XC Advisors)Pathways to the Judiciary Each year, members of the judiciary come together to discuss their career trajectory and provide advice to young professionals interested in ascending the bench. Representing a diverse array of judges, panelists will discuss both the appointed and elected processes for judges in different jurisdictions as well as ethical guidelines or standards associated with panelists’ paths to becoming judges or retaining their positions. Additionally, the challenges of being an openly LGBT judge, especially in relation to judicial ethics codes, will also be a focus.Judge Patricia Baca (El Paso 346th District Court)
Judge Christopher Costa (District of Columbia Office of Administrative Hearings)
Judge Alyson Grine (Judicial District 15B (Orange and Chatham Counties, North Carolina))
Judge W. Kearse McGill (California State Bar Court)
Judge Jill Rose Quinn (Circuit Court of Cook County)
Judge Kristin L. Rosi (California Department of Insurance)Protecting LGBTQ+ Sex Workers Through Decriminalization and Intersectional Policy Approaches Through a human rights framework and a focus on health equity, this workshop explores laws that harm sex workers, with a focus on transgender women, LGBTQ people of color, and LGBTQ homeless youth. Punitive laws include laws criminalizing sex work, laws affecting sex work as part of anti-trafficking efforts, and other laws that are frequently enforced against sex workers. Most of these laws are at the state level, but sex workers are also impacted by federal laws such as FOSTA-SESTA, which has resulted in online platforms shutting down or eliminating portions of their websites upon which sex workers relied. Protecting the rights and health of LGBTQ sex workers requires the full decriminalization of sex work but also broader decriminalization and intersectional policies. The panel will provide an overview of state-level sex worker advocacy campaigns, with particular attention to legislative efforts in cities and states aimed at fully decriminalizing sex work. This advocacy also includes supporting laws that decriminalize drugs or drug paraphernalia, loitering, and HIV, as well as policies that divert funding from police and expand affordable housing, employment programs, and LGBTQ protections. We will also look at current legislative approaches that fall short of full decriminalization, including sex worker immunity laws (enacted in four states in 2019 and proposed in additional states in 2021) and partial decriminalization (campaigns occurring in Massachusetts and other states), and explain, with research and from the perspective of someone with lived experience in sex work, why these approaches are inadequate. Finally, we will examine the negative impact of FOSTA-SESTA and more recent federal anti-trafficking proposals, and we will explore effective messaging around sex work and discuss efforts to enact the federal SAFE SEX Workers Study Act.Sean Bland (Moderator) (O'Neill Institute for National and Global Health Law)
Benjamin Brooks (Whitman-Walker Institute)
Tamika Spellman (HIPS)Protecting the Rights of Our Diverse LGBTQ+ Community Our community, just like our nation, is richly diverse. LGBTQ people of color suffer disproportionate rates of discrimination and health outcomes, typically compounded as a result of racism and xenophobia. In order to truly address the needs and protect the rights of all LGBTQ people and everyone living with HIV, not only must we be good allies, we must also bring forth cases when warranted that focus on the effects of racism, xenophobia, and sexism on our community. This panel will address cases in which LGBTQ organizations were able to step up in order to address the Trump administration's actions that sought to undermine our ability to address racism, sexism, and implicit bias, as well as to eviscerate our asylum system. Panelists will not only address these cases but also bring forth their respective perspectives of how our movement can better support other movements and can step up when necessary in order to protect the rights of our diverse LGBTQ community.
Not for CLE credit.Alejandra Caraballo (Transgender Legal Defense and Education Fund)
Chinyere Ezie (Center for Constitutional Rights)
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan (Lambda Legal)
Ola Osaze (Black LGBTQIA+ Migrant Project)
Richard Saenz (Lambda Legal)Recognition Not Permission: A New Era of Access to IDs for Trans and Non-Binary People Not long ago, few government-issued IDs allowed applicants to self-report their appropriate gender marker or indicate a gender-neutral X designation. Now almost half of state licensing agencies have made these updates, and we are projecting modernization of federal agency gender change policies too. Court cases across the country have struck down barriers to updating gender markers on official documents as unconstitutional. At the same time, court orders and legal services have been increasingly difficult to access during quarantine, and financial barriers, criminal history restrictions, privacy concerns, and overall confusion about these processes prevent so many from obtaining the accurate IDs they need to survive and thrive. Our panel of advocates will share the latest news and trends of gender change laws in courts, legislatures, and legal clinics across the country and engage the audience in a conversation about next steps in the journey toward access to accurate identification for all.Charlie Arrowood (Arrowood Law)
Arli Christian (ACLU)
AC Dumlao (Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund (TLDEF))
Omar Gonzalez-Pagan (Lambda Legal)Reimagining Policing: LGBTQ+ and Racial Equity Issues in Law Enforcement The spring and summer of 2020 sparked a national call for a reimagining of how law enforcement is conducted and what we all accept as the core aspects of policing, as well as for how it is planned and funded as part of healthy state and local community budgeting. While the wide-spread demand for a reassessment of community priorities with respect to the role of law enforcement versus other social agencies, and the understanding of the connection between law enforcement and systems that uphold white supremacy, are relatively nascent for many Americans, this new recognition of truths long-known to people of color in America echoes a long-term tension between law enforcement and LGBTQ+ advocates. From illegal bar raids to unequal enforcement of public decency laws to "walking while trans" arrests, LGBTQ+ people have been inequitably targeted by police for decades. This panel will assess the ways in which law enforcement overreach has harmed both communities of color and LGBTQ+ communities, and the substantial harms done where those communities overlap. The panel will spend time discussing what "reimagining policing" could look like, and what considerations policymakers need to take into account for maximum equity. Moderated by Karen DeMeola.Gabriel Arkles (Transgender Legal Defense & Education Fund)
Jon W. Davidson (Freedom for All Americans)
Anjelica Hendricks (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)
Senator Jamie Pedersen (Washington State Senate)Reproductive Healthcare in the Era of COVID-19: Telehealth, Abortion Care, and Expanding Access for LGBTQ+ People Access to appropriate, respectful, and competent reproductive healthcare, including abortion care, is critical for LGBTQ+ people, many of whom have a learned distrust of healthcare providers who do not understand or invalidate our identities. During the COVID-19 pandemic, health inequities for underserved communities have become even more apparent. But there have also been rapid advances in telehealth policy in many states, which offers hope for the expansion of services and in turn may provide more comfortable and accessible healthcare for a wide range of populations. This workshop will highlight the intersections of reproductive healthcare access as an LGBTQ+ rights issue, and health equity principles that must guide our work. Attendees will learn from policy and compliance attorneys about how state restrictions on reproductive health exacerbate barriers to accessing care, how advances in telehealth show promise in reducing these barriers, and the persisting policy barriers for equitable access to care.Nimra Chowdhry (Center for Reproductive Rights)
Marissa Kraynak (Insure the Uninsured Project)
Sonya Laddon Rahders (Regulatory Assistance for Abortion Providers)
Arneta Rogers (ACLU of Northern California)Reproductive Rights are LGBTQ+ Rights: The Case for Breaking Down the Litigation and Advocacy Silos For decades well-funded anti-abortion advocacy organizations have launched state-level attacks on abortion rights in an effort to chip away at federal constitutional protections. Under the guise of "protecting women and children," they have sought to demonize reproductive healthcare, target providers with hateful rhetoric that has often lead to violence, couch religious beliefs as scientific fact, and pass outrageous state-level legislation to test how far they can go in pushing courts to break down hard-won protections. These same organizations, again under the guise of "protecting women and children" have used the same playbook against efforts to expand LGBTQ+ protections in the courts. They are now more organized and well-funded than ever, and are launching unprecedented state-by-state attacks on transgender youth across the county. It is more crucial than ever that LGBTQ+ advocates and abortion advocates share knowledge, experience and resources to fight back in the courtroom and in the state legislature. Join Gender Justice and the Lawyering Project as we discuss our efforts to team up in and out of the courtroom to fight back against outrageous laws, stigma, and junk science, and why we believe it is crucial for repro advocates and LGBTQ+ advocates to intentionally join forces.Amanda Allen (Lawyering Project)
Zsea Bowmani (Santa Clara University School of Law)
Jess Braverman (Gender Justice)
Erin Maye Quade (Gender Justice)Start Where You Are: A Phased Approach to Building Effective and Sustainable D&I Programs More and more companies and law firms are recognizing the significant benefits of having a robust diversity and inclusion program. But knowing where to start and how to tailor your D&I efforts to the unique culture, history, and resources of your organization can be overwhelming. This workshop is designed to meet organizations wherever they are and to provide them with a practical, phased approach to implementing D&I initiatives. From low-budget "beginner" programs to more advanced "full-budget" efforts, each tier not only expands the organization's programming efforts, but also builds "capital" within the organization, creating an atmosphere and culture where more advanced D&I initiatives will be encouraged and supported. Participants will learn practical strategies for increasing their organization's D&I capital and tracking their progress while hearing real success (and challenge) stories from panelists who have created and fostered award-winning D&I programs. We will present a panel discussion between attorneys and professionals specializing in D&I issues who have effectively led their organization's D&I efforts from the initial stages to more advanced levels of development. Each panel member will share lessons learned and best practices for scaling up an organization's D&I efforts, tying goal setting to practical plans of action to recruit new talent, retain existing colleagues, and reinforce the organization's core values.Anthony Anderson (Thompson Coburn LLP)
Erica Glanz (Bunzl Distribution)
Norma Jackson (Thompson Coburn LLP)
Dremain Moore (Thompson Coburn LLP)Starting Strong in Private Practice Presented by 3M.*
With a panel of three engaging experts, this program will provide actionable advice for LGBTQ law students and recent graduates to help them land a job and thrive in private practice. Topics will include interviewing tips and navigating the career fair, being out in private practice and finding mentors, dealing with bias and seeking change, and building resilience and overcoming Impostor Syndrome. The program will also include an opportunity for participants to ask questions and provide their own insights. The focus of the program is highly practical with actionable steps that participants can put to use immediately.
Not for CLE credit.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of 3M.Grover Cleveland (Moderator) (Lessons for Sharks LLC)
Jay Larry (Bracewell LLP)
Victoria Slade (Davis Wright Tremaine)
Lauren Symington (Procopio)Supreme Court Review: The Virtual 2020-2021 Term Presented by Morgan Stanley (Schmitt-Young Group).*
The Supreme Court's most recent term was marked by on-line arguments, an unusually large number of "shadow docket" decisions, and the Biden administration securing dismissal of several high profile cases challenging Trump administration policies that the Biden administration is reversing. The Fulton case was the most watched of cases affecting LGBTQ rights, but there were large numbers of other significant cases addressing important issues including the Affordable Care Act, student speech, immigration, the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, administrative law judges, voting rights, charitable disclosure requirements, search and seizure, juvenile life sentences, standing, the deliberative process privilege, separation of powers, personal jurisdiction, the Alien Tort Statute, and more. This panel will review the decisions issued during the 2020-2021 term, examine what those rulings reveal about the Court's conservative majority, and preview the cases teed up for decision next term.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Morgan Stanley.Sunu Chandy (National Women's Law Center)
Alexander Chen (Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic)
Jon W. Davidson (Freedom for All Americans)
Rachel Shalev (Orrick)
Paul Smith (Georgetown University Law Center)Teaching Gender Identity Law Today the rights of transgender, nonbinary, intersex, and other sex-/gender-nonconforming people are receiving increasing protection and subject to greater contestation than ever before. Student interest in and even demand for courses on gender identity and the law is mounting, and this is an area of need likely to be met in significant measure by lecturers, adjunct faculty, and other non-full-time instructors. This panel features speakers who have experiencing teach trans*/nonbinary/intersex/GNC rights in a variety of law school and undergraduate courses, both lecture "podium" courses and clinics, a majority full-time practitioners and some full-time academics. The panel will discuss resources available to people interested in teaching such material - including the brand new, first law school textbook on the subject, from which three of the presenters have experience teaching - and present concrete suggestions for pitching and teaching such courses.Carl Charles (Lambda Legal)
Alexander Chen (Harvard Law School LGBTQ+ Advocacy Clinic)
David Cruz (University of Southern California Gould School of Law)
James Gilliam (Loyola Law School)
Sonia Katyal (Berkeley Law)
Ilona Turner (Turner ADR)The Equality Act: The Road to Passage The Equality Act was designed to provide express and comprehensive protections against sexual orientation and gender identity discrimination nationwide and to increase federal nondiscrimination protections based on sex, race, color, national origin, and religion. 2021 has presented the best opportunity the LGBTQ community has ever had for passage of such a law. Hear from experts about the bill, the arguments made in favor and against it, and its road to passage.Jon W. Davidson (Freedom for All Americans)
Fran Hutchins (Equality Federation)
Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Taissa Morimoto (National LGBTQ Task Force)The Impact of Criminalization on the HIV Community The Health Not Prisons Collective (HNP) is an intersectional national initiative launched in 2020 by the Counter Narrative Project, Positive Women’s Network – USA, Sero Project, Transgender Law Center, and the U.S. Caucus of People Living with HIV — longtime collaborators led by and accountable to communities most affected by HIV criminalization in the United States. This panel discussion will include an overview of the current address HNP's work on HIV decriminalization efforts at the state and federal level, what meaningful involvement of people living with HIV looks like and can be and how this work is critical to push back against the practice of criminalization as public health generally.Tyler Barbarin (Positive Women's Network-USA)
Breanna Diaz (Positive Women's Network USA)
Devin Hursey (U.S. People Living with HIV Caucus)
Kamaria Laffrey (Sero Project)
Andrew A. Ortiz (Transgender Law Center)
Charles Stephens (Counter Narrative Project)The LGBTQ+ "Panic" Defense: How to Ban it in Your State This workshop will provide an overview of the LGBTQ+ "panic" defense and how it has been used in criminal cases to deny justice to LGBTQ+ victims of violent crime. The LGBTQ+ "panic" defense strategy is a legal strategy that asks a jury to find that a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity is to blame for a defendant's violent assault or murder. When a defendant uses an LGBTQ+ "panic" defense, they are claiming that a victim's sexual orientation or gender identity not only explains - but excuses - their loss of self-control and the subsequent violence. Using case studies and the experiences of state legislators and LGBTQ+ activists, the panel will provide a roadmap on how to successfully convince legislators to ban the defense. To date, 13 jurisdictions have banned the defense. Join us to learn how to advance this legislation in your own state! Moderated by Wesley Bizzell.Jamie Grace Alexander (ACLU of Maryland)
Wesley Bizzell (Altria Client Services)
Monisha Harrell (Equal Rights Washington)
Representative Leslie Herod (Colorado General Assembly)
Lousene Hoppe (Fredrikson & Byron)
Delegate Danica Roem (Virginia House of Delegates)
Representative Taylor Small (Vermont House of Representatives)The Long War: What Have We Learned from the Battle to End the Transgender Military Ban? Throughout our nation’s history, bans on military service have been used to justify discrimination against Black people, women, lesbian, gay, and bisexual people, and, most recently, transgender people. The LGBTQ community fought for decades to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, which was finally repealed in 2010, and the ban on service by transgender people, which was lifted in 2016 under then Secretary of Defense Carter. When President Trump shocked the nation by reimposing a transgender ban in 2017, our movement sprang into action, bringing federal lawsuits, mobilizing transgender service members and allies, and mounting a vigorous public education campaign. Just a few days after taking office, President Biden lifted the ban, and transgender people are once again free to serve. This workshop will focus on the highlights of the legal battle to challenge Trump’s ban, how the lessons learned from that hard-won fight can be applied in other contexts, and what remains to be done to ensure that military service is truly open and equal for all.Kylar Broadus (Trans People of Color Coalition)
Sasha Buchert (Lambda Legal)
Bree Fram (U.S. Air Force)
Karen Kendra Holmes (Maryland Defense Force)
Shannon Minter (National Center for Lesbian Rights)The Role of the Attorney in Providing Direct Representation to LGBTQ+ Clients with Mental Health Diagnoses: Lessons Learned in a Trauma-Informed Approach The Equality Ohio Legal Clinic provides free direct representation services to clients who self-identify as LGBTQ+ and who are at or below 300% of the federal poverty line. In our experience, many of our clients present with mental health diagnoses that both create challenges for attorneys in providing representation and also retrench systemic barriers that encumber meaningful access to justice for our clients. Important to this conversation is the collaboration with trauma-informed social service providers to help address the whole-person needs of the person preventing stabilization. Maya Simek, Esq., LISW-S, and Kate Mozynski, Esq, will discuss these issues in relationship to direct legal representation of our clients. Keyna Smith from the Anti-Trafficking Initiative at the Cleveland Rape Crisis Center will discuss the recognition of and the addressing of mental health challenges when working with members of the LGBTQ+ community, and when and why an interdisciplinary provider configuration is important. Maya will discuss the creation of the Equality Ohio Legal Clinic and the Community Lawyering and Medical Legal Partnership Models. She will also discuss the importance of partnering with community organizations and provide tips for serving clients who present with mental health challenges. Kate will provide case examples of how we have applied trauma-informed lawyering in our legal clinic and speak more generally about trauma-informed lawyering from the attorney perspective. They will also discuss the impact of secondary trauma when serving LGBTQ+ clients, including addressing lessons learned and developing plans to support self-care and burnout. Kate will also address the importance of community partner collaboration from the attorney perspective. Keyna will provide a social service perspective on serving LGBTQ+ clients who have experienced trauma. She will discuss case management and Trauma-Informed Practices. She will also discuss how to identifying mental health needs, and successful practices for follow-up. She will provide case examples and discuss why collaboration with legal and other service providers is important in serving clients.Kate Mozynski (Equality Ohio)
Maya Simek (Equality Ohio)
Keyna Smith (Cleveland Rape Crisis Center)The State of LGBTQ+ Health: What We Know and What Lawyers Need to Know Presented by Axiom Law.*
Discrimination, lack of cultural competency by health care providers, and a heterosexual, cisgender system that too often renders our community invisible, have all resulted in systemic health disparities in LGBTQ people compared to the general population. These inequitable disparities are even more striking for Black and brown LGBTQ people. Lawyers and law student need to understand what is currently known, and what we don't know, about the health challenges faced by different LGBTQI populations, and how those disparities are relevant to legal controversies and existing and proposed public policies. A panel of leading researchers and advocates will discuss current scientific knowledge about the health of transgender and nonbinary people, lesbians, gay men, bisexual women, bisexual men, and other queer populations compared to the straight, cisgender population, and what is known about the causes of those disparities. The panel will also discuss existing evidence of the relationships between health indictors and laws and public policies that are favorable or unfavorable to LGBTQI people. The panelists will focus on opportunities for lawyers to advocate with the Biden Administration, and Congress, for laws, regulations and federal policies to address discrimination, to encourage more research into LGBTQ populations, and to include sexual orientation and gender identity in medical records and federally funded surveys.
* Disclaimer: The views and opinions expressed in this program belong to the speakers and do not necessarily reflect the positions of Axiom Law.Kellan Baker (Johns Hopkins University School of Public Health)
Lauren Beach (Northwestern University School of Medicine)
Daniel Bruner (Whitman-Walker Health)
Sharita Gruberg (Center for American Progress)
Asa Radix (Callen-Lorde Community Health Center)The Work Ahead: LGBTQ+ Legal Issues Under the Biden/Harris Administration and the 117th Congress The advent of the Biden/Harris administration heralds a reboot of federal policy with respect to LGBTQ+ equity. The past four years of the Trump/Pence administration witnessed tremendous rollbacks of hard-won gains, such as the revocation of President Obama's commitments to transgender servicemembers serving openly and equally, the elimination of sexual orientation and gender identity nondiscrimination provisions in Sec. 1557 of the Affordable Care Act, the issuance of Department of Education guidance falsely purporting that Title IX does not protect transgender students in schools, etc. Moreover, the former administration assailed the LGBTQ+ community with new harms, including regulations allowing homeless shelters to discrimination against transgender people, court briefs filed by the US Department of Justice taking the position that businesses must be permitted to opt out of complying with local pro-LGBTQ+ nondiscrimination laws, nominating anti-LGBTQ+ judges to the federal courts, and many more. This panel will discuss the progress that the Biden/Harris administration has made in working to reverse this damage and advance its stated commitment to LGBTQ+ equality. Our speakers will also explore the extent to which both the new President and the 117th Congress are likely to be able to achieve significant progress toward the overall well-being of LGBTQ+ people, through avenues such as the Equality Act as well as other legislation which would disproportionately benefit LGBTQ+ people.Alphonso David (Human Rights Campaign)
Rodrigo Heng-Lehtinen (National Center for Transgender Equality)
Pamela Karlan (Department of Justice)
Sharon McGowan (Lambda Legal)
Tobias Barrington Wolff (University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School)Time Management & Digital Detox for LGBTQ+ Lawyers and Law Students: Your 26-Week Action Plan How many times have you started down the self-improvement road of time, task, email and distraction management, and found yourself back in the same place a couple weeks later? It is time to get traction and build long-lasting habits to improve your efficiency, organization, and happiness. Tying together all the necessary tools, methods, tips and technology can be an overwhelming task, particularly with the constant distractions of email, texts, social media, and the new concerns that working from home can bring. Where do you even start?! This program lays out an achievable and realistic plan which will not only help you build a successful method to accomplish this action plan, but will provide you with a proven process that promotes attorney wellness.Mike Jackson (Microsoft)
Ellen Miller (Boston University School of Law)
Paul Unger (Affinity Consulting)Triple Bias: How The Child Welfare System Harms LGBTQ+ Children and Adults This panel will explore discrimination against LGBTQ+ individuals and families in the child welfare system in three arenas: discrimination against LGBTQ+ parents, discrimination against / mistreatment of LGBTQ+ youth, and discrimination against LGBTQ+ prospective foster/adoptive parents. The latter will include discussion of the Fulton v. City of Philadelphia case currently pending before the United States Supreme Court. The discussion will emphasize the intersectional discrimination faced by BIPOC LGBTQ+ individuals and by LGBTQ+ individuals and families living in poverty.Lina Del Plato (The Legal Aid Society Juvenile Rights Practice)
Nesta Johnson (National Center for Lesbian Rights)
Nancy Polikoff (American University, Washington College of Law)Voting Rights in 2021 and Beyond: Combating Harmful Legislation, the Fight for Fair Electoral Districts, and the Future of the Voting Rights Act After Brnovich The efforts to secure the franchise for as many as possible was a critical component to the progressive community's overall success in the 2020 elections. But the fight for voting rights is not over; not even close. The country watched the protracted legal effort by former President Trump and his allies to overturn the results of a legitimate election. While those groups failed more than 60 times in court, they had some success in perpetuating the myth of rampant voter fraud. Using that justification, state legislators across the country are attempting to erect as many hurdles to voting and fair legislative districts as possible in 2021, including the passage of a sweeping omnibus voter suppression law by Georgia’s lawmakers in March. Meanwhile, the U.S. Supreme Court is considering this term the fate of Section 2 of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 in Brnovich v. Democratic National Committee, No. 19-1257 (2021). The outcomes of these fights will impact the LGBTQ+ community‚ as well as all communities of color across the nation, for decades to come. This panel focuses on three highly relevant topics to voting rights: (1) the fight against legislative efforts to restrict access to the ballot; (2) the effort to secure fair, non-partisan electoral districts following the 2020 census; and (3) the future of voting rights litigation after the Supreme Court's 2021 decision in Brnovich. Panelists are leaders in organizations on the cutting edge of voting rights and redistricting, including Fair Fight Action, the National Redistricting Foundation, and Perkins Coie Political Law Group.Hal Brewster (Perkins Coie LLP)
Sarah Gonski (Perkins Coie LLP)
Marina Jenkins (National Redistricting Foundation)
Esosa Osa (Fair Fight Action) - Practice Area Institutes
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Event Speakers Practice Area Institutes Corporate Counsel Institute (Sponsored by White & Case LLP) Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA Employment Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA Intellectual Property Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 3:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA LGBT Family Law Institute® Saturday, July 31, 12:00pm - 5:00pm. Please see the Institute’s page for more information.TBA Transgender Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:15am - 6:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA Trust & Estates Law Institute Friday, July 30, 11:00am - 2:00pm.
Please see the Institute's page for more information.TBA - Academies & Caucuses
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Event Speakers Academies Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates Saturday, July 31, 1:00pm - 6:00pm.
The LGBT Bar’s “Nuts & Bolts Academy for Judicial Candidates” seeks to provide interested legal professionals with the tools they need to end up on the other side of the bench. This intensive workshop welcomes legal professionals from all backgrounds and parts of the country, as the LGBT Bar believes diverse perspectives bring diverse experiences to the bench – and diverse experiences lead to better judgments. Invitation is required. Please see the Judicial Nuts & Bolts page for more information and to apply to attend (applications close July 23).
Not for CLE credit.Judge Rachel Bell (Davidson County General Sessions Court)
Judge Michael Fitzgerald (Central District of California)
Hon. Darrin Gayles (Southern District of Florida)
Judge Mike Jacobs (Moderator) (State Court of DeKalb County)
Justice Sabrina S. McKenna (Hawaii Supreme Court)
Judge Michael McShane (District of Oregon)
Judge Jill Rose Quinn (Circuit Court of Cook County)Caucuses and Affiliate Meetings Bi Caucus Wednesday, August 4, 6:00pm - 7:30pm. BiLaw is an informal group of bisexual-identified and bi-allied attorneys, academics, and law students. The BiLaw Caucus is an opportunity to network with other bi-identified lawyers and discuss areas of the law relevant to bisexual people. All bi-identified and bi-allied attorneys, academics, and law students are encouraged to attend. Following a brief meet-and-greet, the organizers will provide a structured discussion based on attendees’ priorities.
Not for CLE credit.Heron Greenesmith (Political Research Associates) Black LGBTQ+ Legal Professionals Caucus Wednesday, July 28, 6:00pm - 7:00pm. The Black LGBTQ+ Legal Professionals Caucus is a joint endeavor of the National Bar Association’s LGBTQ Division and the National LGBT Bar Association. The Caucus is intended as a networking and supportive space for Black- and LGBTQ-identifying lawyers, judges, law students, paralegals, and other legal professionals to work together across organizations for mutual success. Not for CLE credit.Jonathan Patterson (Compassion & Choices)
Eric Paulk (Georgia Equality)Law Student Congress and Law School Affiliate Caucus Sunday, August 29, 3:00pm - 4:30pm.
Come meet with fellow law students, connect with your 2021-2022 Law Student Congress board leadership, and be part of the decision-making process about how to make an impact on law school campuses and in your communities. An optional social hour will take place immediately following the caucus - we hope you can join us!
Not for CLE credit.Legal Aid/Legal Services Caucus Tuesday, August 3, 1:00pm - 2:30pm. This interactive caucus provides attorneys an opportunity to network with other legal services advocates, and discuss emerging issues that impact low-income LGBTQ+ clients. Topics may include challenges to outreach, successful community partnerships, best intake practices, special needs of the transgender community, increasing cultural competency, and strategies for navigating the changing socio-political climate. All advocates that provide services to low-income clients are invited to participate.
Not for CLE credit.Ming Wong (National Center for Lesbian Rights) LGBTQ+ State and Local Bar Affiliate Congress Caucus Friday, August 6, 3:00pm - 4:30pm. All representatives of LGBTQ+ state and local Bar Association affiliate groups are invited to attend this annual caucus meeting. The first half hour of the meeting will address National LGBT Bar and affiliate business matters; the remaining time will be spent in a brainstorming/information-sharing format. We will address affiliates' questions on topics including compliance, administration, communications techniques and strategies, programming, law student engagement, event planning and execution, and fundraising techniques and strategies.
Not for CLE credit.
Judi O'Kelley (Moderator) (National LGBTQ+ Bar Association)Prosecutor Caucus Monday, August 9, 7:00pm - 8:30pm.
The Prosecutor’s Caucus is an informal community of LGBTQ+ prosecutors. It provides an opportunity to network and discuss LGBTQ+ issues in the criminal justice system. This year’s caucus will discuss alternatives to prosecution programs (including restorative justice), diversion programs, working with community organizations to reduce the cycle of criminality while addressing past traumas, addressing and acknowledging the needs of trans women of color who are adversely and disproportionately affected by violence, and the responsibility of the LGBTQ+ prosecutor in educating fellow law enforcement colleagues about LGBTQ+ victims, witnesses, and defendants.
Not for CLE credit.Andrew Henning (United States Department of Justice)
Matthew Jannusch (Cook County State's Attorney's Office)