Q: How does the LGBTQ+ Bar ensure that everyone has access to Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair?
A: Since its inception in 1988, the Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair has served as a ‘family reunion’ for LGBTQ+ and allied legal professionals to both look back at our shared history and to look forward to the future of the legal profession. Lavender Law® is the largest LGBTQ+ legal conference in the country with approximately 1700 attendees attending annually. The ticket price reflects the programming, networking, and career-building opportunities made available to attendees, but may be out of reach for some. That’s why the National LGBTQ+ Bar is committed to ensuring that no one be prevented from attending Lavender Law® based on costs alone.
In order to achieve this goal, we subsidize a number of registrations to the conference, including providing free registration to all law student members of the Bar and those attorneys who have significant financial need. We also discount our registration fees for attorneys in public service and those who are just beginning their careers in the legal field. Before joining the LGBTQ+ Bar team, I was honored to be the recipient of these complimentary passes for a number of years. This conference was an important networking event for me to take a break from being the “only” and be in the midst of other trans law students and judges. I will never forget how important that was to me in my career journey, and I want everyone else to have a similar experience.
As a small non-profit, the LGBTQ+ Bar relies heavily on outside donations to be able to afford distributing complimentary passes. Your donation to the LGBTQ+ Bar Foundation empowers the next generation of legal professionals by allowing us to continue ensuring that no one misses out on Lavender Law® because of financial need. First-generation law students are disproportionately affected by financial hardships between the months following their graduation, and studying for the Bar exam. This past February, we launched the inaugural Trans and Nonbinary Law Students of Color Grant Fund to help support LGBTQ+ legal professionals as they begin their careers which wouldn’t have been possible without the generosity of our community. Thank you.
Donations also help us provide continuing legal education, professional development opportunities, law student scholarships, and more. If you would like to help us make our programming available to all regardless of financial need, donate today here.