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President's Message Last
May I began this bar year by asking several hard questions of our
membership. I said in the beginning that I didn't have any
preconceived answers, but that we couldn't be afraid to ask hard
questions of ourselves. After months of planning, and weeks of
implementation, the MRWBA conducted focus groups of active and inactive
members. This project was a huge undertaking and I especially want
to thank Past Presidents Gen Dybing, Karen Elliott, Carolyn Lavecchia,
Karen Lebo, Teri Miles, Margee Smither, Judge Beverly Snukals and Yvonne
Wellford for taking the call back into action to facilitate several of
the sessions.
Common Themes
What we found, not surprisingly, is that women lawyers do not all think alike. However, some common themes did emerge:
§ All
focus group participants believed the Bar was still relevant for
networking, professional education, referral sources, and public
service.
§ Members felt comfortable attending Bar programs and desired even more time to get to know each other.
§ Programs are focused on issues and topics interesting to women lawyers.
§ Bar should continue to offer a mix of social/networking activities and professional education.
§ More
experienced attorneys still support the Bar, but feel it is less
important to them professionally. They attend luncheon programs
when the topic is of interest, but now don't need Bar membership for the
networking benefits.
§ Many members want to be more involved in committee work and want to attend alternate programs.
§ Bar
should continue involvement in public service activities with
particular focus on the domestic relations booklet and Flagler House.
§ Bar should increase number of joint activities with other bars and professional organizations.
§ Reaction to email correspondence and online newsletter was generally positive.
§ Dues are reasonable.
§ In
judicial endorsements, the Bar should endorse the best candidate.
If and when there are candidates equally qualified, most focus group
participants felt the woman candidate should be supported by our women's
bar.
Misperceptions
Three misperceptions arose from the focus groups that I need to address directly:
1. Newsletter -- The online newsletter has been a big hit.
However, if you want to receive the newsletter in hard copy by
snail mail, you can indicate that on your membership renewal
application.
2. Legislation -- The MRWBA does not take a stand
on legislative issues. There apparently is a widely-held belief
that the MRWBA advocates a position on issues such as abortion,
the death penalty, etc. We do not. Our legislative
committee monitors legislation during the General Assembly, publishes
frequent tracking reports and encourages members to contact their
legislators personally to express their own views. There are a
multitude of other organizations through which members can
advocate their political sentiments. The MRWBA is a
professional organization with members across the political
spectrum. This year's Attorney General candidate debate and
the death penalty panel discussion are good examples of the strong
non-partisan character of our association.
3. Status -- The
MRWBA is not a chapter of the Virginia Women Attorneys Association
(VWAA). Although we have enjoyed friendly relations, and
have occasionally held joint activities, the MRWBA was founded before
the VWAA and has different members, bylaws, structure and mission,
and a different judicial endorsement process. Continued on Page 4
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MRWBA Newsletter May 2002
Page 2
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President's Message -- Continued from Page 2 Suggestions
The list of suggestions generated by the focus groups is
too long to go into. But suffice it to say, it will keep the MRWBA
Board busy for years. The most prevailing suggestion was to offer
additional meeting opportunities outside of downtown. Members
from Henrico and Chesterfield especially felt that they would
participate more fully, would appreciate the networking forum, and even
would continue their membership if programs were offered in different
locations and at different times. This will add a layer of
complexity to Board planning, but it is obviously necessary to satisfy
members' expectations and to keep our Bar valuable for all members.
I
want to extend a hand of gratitude to the 2001-2002 officers and
committee chairs. I also want to wish Carolyn White a successful
year. I have no doubt that with her practical and fair-minded
leadership, with her dedication to this association and our profession,
and with her boundless energy, the MRWBA is in good hands.
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President Elect's Report The
President-Elect is charged with the supervision of the Association's
Administrative Assistant. The MRWBA has had the assistance this year of
two different individuals in this part-time position: Paulette Davidson
through November of 2001 and Uta von Recum beginning in December of
2001. The addition of the Administrative Assistant position has been an
enormous help to the Membership, Public Service, and Public Relations
Committees particularly, who no longer have to rely exclusively on
volunteer assistance for their big projects. Sadly, Uta has had to
resign from her position and we are now in the process of interviewing
candidates to replace her. However, the position itself has been a big
step in improving the administration of the
MRWBA.
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Virginia Women's Leadership Project:
A Statewide Collaboration Facilitating the
Appointment of Qualified Women to Government Positions The
Governor will be making nearly 4,000 appointments during his four-year
term and between 450-600 before the end of 2002. The Virginia
Women's Leadership Project is a collaborative effort designed to bring
Virginia women's organizations together from across the state to
identify and recommend qualified women to serve in appointed positions
at the state, local and regional level of government. The mission of the
Project is to create a process for identifying and recommending
qualified women to appointing authorities including the Governor of
Virginia.
Women who are interested in gubernatorial appointments can
submit their names directly to the Secretary of the Commonwealth. An
application and information about upcoming gubernatorial appointments
are available on the Secretary's website, www.commonwealth.state.va.us.
Women
interested in serving on boards and commissions can also submit their
names to the Project and obtain additional information about upcoming
meetings and other activities of the Project on its webpage on The
Foundation's website,
www.virginiawomen.org or by contacting The Foundation at (804) 780-0500.
Organizations
that wish to be included in the Leadership Project should contact the
Project chair, MRWBA member Claire Guthrie Gastaņaga at
claire@cg2consulting.com or (804) 521-4067.
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MRWBA Newsletter May 2002
Page 4
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Please click here to visit
our sponsor Prestige Media, Inc.
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JOB OPPORTUNITY Randolph,
Boyd, Cherry and Vaughan, a small, downtown Richmond firm, is seeking
an attorney for general practice, but with focus on creditors' rights
and insurance defense. Self direction, good inter-personal skills and
demonstrated writing ability are important. One year's experience
required. Full-time immediate position. Fax resume with writing sample
and salary requirements to Hiring Partner, 804-783-2765.
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P.O. Box 538
Richmond, VA 23218-0538
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MRWBA Newsletter May 2002
Page 5
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