The Women’s Power Summit on Law & Leadership was a historic gathering of specially selected leading women in law, ranging from those at the highest echelons of private practice and the corporate sector to their counterparts in government, non-profits, academia and the judiciary.
The three-day event, held April 29, 30 and May 1, 2009, featured speakers and panel discussions on a variety of topics affecting women within the legal profession. Participants shared information, assessed the progress that has been made, identified the end goals, networked and set an agenda for future change.
The Summit features speakers from a variety of backgrounds, each bringing a different perspective on how to advance the position of women within the legal profession.
Justice Sandra Day O’Connor holds the great distinction of being the first woman justice to sit on the Supreme Court. She received her B.A. (with Great Distinction) and LL.B., Order of the Coif, from Stanford University. She was also part of the Board of Editors for Stanford Law Review.
As an actor, playwright and teacher, Anna Deavere Smith has built a remarkably wide-ranging and respected career. Her work, which explores the American character and our multifaceted national identity, has been acclaimed by the media, critics and audiences across the country.
Ann Fudge is Former Chairman and CEO of Young & Rubicam Brands, a global network of pre-eminent companies across the full range of marketing communications. Prior to Young & Rubicam Brands, Ms.
An advocate of women’s issues for more than 30 years, Marie C. Wilson is Founder and President of The White House Project, co-creator of Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work ® Day and author of Closing the Leadership Gap: Why Women Can and Must Help Run the World (Viking 2004).
Diane C. Yu is Chief of Staff and Deputy to the President at New York University, the nation’s largest private university. Her portfolio mirrors that of the President as his surrogate, advisor, and alter ego in dealings with NYU Trustees, deans, faculty, students, and the University Senate.
Linda Addison is a corporate board member and Immediate Past U.S. Managing Partner, Chair of the U.S.
Hannah Brenner is the first Executive Director of the Center for Women in Law at the University of Texas School of Law, a new initiative designed to confront the barriers that stand in the way of women’s advancement in the legal profession.
Mary B. Cranston is the Firm Senior Partner and immediate past Chair of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. In her eight years as Chair, Ms. Cranston expanded the firm from a regional California base into an international platform through two large mergers and the addition of seven offices.
Karen has more than 27 years of experience as a top-rated litigator handling major commercial disputes. She was a partner with Vinson & Elkins LLP until December of 2010, and now serves as a neutral on the American Arbitration Association’s national Commercial litigation panel.
Lisa Horowitz is President of the National Association of Women Lawyers, a professional organization which since 1899 has been committed to promoting the interests and advancement of women lawyers and women’s legal rights.
Lorraine Graw is a third year student at the University of Texas School of Law. After graduation, she will be clerking for the Honorable Alan M. Ahart in Los Angeles.
In 1993, Texans elected Kay Bailey Hutchison to the United States Senate in a special election, making her the first -- and, to date, the only -- woman elected to represent the state in the Senate. One year later, she was re-elected to a full six-year term.
Carolyn Dineen King is a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. Judge King is a native of Syracuse, New York. She graduated from Smith College summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa in 1959 and from Yale Law School in 1962.
Catherine Lamboley, retired Sr. Vice President and General Counsel of Shell Oil Company, is a native of Monroe, Wisconsin. Cathy graduated from the University of Wisconsin with a secondary education degree and from the University of Texas School of Law where she graduated Order of the Coif.
Ilene H. Lang is the President & Chief Executive Officer of Catalyst, the leading research and advisory organization working with businesses and the professions to build inclusive workplaces and expand opportunities for women and business.
Roberta D. Liebenberg is a senior partner at Fine, Kaplan and Black in Philadelphia, where she focuses her practice on class actions, antitrust, and complex commercial litigation. Ms.
Barbara M. G. Lynn took the oath of office as a United States District Judge for the Northern District of Texas on February 14, 2000. A summa cum laude graduate of the University of Virginia, Judge Lynn graduated first in her class at Southern Methodist University School of Law in 1976.
William Powers Jr. is the 28th president of The University of Texas at Austin. Before taking office on February 1, 2006, he served as dean of the university's School of Law.
Arin Reeves has worked with diversity and inclusion in organizations for over fifteen years. She received her J.D. from University of Southern California and her Ph.D. in Sociology from Northwestern University.
Deborah Rhode is the Ernest W. McFarland Professor of Law and the Director of the Center on the Legal Profession at Stanford University. Her teaching and research focuses on gender inequality and legal ethics.
Veta T. Richardson is the President and Chief Executive Officer of the Association of Corporate Counsel (ACC). Headquartered in Washington, D.C., ACC is the world’s largest bar association dedicated exclusively to serving the interests of in-house counsel.
Lauren Stiller Rikleen is a nationally recognized expert on developing a thriving, diverse and multi-generational workforce. As President of the Rikleen Institute for Strategic Leadership, Lauren conducts workshops, speaks at conferences, retre
Lawrence G. Sager is the Dean of the University of Texas at Austin School of Law and holds the John Jeffers Research Chair in Law and the Alice Jane Drysdale Sheffield Regents Chair. Dean Sager is one of the nation's preeminent constitutional theorists and scholars.
Keisha N. Stanford is a second-year law student at Stanford Law School, where she serves as the Co-President of the Stanford Law Students’ Association and the Women of Stanford Law. Sheis also the Development Chair for Ms.
Laura Stein returned to The Clorox Company in 2005, and serves as senior vice president – general counsel of The Clorox Company with responsibility for the company's worldwide legal, ethics and compliance, corporate secretary, corporate communications, crisis management, risk management and inter
Adrienne Iwamoto Suarez received a B.A. in English and Comparative Literature, cum laude, from Columbia College, Columbia University in 1997; an M.A. in English Education from Teachers College, Columbia University in 2001; and a J.D., summa cum laude, from the William S.
Joan C. Williams has played a central role in reshaping the debates over women’s advancement for the past quarter-century.
Diane P. Wood is a Circuit Judge on the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit and a Senior Lecturer in Law at the University of Chicago Law School. Judge Wood attended the University of Texas at Austin, earning her B.A. in 1971 (highest honors), and her J.D.
The Summit is a three-day event, held April 29, 30 and May 1, 2009.
Welcome – Summit Kickoff
5:45pm
The Landscape of Women in the Law
5:45 - 7:15pm
This panel will examine the broad landscape of issues confronting women in the legal profession and will present the most current research on such matters as discrimination and bias, and women’s advancement and leadership challenges. The panelists are nationally renowned for their pioneering research and advocacy on these issues.
Closing Remarks
7:15 - 7:30pm
Reception & Dinner
7:30pm
Welcome
9:00 - 9:10am
Keynote Address: The Honorable Sandra Day O’Connor
9:15 - 9:50am
Perspectives and Reflections on Justice O’Connor’s Remarks
9:50 - 11:00am
Break
11:00 - 11:15am
The Economics of Equality ~ The Equality of Economics
11:15 - 12:15pm
This session will explore the ways in which economic issues impact the achievement of equality for women in the legal profession.
Luncheon: The Many Manifestations of Leadership
12:15 - 2:00pm
A performance by Anna Deavere Smith
Break
2:00-2:15pm
Strategies and Best Practices for Women’s Advancement in the Legal Profession
2:15 - 3:15pm
Following up on their presentation on the landscape of women in law, this distinguished group of panelists will return to offer an overview of effective strategies, and best practices, for advancing women’s position in the legal profession.
Introduction of the Center for Women in Law's Vision
3:15 - 3:30pm
Working Groups on the Strategic Plan
3:30 - 4:45pm
Plenary Session: Revising the Plan
4:45 - 5:30pm
Informal Networking Reception
5:30 - 7:00pm
Dinner with Ann Fudge: Leadership & Legacy
On Friday, May 1, 2009, the Summit will be open to a broader audience; young lawyers and law students are invited to join the Summit’s senior women lawyers and attend the concluding sessions.
The concluding day of the Summit will have a special focus on intergenerational issues. The schedule includes presentation of current research on the topic and an interactive dialogue among lawyers from the Gen X, Gen Y and Baby Boomer crowds that will highlight their shared and divergent perspectives as well as illuminate strategies for the different generations working together.
A final draft of the Center for Women in Law's vision will also be revealed during the concluding sessions. This will be a statement of principles designed to address the obstacles facing women in the profession today.
All Friday Summit sessions will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel in Austin, 98 San Jacinto Blvd.
Welcome
8:45 - 9:00am
Special Remarks
9:00 - 9:15am
Presentation of CWIL's Vision
9:15 - 10:00am
What's the Matter with Kids Today?" - Generational Changes and How They May Transform the Practice of Law
10:00 - 10:30am
Transforming the Workplace: An Intergenerational Dialogue
10:30am - 12:00pm
Luncheon with Marie C. Wilson: Add Women ~ Change Everything
12:00 - 2:00pm
