(Written by Megan Needham.)
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| Mary Hoagland |
On
Saturday, April 12, 2014, over 70 attorneys, law students, and prelaw students
gathered in Crystal City, Virginia for a JRCLS Regional Conference themed “Law
and Leadership.” This conference was
inspired by vision of Women in the Law Chair, Nan Barker, who planned a similar
regional conference in Phoenix, Arizona last November. The Women in the Law Committee, D.C. Chapter,
Conference & Events Committee, and volunteers from Norwalk, Connecticut to
Charlottesville, Virginia came together to make the D.C. conference a success.
The
conference started with breakfast and a keynote address by Mary Hoagland,
Executive Director of the Law Society.
Dr. Hoagland spoke about the meaning of leadership and how we can become
better leaders. She quoted The Life of Bees saying, “You are best
at doing the things you love most.”
Dr. Hoagland’s remarks were
followed by a plenary “Leadership in Religious Liberty Panel” featuring Kim
Daniels, Gayla Sorenson, and Hannah Smith, and moderated by Eric Baxter. Each panelist brought a unique perspective to
the discussion. The
panelists discussed everything from the recent explosion of religious liberties
litigation to how individuals can make a difference for supporting religious
liberty. Christopher Hatch, an attorney in Vienna,
Virginia, shared his reaction: “I enjoyed the religious liberty panel and their
updates on high profile cases. I also
appreciated their advice on how to get involved at the non-Supreme Court level
and how to best approach discussions on religious liberty and government
mandates with those who may not share my views.”
The religious liberty panel was
followed by two rounds of break-out sessions.
During the first break-out period, one panel covered job search tips and
was moderated by JRCLS D.C. Chapter Chair, Stacy Cheney. The other panel was moderated by JRCLS
Conference & Events Committee Chair, Ginny Isaacson and discussed the wide
range of paths open to attorneys, particularly female attorneys, who choose not
to stay in private practice.
Ms.
Isaacson commented, “Sometimes it is daunting for women who aren’t practicing
law anymore to come to Law Society events.
The World of Options panel showed that there are a variety of ways to
continue using your law degree outside the traditional practice of law. I think women carry a lot of guilt for not
working or working too much, when the goal is to own and feel comfortable about
whatever decision you make. The Law
Society welcomes all attorneys whether they are practicing or not, and it is a
great way to feel connected to the law without committing a lot of time.”
During the second break-out
session, conference attendees were able to choose between attending a
negotiations seminar or a panel on work-life balance. The negotiations seminar was offered for CLE
credit and was taught by Georgetown adjunct professor, Julie Linkins. The work-life balance panel was moderated by
Lori Sorenson, WIL Chair of the JRCLS D.C. Chapter, and covered perspectives of
both male and female and single and married panelists. Ms. Sorenson felt the most important advice
offered during the work-life balance panel was “to work hard, yet set
boundaries, even in the beginning of your career.”
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| Doug Bush |
The conference concluded with lunch
catered from Café Rio and closing remarks by Douglas Bush, Immediate Past Chair
of the Law Society. Mr. Bush entitled
his remarks, “Everything I Need to Know about Leadership I Learned from the
Dog,” and focused on the importance of service and compassion in leadership. He shared how his wife has been particularly
loving and devoted to their family’s dog and as a result, the dog will follow
his wife. His remarks were a good
reminder that effective leadership is about service rather than power.
The regional conference was an
enriching opportunity for JRCLS members and friends to build new connections
and strengthen old ties.
