Ms. JD & Columbia Law Women present: Jay Sullivan's "Communication Skills All Young Associates and Students Should Learn

Sullivan will lead an interactive workshop that focuses on crucial communication skills for summer and young associates. Following this valuable skills building session, students and Ms. JD-affiliated firm associates will mingle and network over drinks at a local watering hole, thanks to the generous support of Sullivan & Cromwell.

I mention this because it's a great example of how student groups can leverage their membership in NWLSO. Columbia Law Women are organizing this event, using Ms. JD contacts to recruit speakers and local firm attorneys and creating an opportunity to learn and network. Awesome job ladies!

• When: Tuesday March 23, 6-7:30 pm
• Where: Columbia Law School, Jerome Greene Hall, Rm 101
• What: "Communication Skills All Young Associates and Students Should Learn" presentation by Jay Sullivan, Exec/Comm

If you are a Columbia student or Ms. JD affiliated attorney and you'd like to attend this event please email davis@ms-jd.org asap. To start planning your own event email kornberg@ms-jd.org.

NWLSO at UCLA: 2008-2009 Event Recap

Since March 2008, chapters of Ms. JD's National Women Law Students' Organization have been meeting on campuses accross the country. At UCLA Robin Shofner and Hilda Montes de Oca have been responsible for leading a particularly vibrant chapter. To learn more about how to start a NWLSO chapter of your own get started here. What follows is a series of examples of events you might put together collected from UCLA's 2008-2009 event announcements:

WOMEN IN THE MILITARY: Fighting Sexual Assault in the Military – Angie’s Story

A Documentary followed by a Discussion of the Issue and the Military Policies and Legislative Proposals Seeking to Combat the Problem

“Army Sergeant Angela Peacock joined the military in February 1998.  She wanted to travel, serve her country and gain some life experience.  In 2001, while deployed in South Korea, Sergeant Peacock was raped by a fellow soldier.  She was encouraged by her command not to tell, so she held it in, and in 2003 she took it to Iraq with her.  She led her unit courageously, but silently struggled until she couldn't stay quiet any longer. Out of Iraq and back at home, Sergeant Peacock decided to take control of her PTSD - a result of both her military sexual trauma and combat stress - and take her life back.”

Sergeant Peacock will speak in public for the first time on January 26, 2009 at UCLA School of Law.  Following a screening of the brief documentary that tells her story, Sergeant Peacock will be joined by a panel of speakers who will discuss the issue of sexual assault in the military, including current military policies and legislative proposals to address the problem.

Introducing Ms. JD's National Women Law Students' Organization (NWLSO)

This past weekend, Ms. JD celebrated its first birthday by bringing together over 90 law students from 70 law schools in 33 states to create the Ms. JD National Women Law Students' Organization (NWLSO), a group that will bring together and represent the interests of women law students. Delegates elected regional leadership to establish a NWLSO presence at every law school campus in the country and to connect with practitioners and professional leaders in legal markets nationwide.

Sponsored by Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz and made possible by all of the founding sponsors who have supported Ms. JD through a year of quick growth, the summit kicked off with a cocktail reception on Friday night in New York City. At the opening reception, Chief Judge Judith Kaye, of the New York Court of Appeals, inspired the student delegates with reflections on the advancement of women in the legal profession and the challenges female lawyers still face. Lynn Hecht Schafran, the Director of the National Judicial Education Program, offered her perspective on the current professional climate for women in the courtroom. On Saturday, Kate Frucher of Axiom offered advice on how women attorneys could maximize networking potential. The summit ended with a banquet featuring remarks by Dahlia Lithwick, senior editor and legal correspondent for Slate.com, and Barbara Babcock, the first female professor at Stanford Law School, who recounted the history of women in the legal profession and offered advice to young women lawyers. The banquet also recognized the accomplishments of several guests of honor, including Judge Denise Cote, Judge Betty Ellerin, Janice Goodman, Joan Krey, and Cathy Ruckelshaus.

If your school was not represented at the conference, and you would like to join NWLSO, please email the student liaisons at nwlso@ms-jd.org. Video from these speakers and more information about the four regions of NWLSO will be available on the website soon. Congratulations to all the participants!