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Photos: 2008 Scholarship Banquet
 

Upcoming Events

Magic City Bar Association
2008 Continuing Legal Education Seminar

(6 CLE Hours including 1 Hour Professional Ethics applied for)

December 5, 2008
Birmingham Civil Rights Institute
8:30 A.M. – 4:10 P.M.
Agenda and Registration


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Feature Article


MCBA Explores the Unique Issues and Experiences of Women Lawyers of Color
 
On June 19, 2008, the Magic City Bar Association presented the 2nd Women in the Legal Profession symposium.  Currently, there are 15,766 members of the Alabama State Bar.  By gender, 71.7% are male and 28.3% are women.  When the numbers are broken down by race, 93.5% are Caucasian, while African Americans make up only 6% of that number.  Of that 6%, less than 3% are African American women. 

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The 1st Women in the Legal Profession symposium was held in 2006.   The program came about as an effort to explore the unique experiences of African American women attorneys in the legal profession.  Study after study - including 1998 and 2000 studies by the NALP Foundation (a research group associated with the National Association of Law Placement) - show that minority female lawyers have exceptional attrition rates in large law firms, defined as 25 attorneys or more.  By some measures, nearly 100% of these women leave law firms within eight years.  Other studies put the number closer to 66% within five years.  The alarming attrition rate of African American women lawyers is not only isolated to large law firms, but is also evident in other areas of the legal profession as well.  To that end, the main theme of this year's program was “Retaining Women of Color in the Legal Profession” and consisting of three panel discussions.

Sharing their thoughts on "Visible Invisibility: The ABA Report – The Issues, The Response, The Solutions" were attorneys Dana Bolden Hill, Cynthia Ransburg-Brown, Lisa Sharp, and Jacqueline Smoke.  The panel was moderated by attorney Alicia F. Bennett.

Providing insight on "The Road Not Taken: Alternative Career Paths for Women of Color, Getting the Job, and Succeeding in it" panel were attorneys Celeste Armstrong, Professor LaJuana Davis, Daisy Holder, Erica Sheffield, Delores Simmons Owens, and Sabrina Simon.  This panel was moderated by attorney LaVeeda Morgan Battle. 

The third panel discussion was entitled "Judging the Judiciary: The Black Woman in the Black Robe" and was moderated by Former United States District Court Judge Vanzetta Penn McPherson.  Panelists included Jefferson County Circuit Court Judges, Helen Shores Lee and Katrina Ross , and Municipal Court Judges, Annetta H. Verin and Agnes Chappell.

Though the pattern of attrition for African American women attorneys in the legal field is undeniable, there are those who have broken through barriers and whose experiences can inform the experiences of those African American attorneys with fewer years in the profession.  The MCBA hopes through this program that the dialogue on how the legal profession can facilitate the full and vigorous participation of this group of talented attorneys will continue. 


 
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President's Message

2008 MCBA President



Latanishia Watters

Haskell Slaughter Young & Rediker, LLC
Email: ldw@hsy.com

 

Our Sponsors
The Magic City Bar Association would like to thank and acknowledge our generous 2008 event sponsors:

Daisy M. Holder

Silver Anniversary Leadership Series Sponsor

The Lamb Firm, L.L.C.
Silver Anniversary Leadership Series Sponsor

Cumberland School of Law at Samford University
Women in the Legal Profession Symposium Sponsor

Southern Progress
Women in the Legal Profession Symposium Sponsor

 

WEBSITE LEGAL DISCLAIMER: The Magic City Bar Association ("MCBA") is not a law firm, does not provide any legal services, and cannot be retained as your attorney under any circumstances. If you need legal representation, you will have to seek and communicate directly with the lawyer of your choosing in the state where you reside.

DISCLAIMER
Rule 7.2, Alabama Rules of Professional Conduct:
No representation is made that the quality of legal services to be performed is greater than the quality of legal services performed by other lawyers.