The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan (WLAM) is accepting nominations for the 2009 Jean King Leadership Award through March 13, 2009. The award was created by WLAM in 2006 to honor and recognize lawyers who exemplify leadership while furthering WLAM’s mission to secure the rights of women in society and to advance women in the legal profession. The Award will be presented at the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan 91st Annual Meeting being held May 7, 2009 in Ann Arbor. The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan Annual Meeting Committee reviews all nominations. The committee’s recommendations are then voted on by the full Board of Directors.
The Nomination deadline is March 13, 2009 at 5:00 p.m.
Nominations must be submitted on a WLAM Nomination Form and should include sufficient details about the accomplishments of the nominee to allow the committee to make a judgment. Click here to download a Nomination form. Jean King Leadership Award This award is given each year to a practicing attorney or judge who best exemplifies leadership and brings honor, esteem, and respect to the legal profession.
The criteria for the award is:
- Someone who has a vision
- Is honest and seeks constantly to earn and maintain the trust and confidence of others
- Takes risks and holds true to beliefs in face of vocal opposition
- Constantly seeks leadership opportunities for others and actively supports growth throughout her community
- Motivates others to operate at their highest for the benefit of the entire community
- Faces everything and avoids nothing
The Jean King Leadership Award was established in 2006 in honor of Jean Ledwith King, of Ann Arbor. Jean is an attorney and member of many organizations who spent an entire career advocating for women’s rights. In 1970, she co-founded Focus on Equal Employment for Women and the Michigan Democratic Party Women’s Caucus which remedied severe gender imbalance in Michigan’s delegation to the 1972 DNC. She filed an administrative complaint against the U-M with the Department of Labor which ultimately resulted in double salaries for women faculty in 1971. She may be best known for the work she did with Title IX to offer equal sports opportunities to women in high schools and colleges. In 1989, Jean was inducted into the Michigan Women’s Hall of Fame.
