WLAM: Women Lawyers Association of Michigan

The Washtenaw County chapter of WLAM has continued to present monthly events for its membership. In January, WLAM held a joint meeting with the Washtenaw County Bar Association, and invited Jean Ledwith King and Coach Carol Hutchins to speak to the groups on Title IX.

Jean Ledwith King, a WLAM member, initiated the first litigation against federally-funded educational institutions to enforce the prohibition on gender discrimination in the funding of sports programs. She is widely credited with spearheading the initiative that turned girl’s and women’s sports into viable programs in educational settings.

Coach Carol Hutchins is the coach of the UM Softball team, which won the National Championship in 2005. Coach Hutchins is the winningest coach in UM history! She was also a member of the 1973 women’s basketball team at MSU that, represented by Jean Ledwith King, filed one of the first gender discrimination suits under Title IX of the Civil Rights Act.

In a stroke of luck, it happened that the CEO of the Women’s Sports Foundation, Donna Lopiano, was in town. According to Sports Illustrated Women, she is one of the century’s greatest sportswomen. At the encouragement of Jean King, Dr. Lopiano agreed to join the program. Her remarks to us about the profound impact of Title IX litigation were impassioned and inspiring.

In February, WLAM presented a program on Stress Management on the University of Michigan campus, and invited the Women Law Students Association of the UM Law School. Martha Burkett, Assistant Program Administrator for the State Bar of Michigan’s Lawyers and Judges Assistance Program, and Nancy Werner, an attorney, therapeutic massage student and practitioner of holistic stress management and meditation, discussed how reducing stress levels can increase focus, concentration, overall satisfaction with life choices and lead to better health.

In addition to the program, WLAM initiated a mentoring program with the law students. Each student was matched with a mentor. Law student Christine Hintz, who was matched with Judge O’Brien (prior to her appointment) was having lunch with Judge O’Brien when she received the phone call from Governor Granholm, informing her of her appointment. The Governor, a strong advocate of mentoring, also took the time to also speak to Christine– an event Ms. Hintz will never forget!

Both aspects of the program were very successful. Two of the UM Deans came to the program. Three of the local judges participated in the mentoring program. The Washtenaw Legal News covered the event. The students and the attorneys have followed up on the mentorship relationships, and report very positive experiences.

In March, WLAM members Susan Cameron (our Regional Representative) and Judge Elizabeth Pollard Hines presented a lunch-time panel discussion on the Street Outreach Project, Ann Arbor’s newest diversion court.

Most urban areas have seen an explosion of homeless people over the last decade and Washtenaw County is no exception. Many of those individuals have kept the courts busy, revolving in and out of the criminal justice system due to a variety of petty offenses. Without treating the underlying causes for someone’s homelessness, court officials often see the same people coming back again and again without making any progress in resolving their difficulties.

The growing frustration of judges, attorneys, prosecutors, and social workers, led the 15th District Court to embark on an innovative pilot project it calls “Street Outreach Court.”

The idea behind the program, in place since Oct. 19, is to give people a “fresh start,” Judge Hines said the Street Outreach Program can clear away outstanding bench warrants and connect people with agencies that can help them with personal goals related to substance abuse or vocational efforts.

Judge Hines anchored a panel of representatives from each of the entities that are involved in this innovative approach to the needs of the community. The program was very heavily attended and resulted in a standing-room-only situation.

In early April, the membership of WLAM turned out for the UM Softball team’s Big Ten opening game. Coach Hutchins was very inspirational to us at the January meeting, and we wanted to show our support for her efforts on behalf of enriching the lives of young women. Michigan swept Minnesota in a double-header: 8-0 and 8-0. It looks like another great year for the team.

In mid-April, WLAM hosted a Social Hour for the Women Law Students Association as a follow up to the February mentoring meeting. That meeting also targeted the new WLAM members, and matched them with mentors from the ranks of our senior members. The event was well attended, and a fun evening of socializing among the attorneys, judges, and law students.

In May, WLAM hosted its Annual Meeting. At that meeting, the out-going President, Teresa Killeen, gave a report to the membership on what the local chapter had been involved in during the 2005-2006 year. Treasurer Carol Weisensel provided the membership with a Financial Report for the year. The membership voted on new officers. Amy Smith became the new President. She is a Washtenaw County Assistant Prosecutor, assigned to the CSC docket. She was previously the Vice-President and the Treasurer. Jennifer Salvatore became the Vice-President. Ms. Salvatore is a partner at Nacht & Associates, and was the Publications Director during 2005-2006. The membership voted to retain Carol Weisensel, Nancy Spezia, and Susan Cameron as its Treasurer, Secretary, and Regional Representative, respectively, in recognition of their superb contributions this year in those positions. Angela Walker, an associate at Nacht & Associates joined the officers as its newest member and will be the Publications Director for 2006-2007. As the new President, Amy Smith provided the membership with her expectations for the upcoming year.

Washtenaw County’s Chapter of WLAM has emphasized outreach to the larger legal community this year. In particular, we’ve tried to reach out to the new attorneys and the law students, and give them support, encouragement, mentoring, and friendship. Previous local leadership made those things available to the current membership, and we want to continue the tradition that has made Washtenaw County such a welcoming community for women attorneys.