WLAM: Women Lawyers Association of Michigan

Mary Foster was the first woman lawyer in Ann Arbor. She entered law school at age 49, and graduated with high honors from The University of Michigan Law School in 1876. According to “The History of Washtenaw County,” 1881 edition: “Mrs. Foster ranks high among the profession in this part of the state, and her success has exceeded her most sanguine expectations.”

Therefore, in honor of Mrs. Foster’s achievement, the award bearing her name is bestowed annually to a member of our organization whose leadership, talent, and significant contributions to women provide a role model for women in the profession and women in general.

State Bar of Michigan Annual meeting (September 13-15)

WLAM will have a booth at the Annual Meeting with information about the organization. WLAM will also be co-sponsoring a wine and cheese reception with the Washtenaw County Bar Association at the Michigan Firehouse Museum immediately preceding the Historic Law Walk on Thursday, September 14, 2006 at 6:00 p.m.

Mentoring Happy Hour at Grizzly Peak (September 28)

Stung by last year’s embarrassing loss to the Judges, the attorneys actually practiced for this year’s rematch of the Judges v Lawyers softball game.    And, it turns out practicing does makes a difference! 

Behind the strong bats of Judge Conlin, and Probation Officers Woo Jin Kim and Emilio Pena, the Judges leapt out to a 1-0 lead.  Lawyers’ pitcher Mike Vincent settled down, though, and held the Judges to just one run. 

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.

By Frank Weir
Washtenaw County Legal News

The president of Harvard University, Lawrence Summers, created a fire storm earlier this year when he suggested that innate differences between men and women might explain why fewer women succeed in math and science careers.

At the time, the Boston Globe quoted Nancy Hopkins, a biologist at Massachusetts Institute of Technology that if she hadn’t walked out of the lecture, she would have “either blacked out or thrown up.”

According to Yu Xie, Otis Dudley Duncan professor of sociology and statistics at the University of Michigan, Summers fell into a common “trap.”