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News & Press Releases List
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April 8, 2013 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA)
will mobilize on Tuesday, April 9, 2013 to call attention to the persistent and sizable gap between men’s and women’s wages. April 9th symbolizes the day when women’s wages catch up to men’s wages from the previous year. On this day, the WBA, along with hundreds of other women’s, civil rights, labor, and community organizations come together for a national day of action promoting fair pay known as Equal Pay Day.
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March 26, 2013 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces the results of the election held at its annual meeting on March 20, 2013. The organization welcomes the following new and returning officers and directors.
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BOSTON, MA – March 21, 2013 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) held its 2013 annual meeting and reception for newly admitted lawyers on March 20, 2013 at the Boston Park Plaza Hotel. At these events the WBA ushers in new leadership, welcomes new women attorneys to the Massachusetts legal community, and recognizes both WBA and civic leaders for their contributions over the past year.
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BOSTON, MA – March 20, 2013 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) is proud to welcome as the organization’s incoming President accomplished attorney Lurleen A. Gannon. Active in the WBA since the beginning of her career, Lurleen co-chaired the New Lawyers Committee. Under her leadership, the group became one of the most active committees and truly energized a large part of the WBA’s member base. Lurleen has served on the Board for the past six years in various capacities, including as Secretary, Vice President of Membership & Statewide Outreach for two terms and most recently as President-Elect. Through her service as Vice President of Membership and Statewide Outreach, Lurleen cultivated relationships between the WBA and many Massachusetts law firms through the WBA’s firm membership program, expanded the reach of the WBA’s regional committees, and created new incentives for members.
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BOSTON, MA – March 7, 2013 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) applauds Congress and President Barack Obama for reauthorizing the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) which provides important protections for women who are victims of domestic violence. The WBA also commends the expansion of VAWA to provide domestic violence protections to gay, lesbian, and transgender victims as well as Native Americans and undocumented immigrants.
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BOSTON, MA – February 26, 2013 – Today the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) shared its 2013 Legislative Agenda with legislators at the Massachusetts State House at the organization’s Legislative Breakfast. This annual event marks the official kickoff of the WBA’s legislative efforts for the year and provides Massachusetts legislators and their staffs the opportunity to learn about the organization’s legislative priorities for the year.
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BOSTON, MA – January 3, 2013 –The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) today commends Governor Deval Patrick for signing into law, An Act Relative to Housing Rights for Victims of Domestic Violence, Rape, Sexual Assault and Stalking. This law provides important and critical housing protections for victims of domestic violence, rape, sexual assault, and stalking while also preserving the rights of property owners.
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BOSTON, MA – August 8, 2012 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
(WBA) announces that it will be presenting its highly regarded Lelia J. Robinson (LJR) Award
to the Honorable Nancy Gertner, retired United States District Court Judge for the District of
Massachusetts, and Jayne Tyrrell, Executive Director of Massachusetts IOLTA, at its annual
Gala, which will be held on November 14, 2012 at the Westin, Copley Place.
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BOSTON, MA – June 15, 2012 –The Women’s Bar Association (WBA) commends today’s decision of the Supreme Judicial Court in Commonwealth v. Pugh holding that a pregnant woman does not owe a duty to her own viable fetus to summon medical assistance and/or intervention during childbirth such that she may not be found criminally liable for her conduct during childbirth that inadvertently causes the fetus’s death in circumstances such as those of this case.
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The Women’s Bar Association (WBA) commends the U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit’s unanimous ruling in Gill v. Office of Personnel Management and Massachusetts v. United States declaring part of the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) unconstitutional. The decision affirmed the July 2010 decision U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts’ ruling DOMA unconstitutional because it interferes with the right of a state to define marriage and denies married gay couples federal benefits given to heterosexual married couples.
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BOSTON, MA – March 19, 2012 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces that the 2012 WBA annual meeting and reception for newly admitted lawyers will be held on March 20, 2012 at the Omni Parker House Hotel at 5:30 pm. At these events the WBA ushers in new leadership, welcomes new women attorneys to the Massachusetts legal community, and recognizes both WBA and civic leaders for their contributions over the past year. They are also an opportunity to acknowledge a year of strong leadership from outgoing WBA President Nancy Cremins.
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BOSTON, MA – On February 28, 2012, a "Know Your Rights!" pilot program was launched by the Women's Bar Association and Women's Bar Foundation of Massachusetts in conjunction with One Family, Inc. (a nonprofit that is dedicated to ending family homelessness), and with support from the law firm of Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. The goal of the program is to provide education on legal matters to leaders of local non-profit organizations that serve low-income women and their families.
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BOSTON, MA – February 27, 2012 – The Women’s Bar Association (WBA) commends the federal district court’s ruling in McCullen v. Coakley last week upholding the constitutionality of the Massachusetts buffer zone statute, Chapter 266, § 120E1/2, as it applies to reproductive health care facilities in Boston, Worcester, and Springfield. The statute establishes a 35-feet fixed buffer zone around driveways and entrances of reproductive health care facilities and allows individuals to enter the buffer zone only to enter or leave the clinic, to reach a destination other than the clinic, or if they work for the clinic or municipality and are acting within the scope of their employment.
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BOSTON, MA – February 1, 2012 – Today the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) shared its 2012 Legislative Agenda with legislators at the Massachusetts State House at the organization’s Legislative Breakfast. This annual event marks the official kickoff of the WBA’s legislative efforts for the year. Women’s Bar Association leaders and members have the opportunity to share the group’s priorities with Massachusetts legislators as well as to meet and congratulate newly-elected state legislators.
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BOSTON, MA – November 23, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA)
today commends Governor Deval Patrick on signing into law An Act Relative to Gender Identity, which extends civil rights protections to the estimated 33,000 Massachusetts residents who identify themselves as transgender.
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BOSTON, MA – November, 21, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA)
today commends Governor Deval Patrick on signing into law An Act Relative to the Commercial Exploitation of People. This bill, which came about as a result of renewed efforts by legislators and Massachusetts Attorney General, Martha Coakley, will ensure both protection for victims of human trafficking and the prosecution of those committing these very grave criminal acts. A conference committee comprised of six legislators, Senator Mark Montigny (D), Senator Jennifer Flanagan (D), Senate Minority Leader Bruce Tarr (R), Rep. Eugene O’Flaherty (D), Rep. Elizabeth Malia (D), and Rep. Sheila Harrington (R), released the bill on November 14th after working to resolve disparities between competing House and Senate versions voted on last June.
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BOSTON, MA – November 14, 2011 – On Thursday, November 17, 2011, the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) will hold its annual Gala at the Park Plaza in Boston. The Gala is the organization’s biggest networking event and fundraiser, typically attended by more than 1,000 attorneys, legislators, judges and business people from across the Commonwealth.
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BOSTON, MA – October 13, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts announces the participants of the 2011-2012 Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program that brings together senior women attorneys and up-and-coming stars of the legal profession for mentoring and leadership development.
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BOSTON, MA – September 27, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) and the Women’s Bar Foundation (WBF) are pleased to announce that the organizations have selected Patricia Comfort as their new Executive Director. She will begin her new post on September 27, 2011.
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BOSTON, MA – September 26, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
today commends Governor Deval Patrick on signing the Alimony Reform Act of 2011 into law.
This bill, which came about as a result of a broad-based coalition of attorneys, advocates and
political leaders, will go far toward providing consistency and predictability in alimony orders
while allowing judges to exercise their discretion in assessing individual situations. The
Governor’s decision to sign the bill is a confirmation that compromise and cooperation can be
effective in finding solutions, even on our most controversial issues.
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BOSTON, MA – July 29, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) is pleased that the Massachusetts Senate passed Senate Bill 1989, The Alimony Reform Act of 2011. The passage of this bill by the House of Representatives and now the Senate is an important step toward providing consistency and predictability in alimony orders without sacrificing equity or judicial discretion.
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BOSTON, MA – July 21, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces this year’s Gala and Lelia J. Robinson Award recipients. The Gala, the WBA’s largest event and opportunity for fundraising and networking, will be held on November 17, 2011 at the Park Plaza.
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BOSTON, MA – July 12, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts, boosting the professional networking and business development resources it provides to members, has launched a Facebook page. The Facebook page, among other initiatives spearheaded by immediate past president Deborah Hesford DosSantos and current President Nancy Cremins, are part of the WBA’s plan to update and expand the tools it provides to its members.
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BOSTON, MA – June 24, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts
announces that it has opened the nomination and application process for the 2011-2012
Women’s Leadership Initiative, a program that brings together senior women attorneys and up
and coming stars of the legal profession for mentoring and leadership development. The
program will be led by longtime WBA leaders Pamela Berman of Adler, Pollock & Sheehan,
P.C., and Christine Netski of Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.
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BOSTON, MA – May 4, 2011 - The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts congratulates Barbara A. Lenk on her confirmation today to the state’s highest court. Justice Lenk will hold the seat vacated by Justice Judith A. Cowin.
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BOSTON, MA - April 6, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association and the Women’s Bar Foundation join together to congratulate Jamie Sabino, who is being honored by the Massachusetts Office for Victim Assistance with their annual Access to Justice Award. Ms. Sabino is on the Board of Directors of the WBA and is the Treasurer of the Women’s Bar Foundation. She was also the president of the WBA in 1992-1993. The WBF was established during her presidency, and she has been active in the WBA, the WBF and elsewhere, assisting in organizing panels providing legal assistance to battered women, elderly women and men, survivors of sexual assault, homeless women, and incarcerated women and teenagers seeking judicial authorization for abortion.
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BOSTON, MA – April 5, 2011. The WBA applauds Governor Patrick’s nomination of Appeals Court Justice Barbara A. Lenk to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
Justice Lenk has long been a member of the legal community here in Massachusetts. She is a graduate of Harvard Law School and former partner and executive committee member of the Boston law firm Brown Rudnick. Justice Lenk first joined the judiciary on the Superior Court in 1993 and was appointed to the Appeals Court in 1995. If confirmed, she will hold the seat vacated by Justice Judith A. Cowin, who served the Commonwealth with distinction.
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BOSTON, MA – March 28, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) is pleased to announce that its Women of Color Committee will be holding a program to celebrate and honor the accomplishments of a number of women of color whose recent judicial appointments have broken barriers and served as an inspiration for both attorneys and non-attorneys alike throughout the Commonwealth.
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BOSTON, MA – March 25, 2011 – The ABA Commission on Women in the Profession has provided an update on its annual statistics regarding women in the profession. The “Current Glance At Women In The Law” report includes data on the proportion of women lawyers, partners, judges, law school deans and general counsel. According to the report, women continue to represent 47.2% of law students, 45.4% of associates, and 31% of practicing lawyers, but only 19.4% of partners, and 18.8% of general counsel at Fortune 500 companies. In addition, women make up only 26% of total state and federal judges. Law school administrations also show women lagging behind as only 20.6% of deans. Even within categories, a greater percentage of the more prestigious and powerful positions continue to be disproportionately male. For example, while women obtained 51% of clerkships, they obtained only 45.6% of federal clerkships, and while 19.4% of all law firm partners are women, only 15% of equity partners are wo
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BOSTON, MA – March 25, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces the results of the election held at its annual meeting on March 22, 2011. The organization welcomes the following new and returning officers and directors.
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BOSTON, MA – March 17, 2011 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces that its annual meeting and reception for newly admitted lawyers will be held on March 22, 2011 at the Omni Parker House Hotel at 5:30 pm. These events signal the beginning of the WBA’s year, ushering in new leadership, welcoming new attorneys to the legal community, and recognizing both WBA and civic leaders for their contributions over the past year. This year, Nancy M. Cremins will assume the role of President of the WBA, after a year of strong leadership from outgoing President Deborah Hesford DosSantos.
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BOSTON, MA – March 22, 2011 – At its annual meeting today, The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) will unveil a newly developed on-line referral network that will enable women practitioners to network statewide and beyond with a few clicks of the mouse. The WBA’s new “Membership and Referral Directory” will provide a comprehensive listing of each member with her business contact information, as well as her committee involvement. All WBA members are offered a basic listing, but have the option of upgrading their listing to an “enhanced” or “premier” listing to further showcase their professional biographies. The directory is searchable on-line via the WBA homepage, www.womensbar.org. The WBA will advertise the referral directory to the general public and other bar associations, including other women’s bar associations across the country, seeking links to the WBA directory. Members who do not wish to be included in the Directory may opt out.
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BOSTON, MA – March 14, 2011. The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts announces the opening of its nomination process for the annual Lelia J. Robinson Award. The award, presented since 1994 at the WBA’s annual Gala, is named for the first woman admitted to the Massachusetts Bar. The Lelia J. Robinson Award recognizes women who, like Robinson, have captured the spirit of pioneering in the legal profession and have made a difference in the community. They include attorneys who have excelled in practice, government and academia; women who have served as mentors and role models; and women who have promoted equality and justice. In recent years, WBA honorees have included practitioners and local leaders Beth Boland, Lisa Goodheart and Ann Morse Hartner, as well as Elizabeth Warren, a Harvard Law School professor and Assistant to the President and Special Advisor to the Secretary of the Treasury on the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau.
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BOSTON, MA – March 9, 2011. The WBA is pleased to announce the introduction of a new program of member benefits now available to all WBA members. The comprehensive discounts will enable members to save money on products and services they use in their
businesses as well as in their personal lives. Companies that have already offered discounts include local and national vendors of childcare, dry cleaning, personal concierge services, food
delivery, home cleaning and yoga.
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BOSTON, MA – March 3, 2011 – Today the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) shared its 2011 Legislative Agenda with legislators at the Massachusetts State House at the organization’s Legislative Breakfast. This annual event marks the official kickoff of the WBA’s legislative efforts. Leaders in the WBA have the opportunity to share the group’s priorities with members of the Massachusetts state legislature as well as to meet and congratulate newly-elected state legislators.
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BOSTON, MA - January 28, 2011. The Women's Bar Association of Massachusetts announces its support of SD00107 entitled, "An Act to Reform and Improve Alimony." This legislation will reform the alimony landscape and benefit all parties to alimony arrangements by creating different categories of alimony with set limitations. The bill also provides an important safeguard for families that do not fit squarely within the guidelines by including discretion for courts to address their needs in alimony orders.
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BOSTON, MA – January 26, 2011 – The WBA congratulates Appeals Court Justice Fernande R. V. Duffly on her confirmation as the newest member of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
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On January 17, 2011, Denise Jefferson Casper took the oath of office, in a private ceremony attended by her family, and became a United States District Court Judge for the District of
Massachusetts. A public event to recognize Judge Casper's appointment will be held in Faneuil Hall, on February 18, 2011, at 3:00 p.m.
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The Women’s Bar Association congratulates Denise Jefferson Casper on her confirmation to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, replacing the late Reginald Lindsay. Casper, whose outstanding career most recently included distinguished service as the Deputy District Attorney for the Middlesex County District Attorney’s Office, is a former trustee of the WBA’s sister charitable organization, the Women’s Bar Foundation.
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BOSTON, MA – December 21, 2010. The WBA applauds Governor Patrick’s nomination of Appeals Court Justice Fernande R. V. Duffly to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court.
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BOSTON, MA – October 19, 2010 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) will be celebrating this year’s success and honoring the 2010 Lelia J. Robinson Award recipients as its annual Gala on October 27, 2010 at the Westin Copley Hotel. The Gala is the WBA’s largest event of the year, providing the legal community an opportunity to recognize the accomplishments of women in the profession. This year, the WBA will honor Beth I. Z. Boland and Lisa C. Goodheart, two women who have made and continue to make immeasurable contributions to the legal profession and the greater community.
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This morning, over 14 organizations, including women’s and civil rights groups along with Attorney General Martha Coakley, joined together to commemorate Women’s Equality Day marking the 90th anniversary of Women’s Suffrage.
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Written by Gloria Negri; published by The Boston Globe
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BOSTON, MA – August 5, 2010 – The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts congratulates Elena Kagan on her confirmation as the next justice to serve on the United States Supreme Court. Kagan’s confirmation marks an important milestone in the history of the Supreme Court as well as the in the advancement of women in the legal profession. Kagan will succeed retiring Justice John Paul Stevens and become the fourth woman justice in the Supreme Court’s history. In addition, this will be the first time that three of the Court’s nine justices are women. For Kagan, this marks another instance of breaking ground for women in the legal profession. A woman of many firsts, she was the first woman to serve as dean of Harvard Law School and to be Solicitor General of the United States.
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BOSTON – Wednesday, August 4, 2010 – Governor Patrick today announced the nominations of three Boston-area attorneys as Circuit Justices of the District Court: Franco J. Gobourne, seasoned defense attorney and prosecutor and board member of the Sex Offender Registry Board, Antoinette E. McLean Leoney, Assistant United States Attorney, and Debra Shopteese, attorney with the Committee for Public Counsel Services.
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The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) announces this year’s Gala and Lelia J. Robinson Award recipients. The Gala, the WBA’s largest event and opportunity for fundraising and networking, will be held on October 27, 2010 at the Westin Copley Hotel. This year’s Gala will be chaired by Heather Engman and Kim Dougherty.
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The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) extends sincere gratitude to Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall for her service on the bench. Chief Justice Marshall, only the second woman appointed to the SJC and the first to serve as its Chief Justice, announced on July 21, 2010 that she intended to retire from the Court by the end of October, 2010, or when her successor is appointed and confirmed, whichever is sooner. Chief Justice Marshall stated that she is leaving the bench prior to mandatory retirement age to care for her ailing husband, Anthony Lewis.
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Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court Chief Justice Margaret H. Marshall today announced that she will retire from the Court by the end of October, 2010, or when her successor is appointed and confirmed, whichever is sooner. Chief Justice Marshall has served on the Court for fourteen years, three as an Associate Justice and eleven as Chief Justice. She was the second woman appointed to the Court and is the first woman to serve as Chief Justice in the 318-year history of the Court.
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The Women’s Bar Association commends the Federal District Court of Massachusetts’ recent ruling in Commonwealth v. United States Dept. of Health & Human Services et al., striking down the federal Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).
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WBA Congratulates Camille A. Nelson on Appointment as Suffolk University Law School Dean
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A message from Chief Justice Marshall and Chief Justice Mulligan.
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June 15, 2010. The Women’s Bar Association hosted a well-attended reception following the Women’s Bar Association’s Board of Directors’ monthly meeting in Barnstable. Massachusetts attorneys, law students, and business professionals joined the WBA’s Board of Directors at the event.
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The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts and its sister charitable organization, the Women’s Bar Foundation, extend congratulations to Denise Jefferson Casper on her nomination by President Obama to serve on the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts, replacing the late Reginald Lindsay.
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This letter was written by US Attorney Carmen M. Ortiz to local bar associations regarding and warning against the recent attorney collection scam.
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The Women's Bar Association participated in Attorney General Martha Coakley's First Annual Legal Food Frenzy Food Drive on March 30, 2010.
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The WBA supports S1616, An Act Relative to Flexibility in Alimony Orders, because it would allow the court to give short-term alimony, or alimony for a fixed period if appropriate.
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ABA Commission on Women in the Profession has updated its annual "A Current Glance at Women in the Law," containing statistics on women in the legal profession.
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Pierce Decision Prevents Harmful Change in Law Concerning Alimony
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Women’s Bar Association Urges State Legislature to Prohibit Discrimination Against Domestic Violence Victims
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Darien Fleming testified on behalf of the WBA at the July 14, 2009 Judiciary Committee Hearing in support of H1728 and S1687, Acts Relative to Gender-Based Discrimination and Hate Crimes, which would explicitly include transgender people by adding “gender identity or expression” as a protected characteristic to Massachusetts statutes governing hate crimes and discrimination in employment, housing, credit, public accommodations, and public education.
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