February 2022 President's Letter

As I write this, the mid-year is still planned as an in-person event, March 10-12,  in Arlington, Virginia although we will pivot to virtual if needed. Information on registration may be found on the NAWJ website.  We will celebrate International Women’s Day at our Opening Reception on March 10. The educational programming includes Julia Olson, Founder and Chief Legal Counsel of Our Children's Trust, addressing climate change and its effect on women around the world, and a discussion with Jennifer Klein, the Executive Director of the White House Gender Council, on efforts to improve the lives of women and children under the Biden administration. There will be plenty of opportunity for networking at the opening reception and a dine around with friends Friday night.  NAWJ has arranged for the group rate to apply not only for March 10 and 11 but also for March 12 for those who want to visit the sights in Washington DC on Sunday, March 13.
 
Committee rosters and the appointment of Chairs, Co-Chairs and Vice Chairs are out.  I will be meeting with the Chairs to discuss their committee descriptions, plans and projects. 
 
We already have 3 webinars planned for this year including "Racial Disparities in the Court" which aired on January 26, the IVP’s program “Why the Courts are Under Attack and What Judges Can Do About it" airing March 18 and on April 21, "Paths to the Administrative Judiciary Bench".
 
Judge Mimi Tsankov, our Vice President of Publications who also serves as President of the National Association of Immigration Judges (NAIJ), testified before the House Judiciary Committee, Subcommittee on Immigration and Citizenship, at the hearing “For the Rule of Law, An Independent Immigration Court”, on Thursday, January 20th. 
 
As NAWJ’s representative to the CCJ/COSCA Blueprint for Racial Justice's Improving the Bench, Bar and Workforce Working Group chaired by Justice Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, I am part of a wonderful group of judges, justices and court administrators working to improve diversity in the courts. The group is brainstorming lots of fantastic ideas, including the development of a national CCJ/COSCA “access to judicial experience” pilot portal/common process to allow interested and diverse students and recent graduates to look for and hopefully apply to intern or clerk at various courts and with court administrative offices. The group is launching three subcommittees: (1) an education committee to liaise with colleges and law schools and plan panels to encourage diverse students to apply for state court clerkships and internships; (2) a “common application” subcommittee to brainstorm the logistics around a national CCJ/COSCA “access to judicial experience” pilot process; and (3) a judicial training committee to prepare a toolkit and webinars to offer resources to equip judges to support interns and law clerks. I am proud to be NAWJ’s representative on this committee.
 
I have joined Judge Michelle Rick and her planning committee on several Zooms and can report that the October Detroit Conference will be amazing.
 
As always, I love hearing your ideas and am excited about the year ahead.