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Centennial Celebration: An Exploration of the Impact of Alabama Women through and Beyond the Law

Friday, April 3, 2020 9am to 4:30pm

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The year 2020 marks a time to celebrate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th amendment guaranteeing women the right to vote. The symposium, Centennial Celebration: An Exploration of the Impact of Women Through and Beyond the Law hosted by The University of Alabama School of Law, will bring together lawyers from across the state to discuss the impact women in the law have made and will continue to make, in Alabama. With representation from private practice, government, public interest, and the judiciary, the symposium will address the importance of hearing women’s voices in the ballot box and beyond.

9:00 – 9:30 Breakfast

9:30 – 10:00 Welcome and Opening Remarks

Dean Mark Brandon – The University of Alabama School of Law

Leigh King Forstman – King Forstman Law LLC

10:00 – 11:00 A Lawyer’s Responsibility to Her State and Community

Making the law and its positive impacts accessible to all citizens has been a hallmark in the careers and lives of many women lawyers in Alabama. In the panel “A Lawyer’s Responsibility to Her State and Community,” we will discuss how women in the law are in a unique position to affect change in the public interest and shape the legal and social fabric of Alabama communities.

Judge Sue Bell Cobb – Former Chief Justice, Alabama Supreme Court
Kendra Key – Hope Credit Union
Jilisa Milton – Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program
Sarah Stokes – Southern Environmental Law Center

11:00 – 11:15 Break

11:15 – 12:15 The Impact of Women’s Voices in Law Practice

In roughly the same era as women were granted the right to vote, women were beginning to gain traction in their quest to study and practice law. In the panel “Impact of Women’s Voices in Law Practice,” we will gain insight into the strides Alabama women have been making in the legal profession and what it means to be engaged in private practice as a woman today.

Alyce Spruell – Rosen Harwood, PA
Leigh Forstman – King Forstman Law, LLC
Liz Huntley – Lightfoot Franklin & White, LLC
Julia Roth – Eyster Key Tubb Roth Middleton & Adams, LLC

12:15 – 12:45 Lunch Pickup

12:45 – 1:00 Recognition of Scholarship Recipients

1:00 – 2:00 A Look Ahead to the Next 100 Years (1-hour Ethics CLE credit available)

In “A Look Ahead to the Next Hundred Years,” we will discuss the need of the profession to make a clear commitment to ensuring the workplace is welcoming to all. In doing so, lawyers will be able to better fulfill the mission in the Preamble of the ABA Model Rules of Professional Conduct that challenges us to “seek improvement of the law, access to the legal system, the administration of justice and the quality of service rendered by the legal profession.”

Christy Crow – 2019-20 Alabama State Bar President; Jinks, Crow & Dickson, PC
Professor Heather Elliott – University of Alabama School of Law
Farah Majid – Legal Services of Alabama
Judge Tammy Montgomery – Presiding Sumter County District Judge

2:00 – 2:15 Break

2:15 – 3:15 Women Lawyers Answering the Call to Serve Alabama

It is no secret that a well-functioning state relies heavily on members of the legal profession. Holding a variety of roles, women lawyers in Alabama take seriously their commitment to advance justice and improve the lives of their fellow citizens. The law connects directly to how society functions, and in “Women Lawyers Answer the Call to Serve Alabama,” we will discuss how working in the public service is a vital part of the profession.

Mary Martin Mitchell – Alabama Department of Revenue
Nichelle Nix – Governor’s Office of Minority Affairs
Judge Caryl Privett – Retired Jefferson County Circuit Judge
Judge Sharon Yates – Former Judge, Alabama Civil Court of Appeals

3:15 – 3:30 Closing Remarks

Allison Skinner – Cadence Bank

3:30 – 4:30 Networking Reception

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