Lorraine H. Weber will receive the Women Lawyers Association of Michigan’s prestigious Jean King award during WLAM’s 95th annual conference Friday, April 12 in Detroit.
Weber has served as the executive director of the Detroit Metropolitan Bar Association Foundation since 2003 and as co-founder and executive director of The Seventh Generation, the DMBA’s program for foster children, since 2005.
“It would be a huge understatement to say that I’m thrilled to receive this award,” said Weber. “Every legal professional in our state is deeply aware of the many contributions Jean King has made in politics, social policy, and education to advance the cause of women’s equality.”
This year’s WLAM conference is entitled “Furthering Herstory Together.”
The keynote address will be delivered by Judith Lichtman of the National Partnership for Women & Families.
Weber, a graduate of the University of Michigan and Boston College of Law, first joined the Wayne County Probate Court in 1979. She served on the probate and juvenile court benches in several capacities, including as a juvenile court referee for nearly two decades.
Weber left the bench in July of 1997 to serve as special advisor to the State Bar of Michigan Task Force on Racial/Ethnic and Gender Issues in the Courts and the Legal Profession and director of the State Bar of Michigan Open Justice Commission.
Weber worked with the commission to develop and administer numerous programs and initiatives aimed at eliminating all forms of bias within the legal profession and promoting fairness in the courts.
In August 2009, she was appointed the first Michigan Supreme Court Director of Access and Fairness.
In 2010 Weber was appointed co-chair of the Michigan Solutions on Self Help Task Force along with Linda Rexer of the Michigan State Bar
The two led a statewide collaboration of judges, courts, lawyers, bar association and nonprofit legal aid agencies to develop a statewide system for providing comprehensive services to the public and courts for self-represented litigants, including the creation of the Michigan Legal Help website. She currently contributes to the ongoing development of this initiative in partnership with the Michigan State Bar Foundation.
Weber is former chair of the State Bar of Michigan Representative Assembly and past President of the Women Lawyers Association, Wayne Region.
She is a founding member and former board member of the National Consortium on Racial and Ethnic Fairness Issues in the Courts and received the Consortium’s Founders Award in 1999.
In 2003, Weber received the Community Service Pride Award from the Triangle Foundation, and in 2008 she was the recipient of the State Bar of Michigan Champion of Justice Award for her lifetime career of service to the causes of equal and open justice.
The Women Lawyers Association of Michigan was founded in 1919 to secure the rights of women in society and advance the interests of women serving in the legal profession.
To register for the conference, visit womenlawyers.org or call the association at (517) 372-3320.
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