Lawyers at the forefront of LGBT legal issues who have navigated their way to the top of the profession will headline the second LGBT+ Forum sponsored by the American Bar Association Section of Litigation, April 30-May 1 in New York City.
This year's forum, marking the 50th anniversary of the 1969 Stonewall Riots, features a plenary session examining the impact of the uprising on the LGBT+ movement and strategies for continuing the quest for civil rights.
From combating bias in the workplace to evolving issues facing transgender employees, this conference is aimed at lawyers who practice civil litigation, criminal law and family law, as well as corporate counsel and anyone interested in learning about the unique legal issues facing the LGBT community.
Highlights include:
- The section's Diversity Leadership Award will be presented to U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones of Seattle, co-founder of the Northwest Minority Job Fair, during the Diversity Leadership Award Luncheon on Wednesday from 12:15 to 1:45 p.m. The award recognizes individuals or entities who have demonstrated a commitment to promoting full and equal participation in the legal community through the encouragement and inclusion of women, minorities, persons with disabilities, and/or persons of differing sexual orientations and gender identities. The keynote speech will be delivered by Rea Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
- "LGBT+ Issues in a Post-Kennedy World" Supreme Court practitioners and experts reflect on retired Justice Anthony Kennedy's legacy and speculate on how his absence could affect the future of LGBT+ litigation on a host of issues, including the exclusion of transgender persons from the military; the application of state parentage laws in light of Obergefell v. Hodges and Pavan v. Smith; and the applicability of Title VII to claims of discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity or transgender status. Speakers: Joshua Matz, Gupta Wessler PLLC and Kaplan Hecker & Fink LLP, Washington, D.C.; Douglas NeJaime, Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn.; Melissa A. Sherry, Latham & Watkins LLP, Washington, D.C.; Judge Therese M. Stewart, California First District Court of Appeal, San Francisco. Mary-Christine "M.C." Sungaila, Haynes and Boone LLP, Costa Mesa, Calif. will moderate the program.
- "From Rebellion to Rights: An Overview of How the Stonewall Uprising Sparked the LGBT+ Civil Rights Movement" Panel members, some of whom have worked in the LGBT+ legal rights movement since Stonewall offer a retrospective on how it changed the course of legal history and how street activism and legal advocacy can work to achieve greater equality. Speakers: Perry Brass, author-activist, member of the Gay Liberation Front, New York; William Eskridge, Jr., Yale Law School, New Haven, Conn; Martha Shelley, lesbian activist, feminist, writer, member of the Gay Liberation Front, Portland, Ore.; Phill Wilson, LGBT and HIV/AIDS activist, founder and former CEO of Black AIDS Institute, Los Angeles. James A. Reeder, Jr., Vinson & Elkins LLP, Houston, will moderate the program.
Published: Wed, Apr 24, 2019
