ABA to award 2024 Margaret Brent Award to five recipients
Each year, the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession honors up to five outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence and paved the way for other women in the legal profession. The award recipients are honored at the ABA Annual Meeting. The awards will be presented Aug. 4 at the Swissotel in Chicago.
“We applaud the achievements of this amazing group of women, who have and will continue to inspire all of us in the legal profession, including the next generation of women lawyers,” said Karol Corbin-Walker, chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession.
The 2024 award recipients include Dolores Atencio, Pamila J. Brown, Estelle H. Rogers, Gina Shishima and Barbara Wall.
Dolores Atencio is a visiting scholar at the University of Denver Latinx Center in the Sturm College of Law in Denver, Colorado.
Atencio has practiced in Colorado for 42 years, specializing in employment and education law. In 2015, she created the national legal history project, Luminarias de la Ley | Luminaries of the Law™ to identify and chronicle the accomplishments of Latina lawyers in the country. She is recognized as a national expert on the history of Latina lawyers in the United States.
Atencio has served as an assistant attorney general, as vice president and general counsel of Denver Grand Prix Auto Race, Inc., as a state administrative law judge and was development director for KUVO 89.3FM, joining two other Latinas to start the public bilingual radio station.
She was president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, served on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and the Denver Women’s Commission and was president of the University of Denver’s Law Alumni Council.
Atencio has produced numerous works on Latina lawyers, including Las Primeras, a 50-minute slide show on 21 Latina trailblazers (1993), which was converted to a video documentary (1994), and two published pieces on Latina lawyers: “100 Years of Achievement: Un Historia Abogada” (2013) and “Saluting Hispanic Women Lawyers in the 50 States” (2014). Atencio has received the HNBA President’s Award (2021), the HNBA Primera Abogada Award (2018), and the Ohtli Award, Mexico’s highest honor bestowed to noncitizens (2014).
Atencio earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.
Pamila J. Brown has served as an associate judge for the district court in Howard County, Maryland, since 2002 and was named administrative judge in 2017 for Howard and Carroll counties. Judge Brown is a frequent lecturer on ethics, implicit bias, litigation techniques, gender equity, domestic violence and human trafficking, trial advocacy, civics and professionalism.
Brown also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore Law School and on the faculty of the Southeastern National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the Maryland Judicial College and as a lecturer for the Defense Research Institute and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.
Brown currently serves on the American Bar Association Board of Governors and on the Maryland Rules Committee. She is a former president of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Baltimore City.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Estelle H. Rogers of Forestville, California, was the legislative director of Project Vote, a national nonpartisan organization promoting civic engagement, improved election administration and voting rights before retiring in 2015. Earlier in her career, she was a legal and public policy consultant, specializing in civil rights and civil liberties, with clients that included the Alliance for Justice, Common Cause and the American Bar Association. She was a lawyer in the Voter Protection Program at Advancement Project (2005-2006) and served as special counsel to the Voter Protection Project of America’s Families United.
From August 2003 to July 2004, Rogers was an advocacy legal specialist in Moscow, Russia, representing the ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, now a part of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative. Before her time in Moscow, she was executive director of the Death with Dignity National Center, a public education and advocacy organization dedicated to improving end-of-life care. Her earlier career included executive positions at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Pro-Choice Public Education Project and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Among her many ABA positions, Rogers was a member of the House of Delegates for 27 years. She currently chairs the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund Selection Committee and has chaired the Standing Committee on Election Law, Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Special Committee on Bioethics. Her past ABA experience also includes service on the Commission on Women in the Profession and the Death Penalty Representation Project. She is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Rogers co-wrote a chapter in “America Votes,” 2nd edition, a 2012 publication of the American Bar Association. Among her other publications are two law review articles and a chapter in the book “Changing America.”
Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and a law degree at the University of
Gina Shishima is the U.S. chief strategy and operations partner for Norton Rose Fulbright U.S. LLP in Austin, Texas. Previously, she was the U.S. head of intellectual property and chaired the U.S. diversity, equity and inclusion committee. She is a member of the U.S. management committee, the U.S. firm’s compensation and promotion committee and the global executive committee. As a life sciences patent attorney, she works with clients to strategize and provide practical solutions related to all aspects of patent law in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical technology.
Shishima previously co-chaired the Women’s Leadership Network of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), where she also served on its board of directors as a regional governor. In addition to being on the board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Washington, D.C., she is on the executive committee for the Center for Women in Law. Shishima has been recognized for her efforts in the Asian American Pacific Islander legal community as a recipient of the NAPABA Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award in 2021 and the Judge Wellington Chew Award in 2017 from the Texas State Bar. She was awarded the “Pathfinder” award by the Travis County Women Lawyers Association and identified as a “Texas Trailblazer” by Texas Lawyer.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Columbia University and a doctorate degree in molecular biology from Princeton University, Shishima received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Barbara Wall currently serves on the board of directors of Gannett Co., Inc., having retired from the company in 2020 in the role of chief legal and operating officer. Wall is chair of the American Press Institute and sits on the boards of Freedom Forum, the News Media Alliance and Helen Keller International.
Wall headed Gannett’s executive committee and was responsible for all of the legal and operating affairs of the company for more than 30 years. Wall has written and lectured on free speech issues, intellectual property rights and the legal issues associated with the digital transformation of the media industry.?
Wall is past chair of the ABA Forum on Communications Law and founded the ABA Women in Communications Law Committee. In 2020, the ABA Forum on Communications Law honored her with its Champion of the First Amendment award. In 2021, she was the first woman to receive the Media Law Resource Center’s William J. Brennan Defense of Freedom Award.
Wall has taught media law as an adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University and served on the faculty of Practicing Law Institute’s Communications Law program for over 25 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree at the University of Virginia.
“We applaud the achievements of this amazing group of women, who have and will continue to inspire all of us in the legal profession, including the next generation of women lawyers,” said Karol Corbin-Walker, chair of the Commission on Women in the Profession.
The 2024 award recipients include Dolores Atencio, Pamila J. Brown, Estelle H. Rogers, Gina Shishima and Barbara Wall.
Dolores Atencio is a visiting scholar at the University of Denver Latinx Center in the Sturm College of Law in Denver, Colorado.
Atencio has practiced in Colorado for 42 years, specializing in employment and education law. In 2015, she created the national legal history project, Luminarias de la Ley | Luminaries of the Law™ to identify and chronicle the accomplishments of Latina lawyers in the country. She is recognized as a national expert on the history of Latina lawyers in the United States.
Atencio has served as an assistant attorney general, as vice president and general counsel of Denver Grand Prix Auto Race, Inc., as a state administrative law judge and was development director for KUVO 89.3FM, joining two other Latinas to start the public bilingual radio station.
She was president of the Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) and the Colorado Hispanic Bar Association, served on the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession and the Denver Women’s Commission and was president of the University of Denver’s Law Alumni Council.
Atencio has produced numerous works on Latina lawyers, including Las Primeras, a 50-minute slide show on 21 Latina trailblazers (1993), which was converted to a video documentary (1994), and two published pieces on Latina lawyers: “100 Years of Achievement: Un Historia Abogada” (2013) and “Saluting Hispanic Women Lawyers in the 50 States” (2014). Atencio has received the HNBA President’s Award (2021), the HNBA Primera Abogada Award (2018), and the Ohtli Award, Mexico’s highest honor bestowed to noncitizens (2014).
Atencio earned a bachelor’s degree from Colorado College and a law degree from the University of Denver College of Law.
Pamila J. Brown has served as an associate judge for the district court in Howard County, Maryland, since 2002 and was named administrative judge in 2017 for Howard and Carroll counties. Judge Brown is a frequent lecturer on ethics, implicit bias, litigation techniques, gender equity, domestic violence and human trafficking, trial advocacy, civics and professionalism.
Brown also has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Baltimore Law School and on the faculty of the Southeastern National Institute of Trial Advocacy, the Maryland Judicial College and as a lecturer for the Defense Research Institute and the National Judicial College in Reno, Nevada.
Brown currently serves on the American Bar Association Board of Governors and on the Maryland Rules Committee. She is a former president of the Maryland State Bar Association and the Bar Association of Baltimore City.
She earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, and a law degree from the University of Baltimore School of Law.
Estelle H. Rogers of Forestville, California, was the legislative director of Project Vote, a national nonpartisan organization promoting civic engagement, improved election administration and voting rights before retiring in 2015. Earlier in her career, she was a legal and public policy consultant, specializing in civil rights and civil liberties, with clients that included the Alliance for Justice, Common Cause and the American Bar Association. She was a lawyer in the Voter Protection Program at Advancement Project (2005-2006) and served as special counsel to the Voter Protection Project of America’s Families United.
From August 2003 to July 2004, Rogers was an advocacy legal specialist in Moscow, Russia, representing the ABA Central European and Eurasian Law Initiative, now a part of the ABA Rule of Law Initiative. Before her time in Moscow, she was executive director of the Death with Dignity National Center, a public education and advocacy organization dedicated to improving end-of-life care. Her earlier career included executive positions at Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the Pro-Choice Public Education Project and the American Civil Liberties Union.
Among her many ABA positions, Rogers was a member of the House of Delegates for 27 years. She currently chairs the Legal Opportunity Scholarship Fund Selection Committee and has chaired the Standing Committee on Election Law, Standing Committee on Governmental Affairs and the Special Committee on Bioethics. Her past ABA experience also includes service on the Commission on Women in the Profession and the Death Penalty Representation Project. She is a Life Fellow of the American Bar Foundation.
Rogers co-wrote a chapter in “America Votes,” 2nd edition, a 2012 publication of the American Bar Association. Among her other publications are two law review articles and a chapter in the book “Changing America.”
Rogers earned a bachelor’s degree at the University of Chicago and a law degree at the University of
Gina Shishima is the U.S. chief strategy and operations partner for Norton Rose Fulbright U.S. LLP in Austin, Texas. Previously, she was the U.S. head of intellectual property and chaired the U.S. diversity, equity and inclusion committee. She is a member of the U.S. management committee, the U.S. firm’s compensation and promotion committee and the global executive committee. As a life sciences patent attorney, she works with clients to strategize and provide practical solutions related to all aspects of patent law in the areas of biotechnology, pharmaceuticals and medical technology.
Shishima previously co-chaired the Women’s Leadership Network of the National Asian Pacific American Bar Association (NAPABA), where she also served on its board of directors as a regional governor. In addition to being on the board of Asian Americans Advancing Justice in Washington, D.C., she is on the executive committee for the Center for Women in Law. Shishima has been recognized for her efforts in the Asian American Pacific Islander legal community as a recipient of the NAPABA Daniel K. Inouye Trailblazer Award in 2021 and the Judge Wellington Chew Award in 2017 from the Texas State Bar. She was awarded the “Pathfinder” award by the Travis County Women Lawyers Association and identified as a “Texas Trailblazer” by Texas Lawyer.
After earning a bachelor’s degree in biochemistry from Columbia University and a doctorate degree in molecular biology from Princeton University, Shishima received her law degree from the University of California, Berkeley.
Barbara Wall currently serves on the board of directors of Gannett Co., Inc., having retired from the company in 2020 in the role of chief legal and operating officer. Wall is chair of the American Press Institute and sits on the boards of Freedom Forum, the News Media Alliance and Helen Keller International.
Wall headed Gannett’s executive committee and was responsible for all of the legal and operating affairs of the company for more than 30 years. Wall has written and lectured on free speech issues, intellectual property rights and the legal issues associated with the digital transformation of the media industry.?
Wall is past chair of the ABA Forum on Communications Law and founded the ABA Women in Communications Law Committee. In 2020, the ABA Forum on Communications Law honored her with its Champion of the First Amendment award. In 2021, she was the first woman to receive the Media Law Resource Center’s William J. Brennan Defense of Freedom Award.
Wall has taught media law as an adjunct professor at American University and George Washington University and served on the faculty of Practicing Law Institute’s Communications Law program for over 25 years. She earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree at the University of Virginia.
ABA report explores successes and legal hurdles for U.S. Latinos
A new report from the American Bar Association finds that Latinos in the United States are more numerous than ever, are key contributors to the nation’s economic growth and a potent political force, but legal barriers “impede the ability of many Hispanics to fully engage in fundamental aspects of civic life.”
These conclusions and more are contained in a major report from the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. The report, “Latinos in the United States: Overcoming Legal Obstacles, Engaging in Civic Life,” will be released Aug. 3 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The report includes findings in six critical areas:
Education – “Latino children often face a segregated educational system where they attend schools with insufficient resources to meet their needs.”
Labor and employment – “Hispanics experience higher unemployment rates, lower wages, harmful working conditions and persistent workplace discrimination.”
Health and wellness – “Latinos have limited access to health insurance, which is compounded by language, cultural, technological and other unique barriers to quality and accessible healthcare.”
Housing and credit – “Hispanics experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, discriminatory lending, neighborhood segregation and unequal housing opportunities.”
Voting rights – “Latino voters are subjected to suppression and harassment, purged from registration rolls and have their vote diluted by redistricting and gerrymandering efforts.”
Criminal Justice – “Hispanics are unfairly profiled by police, subjected to increased rates of incarceration and routine acts of hate, and forced to pay discriminatory fines and fees in the criminal justice system.”
There are more than 63 million Latinos in the United States – nearly 1 out of every 5 U.S. residents – and Latinos account for more than half of the nation’s population growth in the past decade.
“While highlighting the significant contributions from Hispanics and Latinos to the fabric of our country, the report details the continuing discrimination that America’s Hispanic community continues to face in our legal profession, the justice system and civic life,” ABA President Mary Smith wrote. “This report should be a call to action to all of us to work together to ensure that our country lives up to its ideal of equal opportunity for all, including those in the Hispanic and Latino communities.”
Louis Lopez, chair of the ABA commission, wrote that “significant legal obstacles” remain for many Latino residents. For example, he wrote, “Growing anti-Latino sentiment continues to fuel discriminatory laws and policies, stir hateful rhetoric, inspire violence against Hispanics. and threaten democratic institutions. This atmosphere has helped breed distrust within the Latino community of the rule of law, the justice system and the legal profession.”
These conclusions and more are contained in a major report from the ABA Commission on Hispanic Legal Rights and Responsibilities. The report, “Latinos in the United States: Overcoming Legal Obstacles, Engaging in Civic Life,” will be released Aug. 3 at the ABA Annual Meeting in Chicago.
The report includes findings in six critical areas:
Education – “Latino children often face a segregated educational system where they attend schools with insufficient resources to meet their needs.”
Labor and employment – “Hispanics experience higher unemployment rates, lower wages, harmful working conditions and persistent workplace discrimination.”
Health and wellness – “Latinos have limited access to health insurance, which is compounded by language, cultural, technological and other unique barriers to quality and accessible healthcare.”
Housing and credit – “Hispanics experience disproportionate rates of homelessness, discriminatory lending, neighborhood segregation and unequal housing opportunities.”
Voting rights – “Latino voters are subjected to suppression and harassment, purged from registration rolls and have their vote diluted by redistricting and gerrymandering efforts.”
Criminal Justice – “Hispanics are unfairly profiled by police, subjected to increased rates of incarceration and routine acts of hate, and forced to pay discriminatory fines and fees in the criminal justice system.”
There are more than 63 million Latinos in the United States – nearly 1 out of every 5 U.S. residents – and Latinos account for more than half of the nation’s population growth in the past decade.
“While highlighting the significant contributions from Hispanics and Latinos to the fabric of our country, the report details the continuing discrimination that America’s Hispanic community continues to face in our legal profession, the justice system and civic life,” ABA President Mary Smith wrote. “This report should be a call to action to all of us to work together to ensure that our country lives up to its ideal of equal opportunity for all, including those in the Hispanic and Latino communities.”
Louis Lopez, chair of the ABA commission, wrote that “significant legal obstacles” remain for many Latino residents. For example, he wrote, “Growing anti-Latino sentiment continues to fuel discriminatory laws and policies, stir hateful rhetoric, inspire violence against Hispanics. and threaten democratic institutions. This atmosphere has helped breed distrust within the Latino community of the rule of law, the justice system and the legal profession.”
Pritzker to speak at ABA House of Delegates Aug. 5 in Chicago
Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker will speak to the American Bar Association House of Delegates on Monday, Aug. 5, at approximately 9 to 9:30 a.m. CDT at the Hyatt Regency Hotel in Chicago, during the 2024 ABA Annual Meeting.
Pritzker was elected as the 43rd governor of Illinois in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He is also a prominent business leader and philanthropist in Chicago, and a lawyer, having earned a juris doctor degree in 1993 from Northwestern University. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
The ABA House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body, will meet Aug. 5-6 to consider more than three dozen matters, including resolutions challenging government actions that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools and other actions that would interfere with medical access for gender-affirming care. Other pending resolutions focus on experiential opportunities for law students, the treatment of homeless people with mental disabilities and several that advocate for human rights in specific countries.
The 2024 ABA Annual Meeting, which runs July 31 to Aug. 6 at the Hyatt Regency and other locations throughout the city, is the premier national legal gathering, with a robust schedule of sessions on leading legal issues and a half-day summit discussing ways to ensure an enduring American democracy.
Pritzker was elected as the 43rd governor of Illinois in 2018 and reelected in 2022. He is also a prominent business leader and philanthropist in Chicago, and a lawyer, having earned a juris doctor degree in 1993 from Northwestern University. He is a member of the American Bar Association, the Illinois State Bar Association and the Chicago Bar Association.
The ABA House of Delegates, the association’s policymaking body, will meet Aug. 5-6 to consider more than three dozen matters, including resolutions challenging government actions that would require the display of the Ten Commandments in public schools and other actions that would interfere with medical access for gender-affirming care. Other pending resolutions focus on experiential opportunities for law students, the treatment of homeless people with mental disabilities and several that advocate for human rights in specific countries.
The 2024 ABA Annual Meeting, which runs July 31 to Aug. 6 at the Hyatt Regency and other locations throughout the city, is the premier national legal gathering, with a robust schedule of sessions on leading legal issues and a half-day summit discussing ways to ensure an enduring American democracy.
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