Former President Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance at the 2007 Lavender Law Conference. Award recipient Pat Logue with NLGLA chair Richard Wilson; conference attendees. Photos by Kat Fitzgerald. __________
Several hundred attorneys, law students, policy advocates and even former President Bill Clinton attended Lavender Law 2007, hosted by the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association ( NLGLA ) . The event took place Sept. 6-8 at the Hilton Chicago, 720 S. Michigan.
Workshops included 'Strategies to Tackle Bullying,' 'Speaking OUT Against Domestic Violence' and 'In the Crosshairs: The Military Family'; speakers included Servicemembers Legal Defense Network Director of Law & Policy Sharra E. Greer, Vernita Gray of the Cook County State's Attorneys' Office and Cook County Circuit Court Judge Mike McHale.
However, there were a lot more than workshops at the conference. A career fair drew over 150 LGBT-friendly recruiters from around the country, including several from the area ( e.g., the City of Chicago Law Department and law firms such as Baker & McKenzie LLP and Schiff Hardin LLP ) . There were also events that allowed attendees a chance to meet and network, such as a law student ice-cream social, a transgender luncheon reception and a welcome reception for people of color.
One of the conference's highlights, which occurred during the general welcome reception, was the awarding of the NLGLA's highest honor, the Dan Bradley Award, to Cook County Circuit Court Associate Judge Pat Logue. Logue, who opened Lambda Legal's Midwest Regional Office in 1993 and was an attorney there until earlier this year, participated in many groundbreaking cases, such as Lawrence v. Texas, in which the U.S. Supreme Court struck down all remaining state sodomy statutes around the country. 'I want to thank Lambda Legal for giving me so many opportunities to be the geeky lawyer that I am,' a modest Logue said. 'Working there was one of the great privileges of my life, and certainly of my career.'
Speaking about the conference ( and, more specifically, the career fair ) NLGLA Executive Director D'Arcy Kemnitz told Windy City Times that 'the business case for diversity has been made, [ although ] that has not been translated into the culture of the law firm. The recruiters [ at the fair ] are on the cutting edge—they know that a diverse attorney is a better attorney.'
Sarah Asplin, an attendee from Sacramento, Calif., commented on how beneficial the conference was for law students. 'When you walk into an interview, you ask yourself certain questions, such as 'Should I be out?,'' she told Windy City Times. 'By coming to a conference like this, you know that the answer is, 'Of course I should be out.' ... For gay people to advance in the law at all, they have to advance in firm life and firm culture.'
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton made a surprise appearance as he shook hands and signed a Lavender Law badge.
The 2008 conference, which will mark Lavender Law's 20th anniversary, will be held in San Francisco.
