Women and Law Division Executive Committee Meeting

April 9, 2014 Meeting Minutes

The April 9, 2014 WLD Meeting was held at the IBA 2nd Floor conference room.

In attendance: Tina Clark, Amy Romig, Meg Christensen, Patricia Erdmann, Jan Michelson, SaraMcClammer, Lori Spence, Abby Rom, Audrey (proxy for Elizabeth Timme), Laura (proxy for Lucy Dollens), Zach (proxy for Angela), Anna Kirkman. IBA liaison in attendance: Tabitha Rhoda.

  1. Welcome and Introduction: all in attendance introduced themselves.
  1. Old Business
  1. Approval of March 2014 meeting minutes. Minutes approved unanimously.
  2. IU McKinney Brunch package update: the law students are available for brunch this summer. Tina proposed May 31 for the brunch. Tina, Sara, and Amy can attend; Patricia, Jan, and Anna are tentative.
  3. Tina reported that the IU McKinney coffee hour was a nice event.
  4. Website postings and permissions: if we link a URL that requires permit/special access, we’ll need to request permission to link to it. We asked Tabitha to have the Bar track the WLD’s webpage traffic.
  1. New Business

A.Financial Report:

1.Tina distributed our financial report and gave everyone an opportunity to review. She explained the $200 expense for the Coburn Place balloon artist was carried over from the 2012 party. This budget motivates us to generate revenue and be in the black for FY 2014.Tina briefly discussed the 2013 Symposium: it’s an intensive effort of time and expense. A worthwhile event, but a substantial undertaking.

2.The committee discussed how registration and sponsorships apply toward costs and revenue. The committee would like the Bar to provide some clarification about how funds are applied to event costs.

B.Mentorship Committee Report: Amy Romig reported on the WLD Mentorship Program. March 25, 2014 was the kickoff luncheon, and Plews Shadley Racher and Braun sponsored the event. More people showed up than anticipated. Some signed up for lunch but not the program, others signed up for the program but not for the lunch and then showed up to the lunch. Amy reported that the subcommittee will work to resolve this next year and improve registration coordination. The Mentorship Committee suggests scheduling a monthly meeting with your group, which should make it easier to accomplish quarterly meetings.

C.Summer ReceptionReport: Elizabeth Timme’s proxy provided an update.

1.$3250 in sponsorship money has been secured to date.Anyone else interested in sponsoring the Summer Reception is encouraged to sponsor Dream Dinners instead.

2.Elizabeth’s proxy requested budget approval for $4,000. Tickets sales and sponsorships will off set these expenses. Budget was approved unanimously.

3.Email Elizabeth Timme if you’re willing to handwrite a few invitations to judges.

D.Networking and Social Events: Tina and SaraMcClammer reported.

1.Jessica Quirk, style blogger, is unable to speak at an event this year, but we can keep her in mind for the future. If others have speaker or social suggestions, please feel free to voice your ideas.

2.Symphony on the Prairie: This year’s SOTP will be on Saturday July 19 @ 8pm, “Hits of the Decades.”

E.Philanthropy: Update from Meg Christensen.

1.Dream Dinners will take place in the late summer/early fall.

2.Roxy is chairing Coburn Place this year.

F.CLE Subcommittee: Update from Tina

1.Chris and the IBA are checking dates so we can get some CLEs on the calendar.

2.Tina and Kellie Bar spoke about incorporating Professionalism into one of our events. This will not take place during the Summer Reception, but rather during a CLE. We will work with the Professionalism Committee and customize some content based on the type of CLE we’re providing. Options for Professionalism topics include:

a)Mechanics of TROs and Temporary Injunctions

b)Importance of 8.4(g) in the Rules of Professional Conduct

c)Dos and Donts on providing proposed orders to the court

d)How to terminate the attorney-client relationship

e)How to prepare against/deal with data breaches

f)Estate planning for the sandwich generation

g)Boundaries of attorney advertising, with post-CLE roundtable focused on women marketing themselves in the legal profession

G.Strategic Planning: Tina reported

1.We’ll be ready to announce and start receiving nominations at the end of May so we can assemble nomination packets in time for August meeting. The celebration will be held in October/November.

2.Analyzing strengths and weaknesses of the WLD; we will review and consider opportunities for improvement later in the year

H.Membership Outreach:Anna reported that the newsletter will be going out soon.

  1. Other:The Women and Law Division will be sponsoring the National Association of Women Lawyer’s upcoming program, The Pipeline to Equity Partnership (P2P): The Skills, Strategies, and Stumbling Blocks Women Lawyers Encounter on Their Path to Reach Equity Status. The program is being held on May 28, 2014 in Chicago, Illinois. To learn more about the program and view the agenda, please visit here: . WLD members will receive a 10% discount on their registration fees to this event!
  2. Motion to “sponsor” the event (at no cost to the WLD) was unanimously approved.
  3. The committee also discussed giving a scholarship to one WLD member to attend the Chicago event. The committee will revisit the idea in May depending on the cost.
  1. Mark your calendar:
  2. The next WLD meeting will be held at the IBA offices onMay 14
  3. June 10, 2014 is the Summer Reception!