Five of New Jersey’s Supreme Court women justices will talk about forging their career paths and learning to speak up at the New Jersey State Bar Association’s (NJSBA) Women’s Leadership Conference this month.
The virtual conference, titled “I Dissent: Celebrating the Legacy of Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and the Power of Speaking Up,” is sponsored by the NJSBA and its Women in the Profession Section (WIPS) and the Diversity Committee. It will take place Jan. 13.
A highlight of the event will feature Justice Jaynee LaVecchia, Justice Anne Patterson, Justice Fabiana Pierre-Louis, retired Justice Virginia A. Long and former Justice Helen E. Hoens.
“The NJSBA Women’s Leadership Conference is fortunate to have these five accomplished jurists talk about their individual experiences and share insights that will help other women in their legal careers,” NJSBA President Kimberly A. Yonta said.
“Despite progress, women in the legal profession still face systemic barriers. It can be overt or something as subtle as a dismissive look or a tone in the voice, but these microaggressions add up and sometimes have the effect of alienating women in the profession,” she said.
The conference’s focus is on the importance of women speaking up and becoming advocates for themselves, said Susan L. Nardone, chair of WIPS and a director in the employment and labor law group at Gibbons in Newark, who will moderate the session.
“You often hear about women needing a ‘seat at the table.’ Sure, they need a seat at the table, but they need a voice in the room and, once there, they need to be able to make sure people hear what they have to say and they get the respect they deserve,” she said.
The conversation will include how the justices forged their career paths, how they have tackled being a dissenting voice and why it is important that the voices of women and others who are marginalized are heard in the justice system.
The conference will also feature a session that examines Ginsburg’s trailblazing legacy fighting against gender-based discrimination. That panel will feature Seton Hall Law School Dean Kathleen Boozang; Rutgers University Law School Vice Dean Rose Cuison-Villazor; Rachel Wainer Apter, director of the New Jersey attorney general’s Division of Civil Rights; and Dalya Youssef, president of the New Jersey Muslim Lawyer’s Association. Maria Vallejo, a co-chair of the NJSBA Diversity Committee, will moderate the panel.
A workshop will also be presented on how to improve communication skills, led by Sheila Murphy, the president and CEO of Focus Forward.
To register, visit njsba.com.