May 11, 2013

California Women Lawyers host annual conference in San Francisco

Several hundred women gathered at the Renaissance San Francisco Stanford Court Hotel on May 4 for California Women Lawyers' annual conference. The statewide women's bar association tailored its event around the theme "Lifting Voices, Launching Leaders," and featured keynote breakfast and lunch speakers Nancy E. O'Malley, district attorney of Alameda County, and House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, respectively. Programming included sessions on women in alternative dispute resolution, tips for aspiring elected officials and how to improve one's "rainmaking" abilities and build client relationships. Attendees could also learn about progress in fairness for women and minority women in the California courts and how to pursue leadership opportunities in-house. Key panelists included state Sen. Majority Leader Ellen M. Corbett, Chevron Corp. senior counsel Holly Harris, Clorox Co. General Counsel and Senior Vice President Laura Stein, and Serena Lee, vice president of the San Francisco regional office for the American Arbitration Association. Jurists who sat on panels included Alameda County Superior Court Judge Tara M. Flanagan and Justice Maria Rivera of the 1st District Court of Appeal. San Francisco litigation law firm Keker & Van Nest LLP sponsored a cocktail reception in the evening. - Jill Patton