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The purpose of the Women Lawyers Section of the Birmingham Bar Association is as clear as a well-written brief. The group exists to foster the personal and professional development of women who practice law, and to enhance the quality of life and culture of the legal community. “Formed 21 years ago, it is the second largest section of the bar with more than 300 members. Our focus is on supporting women in the process and practice of law,” says current section president Katie Suttle Weinert, an attorney at Littler here in Birmingham. The purpose of the section is to encourage participation by women in the practice of law, to enhance the quality of life for women who have chosen law as a profession, to provide role models and mentors for women seeking to enter or grow in the profession, and to provide an environment that fosters cooperation between and among women in the profession, thereby enhancing the profession as a whole. Beginning around 1979, a group of like-minded women lawyers who had been friends in law school or who had become friends after starting their legal careers gathered for regular social events. After a few such occasions, their discussions turned to the state of women in the legal profession and their desire to create an organization to meet their professional and personal goals. These women were visionaries who believed the needs of women lawyers were greater than the profession’s ability at the time to meet them. For more than a decade, these women continued to talk about what form and structure such an organization might take, gleaning any useful information
from other women’s bar organizations nationwide. On Jan. 4, 1994, Judy Crittenden and Robin Burrell met with Bill Clark, the then current president of the Birmingham Bar Association (the BBA) at the Summit Club to discuss the issues facing women lawyers and the need to establish a formal group to support the advancement of women in the legal profession. He agreed. On May 13, 1994, the proposal to create the WLS was presented to the BBA Executive Committee. The vote to create the WLS was successful and WLS became an official section of the BBA. So
These women were visionaries who believed the needs of women lawyers were greater than the profession’s ability at the time to meet them. after years of discussion about the form and structure of the new organization it was now time to put the ideas in writing. At Highlands Bar and Grill, Robin Burrell and Marion Walker drafted the first set of bylaws and the preliminary structure of the WLS on napkins. At a meeting on Sept. 22, 1994, more than 120 women lawyers joined WLS. By October 1994, the WLS boasted 233 members. The focus of the WLS is on the professional and personal concerns and needs of women lawyers. In addition, the WLS founders recognized the need to encourage the participation of women lawyers in the BBA and charitable activities, as well as providing networking and mentoring. The WLS members have also reached out into the community to help women and children in need, frequently partnering with the YWCA and other organizations
topwomen attorneys Janell Ahnert Bressler, Amery & Ross, PC bressler.com
Ramona Albin US Attorney’s Office, Northern District of Alabama justice.gov Labella S. Alvis Christian & Small LLP csattorneys.com Melanie Atha Cabaniss, Johnston, Gardner, Dumas & O’Neal LLP cabaniss.com Lisa Atkins Ogletree Deakins, PC ogletreedeakins.com Tammy Baker Jackson Lewis, PC jacksonlewis.com Elizabeth Beaube Maynard Cooper & Gale, PC maynardcooper.com Jenna M. Bedsole Baker, Donelson, Bearman, Caldwell & Berkowitz, PC bakerdonelson.com Alicia Bennett Boardman Carr Hutcheson & Bennett, PC boardmancarr.com Julia Bernstein Maynard Cooper & Gale, PC maynardcooper.com Sela Blanton Bainbridge, Mims, Rogers & Smith LLP bainbridgemims.com
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