Balancing the Scales: A Feature Documentary Film will receive a screening at 4:30 p.m., Tuesday, October 25, 2016, at World Trade Building 2 Auditorium. Over a period of 20 years, Atlanta lawyer and producer Sharon Rowen interviewed more than 40 women attorneys spanning five generations. Oregon Women Lawyers and Bodyfelt Mount LLP are proud to bring this event to Portland. Join us at the World Trade Center Building 2 auditorium for a social and networking at beginning at 4:30 pm with the film screening followed by Q&A with Sharon Rowen from 5:15 to 6:45. Parking is available in the World Trade Center garage. All proceeds will benefit the Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation. Cost is $25 or $10 for students. To register, click here. … [Read more...] about Balancing the Scales: A Feature Documentary Film, October 25, 2016
Beatrice Grace Thanks the OWLS Foundation for Supporting Her Dream
Beatrice Grace, a new lawyer, 2015 UO Law School graduate and proud member of OWLS, is a grateful recipient of two OWLS Foundation grants during her final year of law school — the Armonica Law Student Grant (2014) and the Vernellia Randall Bar Exam Grant (2015) — for the financial relief they brought her family: Last year, my family and I were entering a real crisis. At the end of my last year of law school, the ability to study for the bar presented a huge hurdle. I had no way to pay my bills, my rent. I was looking at having to work 12-hour shifts in the ER while trying to study and raise my two children as a single parent. Not passing the bar was an unthinkable option. It would have been a terrible hardship for my family. We had all worked so hard to get me to this point. I am the first person in my family to go to law school and the first person in my family to get an advanced degree. Now, this last mile seemed for all practical purposes impossible. For the first time, I … [Read more...] about Beatrice Grace Thanks the OWLS Foundation for Supporting Her Dream
Grant Recipient Pays it Forward
A few thoughts from 2009 Armonica Law Student Grant recipient Jacqueline Alarcón: I have been an attorney since 2011; however, my involvement with OWLS goes back to my second year as a law school student (2008-2009), when I was awarded the Armonica Law Student Grant by the OWLS Foundation. As part of that award, I was to be appointed a judicial mentor and attended the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Awards Dinner. I was paired with the Honorable Darleen Ortega who has provided me with invaluable mentorship and has helped define the type of attorney I am and want to be. The Roberts & Deiz Awards Dinner is a special event for me as two influential women have been awarded the Mercedes Deiz award, specifically; Armonica Gilford was awarded the Mercedes Deiz award in 1997 and Judge Ortega in 2011. I have served on the OWLS Fall CLE Committee, and the OWLS 25th Anniversary Committee, and currently serve on the OWLS Roberts & Deiz Awards Dinner Committee. In addition to my involvement … [Read more...] about Grant Recipient Pays it Forward
Armonica Grants Awarded to Law Students by Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation
By Traci Ray, OWLF Board Member The Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation (OWLF), the 501(c)(3) sister organization to Oregon Women Lawyers, is proud to announce the 2014 Armonica Law Student Book Grant recipients. The OWLF focuses on educating and supporting women and minorities in order to further their access to and participation in the justice system and funds four grants including the Armonica Law Student Book Grant, the Vernellia R. Randall Bar Exam Grant, the Justice Betty Roberts Leadership Conference Grant, and the Janis Hardman Medical Support Grant. This year, the Foundation is thrilled to fund six Armonica Law Student Book Grants, and the awardees are as follows: Jayme Mori from Willamette Law School, and Judge Nelson’s mentee, says that “The Armonica Book Grant will help me pay for a bar review course to prepare for the Oregon State Bar exam. Additionally, the grant will serve as a reminder and motivation to continually support women and minorities in the legal community. … [Read more...] about Armonica Grants Awarded to Law Students by Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation
Kim Sugawa-Fujinaga Will Receive Oregon State Bar Award
The OWLS Foundation congratulates Kim Sugawa-Fujinaga, who will be presented with one of the Oregon State Bar's President's Diversity and Inclusion Awards at the Bar's annual Awards Luncheon on Thursday, December 4, 2014. The Award recognizes Bar members who have made significant contributions to the goal of increasing minority representation in the legal profession. Congratulations to Kim, who served on the OWLS Foundation Board from 2010 to 2014. … [Read more...] about Kim Sugawa-Fujinaga Will Receive Oregon State Bar Award
Katherine H. O’Neil Volunteer Service Award Winner Named
The OWLS Foundation congratulates Kathryn Smith Root who received the OWLS Katherine H. O'Neil Volunteer Service Award, named after OWLS' founding president, on September 26, 2014, during OWLS' Fall CLE. Kathy has worked tirelessly on behalf of OWLS and the OWLS Foundation, and she currently chairs the Foundation's Advisory Board. Congratulations, Kathy! … [Read more...] about Katherine H. O’Neil Volunteer Service Award Winner Named
‘Thrown a Lifeline’: Grant Recipient Expresses Appreciation
I am extremely grateful to have received the Vernellia R. Randall Grant. When I was just two semesters from graduation, my children’s father died of cancer. I had to figure out how I would manage. I crunched a very tight budget. I figured out that I could graduate if I cut expenses to the bare minimum. I had already given up hope of taking the bar in July when I received the amazing news that I had been awarded the Vernellia R. Randall Grant. I was sitting at my desk at work when I got the news and tears were in my eyes. It was good news, really good news. I had been thrown a lifeline by the Oregon Women Lawyer’s Foundation. I’ve graduated on time, and I am taking the bar review classes. Because of your kindness and the Vernellia R. Randall Grant, I hope to be a member of the Oregon Bar this fall. Thank you so much. Heather Murray July 2014 … [Read more...] about ‘Thrown a Lifeline’: Grant Recipient Expresses Appreciation
Grant Recipient Tells What a Difference It Made
I came to Portland as a single mother of two. Balancing school, work, children, and home has been challenging. The Foundation grant was immediately important to me because I had been reading textbooks in the library but I did not own any of the books for my open-book exams. The grant was a lifeline. I was able to buy books that I could tab, write notes in, and fill with Post-Its. Being able to graduate and work in the legal profession will allow me to do the work which I believe in and be able to support my family. I am very, very grateful to Oregon Women Lawyers Foundation. … [Read more...] about Grant Recipient Tells What a Difference It Made