The MWL Rosalie Wahl Leadership Lecture

The MWL Rosalie Wahl Leadership Lecture was first established in 1994 by Minnesota Women Lawyers to honor the career of Justice Rosalie Wahl, the first woman justice to serve on the Minnesota Supreme Court, on the occasion of her retirement from the bench. The goal of the Wahl Leadership Lecture series is to feature women whose decisions and abilities inspire the leaders of tomorrow just as Justice Wahl has inspired so many of us. 

Please join Minnesota Women Lawyers (MWL) at its 26th Annual Rosalie Wahl Leadership Lecture, to be held remotely on the evening of Tuesday, October 27, 2020.  MWL is honored to welcome keynote speakers Paulette Brown and Eileen Letts, co-authors of the new ABA report  “Left Out and Left Behind: The Hurdles, Hassles, and Heartaches of Achieving Long-Term Legal Careers for Women of Color.”

In this new report released earlier this summer, “Left Out and Left Behind” highlights the experiences and challenges faced by women lawyers of color across the country.  Authored by Ms. Brown and Ms. Letts, in collaboration with social scientist Destiny Peery, the survey research on which the report is based reveals that women lawyers of color were far more likely to want to leave the profession than their white colleagues; were more likely to be subjected to both implicit and explicit bias; and were more likely to report factors that blocked their “access to success,” including access to business development opportunities, being perceived as less committed to career and being denied or overlooked for promotion.

These issues are important for our entire legal community to address, particularly as critical issues of equity and racial justice and the current pandemic further affect and bring these matters to the forefront. In the effort to advocate for critical changes, Ms. Brown and Ms. Letts and their report outline a number of key recommendations for concrete action.  

MWL invites its membership and the entire legal community to join us at the 26th Annual Wahl Lecture for this critical conversation with Ms. Brown and Ms. Letts about their research, about the report’s recommendations to better retain women of color attorneys, and how all of us must be a part of solution.

We hope you will join us at MWL's 26th Annual Wahl Lecture and extend the invitation to colleagues and friends.

Visit MWL's website to register today!