Lavender Law 2007 - Chicago

Register Early and Receive

Discounted Fees!

This year's event is shaping up to be the best career fair and conference ever!

Lavender Law offers you networking opportunities and thought-provoking discussions that you will find nowhere else.

Lavender Law Hotel Selling Fast!

The Hilton Chicago Hotel, site for Lavender Law 2007, will certainly sell out.

If you hope to stay at the conference site,

you should reserve your hotel room immediately.

About the Hilton Chicago:

720 South Michigan Avenue

Chicago, IL 60605

Hilton Chicago is a landmark downtown, pet-friendly property located on the ''Cultural Michigan Avenue Mile'' overlooking Grant Park and Lake Michigan, Millennium Park and Museum Campus. It is the closest luxury hotel to the city's convention center while being only minutes from the loop business center, shopping and theatre. The hotel features 1,544 richly appointed guest rooms, full service business center, fitness facilities, diverse dining options and over 234,000 square feet of meeting, banquet and exhibit space.

Lavender Law’s Local Host Committee
Requests the Pleasure of Your Company...

Chicago Kickoff Meeting

Tuesday, July 31st, 2007

6:30 PM to 9:30 PM

3656 North Halsted Street  

Chicago, IL 60613

Lavender Law was last held in Chicago in 1992.

Come celebrate the return of Lavender Law to Chicago! 

Please RSVP by emailing your name and contact information to Jennifer@nlgla.org.

There is no cost to attend the Kickoff Party, although sponsorships to support the work of Lavender Law’s Career Fair will gladly be accepted at the event.

Won't You Join Us On Opening Night?

Lavender Law is extending the invitation to everyone this year for an Opening Night Reception! Over the last two years, this event was an exclusive invite-only to Lavender Law recruiters and sponsors. 

This year

everyone is invited.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

6:00 PM to 8:00 PM

Winston & Strawn LLP

35 W. Wacker Drive

Chicago, IL 60601-9703

Remember to accomodate this special event in your travel plans!

LGBT Legal Professional Issues in the News:

Raising the Bar
Gay African-American is new head of the D.C. Bar Association
By Yusef Najafi

Metro Weekly
June 28, 2007

Even as a child, Melvin White showed interest in the law as an avid fan of TV courtroom dramas such as Perry Mason.

''I was born in '59, so the '60s and '70s shaped my background a great deal,'' says White, an African-American native of Crawfordsville, Ark. ''And of course there was a lot going on legally during that time period, with respect to civil rights, so that also piqued my interest in the law.''

On Thursday, June 21, White, an attorney who specializes in complex commercial litigation as a partner with the D.C. firm McDermott Will & Emery, was sworn in as the president of the D.C. Bar Association, during an annual meeting and awards dinner at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill.

White is the first openly gay head of the group.

''I bring a different perspective, based on my background,'' he says. ''I've been an attorney for 20 years, and I've been [African-American and gay] all my life, so I think when the two are put together, it is my hope that I would bring a fresh perspective on the issues that the Bar is dealing with.''

Read more >>

Big Law's Gay Romance

By Daniel Ostrovsky

New York Lawyer

June 27, 2007

MIAMI -- Richard A. Wilson, chairman of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association, recalls that as recently as 2002 only a couple of law firms made the trip to recruit at the group’s Lavender Law Career Fair.

In 2003, the National Association for Law Placement began analyzing information about the number of openly gay and lesbian lawyers at law firms.

By 2004, Lavender Law attracted 40 firms to its Minneapolis conference. More than 70 firms attended the fair in San Diego in 2005. Last year, the fair attracted more than 120 firms to Washington, D.C. In September, more than 140 firms are expected in Chicago.

The list of participants this year reads like a Who’s Who of large U.S. law firms.

Read more >>

In Pursuit of Happiness:

Today’s LGBT Friendly Law Firms at a Glance

By Patrick Folliard

Diversity & The Bar

May/June 2007 Vol. 9, No. 3

Learn about the progress for LGBT legal professionals in some of America's top law firms. C. Elaine Arabatizis, William M. Hohengarten, D’Arcy Kemnitz, Helene B. Madonick, Gail H. Morse, and Melvin White are featured in the story.

Read more >>

NLGLA Issues Comments on Proposed

Solomon Amendment Regulations

On July 5, 2007, NLGLA submitted comments on the new proposed Solomon Amendment regulations that were issued by the United States Department of Defense on May 7. NLGLA's comments can be viewed here (pdf).

For further information, read NALP's comments here (pdf) and read the complete text of the proposed regulations here.