Annual Report of the National Lesbian and Gay Law Association and the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation
2006
The National Lesbian and Gay Law Association (NLGLA) and the National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation (NLGLF) continued to experience growth and improve member services throughout 2006. The Lavender Law Career Fair and Conference was the primary focus of activities again this year, as it remained the premier source of cutting-edge information on legal issues affecting the LGBT community. NLGLA expanded its other educational activities in 2006 in order to better support its members and increase awareness within the larger legal community. Ongoing activities, such as the writing competition and annual awards, served as tools for showcasing excellence in the practice and study of LGBT legal issues. These efforts led to another year of sustained growth, helping to build an even stronger foundation for the future.
Mission Statement
NLGLA is a national association of lawyers, judges, other legal professionals, law students, activists, and affiliated lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender legal organizations. NLGLA promotes justice in and through the legal profession for the LGBT community in all its diversity. The National Lesbian and Gay Law Foundation is an IRS Code 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that supports NLGLA, encouraging its charitable, scientific, and legal education purposes.
Lavender Law
The Lavender Law Career Fair and Conference flourished in 2006, with an increasing number of presenters and participants. Over 125 law firms and organizations, 100 speakers, 250 practitioners, and almost 400 students participated in the annual conference dedicated to improving the standard of LGBT legal practice. The conference featured over two dozen continuing legal education (CLE) workshops for practitioners on topics such as: practical litigation skills, constitutional law developments, estate planning and drafting, employment discrimination, HIV/AIDS, immigration, workplace diversity, domestic violence, and career development. Additional sessions addressed issues affecting out legal practitioners in large firms and LGBT issues in academia, the military, and the family. A special workshop on addressing discrimination in the Solomon Amendment was added in response to inquiries from law students, faculty, staff, and supporters. During the training, participants received concrete tools and strategies for advocating for the repeal of the military’s “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy.
In addition to the CLE workshops, four networking receptions provided participants with the opportunity to meet and learn from other practitioners who are addressing LGBT legal issues in their work. Recruiters from government agencies, nonprofit organizations, and medium- and large-sized private firms made the Career Fair one of the most successful to date. Committed to law student participation in the conference, NLGLA continued to seek ways to include this important constituency, including helping identify complimentary accommodations for students.
Awards and Writing Competition
As part of its commitment to strengthening standards of practice in the legal profession, NLGLA acknowledges individuals dedicated to addressing LGBT legal issues. Each year, NLGLA presents awards to legal practitioners and law students for their work and scholarship on legal issues affecting the LGBT community.
The organization’s highest honor, the Dan Bradley Award, recognizes the efforts of a member of the LGBT legal community whose work has led the way in the struggle for equality under the law. NLGLA presented the 2006 Dan Bradley Award to Urvashi Vaid, Executive Director of the Arcus Foundation, for her work as an attorney and activist.
The Allies for Justice Award honors legal professionals who, in their position of leadership, have allied with the LGBT community in making a noteworthy contribution to the struggle for civil rights and equality under the law. The Honorable Steven H. Levinson, Associate Justice of the Hawaii Supreme Court, received the 2006 Allies for Justice Award in recognition of his sense of fairness under the law and his well-reasoned and passionate commitment to equality for all citizens.
The Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition is dedicated to encouraging and recognizing outstanding law student scholarship on legal issues affecting the LGBT community. Anne C. DeCleene from the University of Wisconsin School of Law received the award for her essay “The reality of gender ambiguity: A road toward transgender healthcare inclusion.”
Member Services
NLGLA enhanced member support in 2006 by improving information resources and partnering with other organizations on critical LGBT legal issues. NLGLA more than doubled the number of electronic newsletters it distributed in 2006 – part of its efforts to inform members about LGBT legal issues, events, and resources. Distributed throughout the year, newsletters kept members informed of ABA activities, new legislation, and educational opportunities.
NLGLA’s ongoing commitment to improving member services also led the organization to redesign its website. The new website is easier to navigate, providing better access to event information and other resources. NLGLA also began posting Lavender Law videos on the website, allowing members to watch conference sessions and obtain CLE credits.
NLGLA partnered with San Francisco District Attorney Kamala D. Harris and three other organizations to sponsor a symposium on defeating the ‘LGBT panic’ defense. The defense has been used by criminal defendants to claim that their culpability for committing homicides or other violent assaults is mitigated when the victim is a lesbian, gay, bisexual, or transgender person. The two-day event brought together dozens of speakers and 100 participants, including academics, scholars, activists, and attorneys. Organizers placed a special emphasis on including law enforcement officials in the conference. As a result, the conference provided training to prosecutors, peace officers, investigators, victim and witness advocates, and representatives of community-based organizations. Topics included countering ‘panic’ strategies from the investigatory phase through trial; seeking hate crime enhancements and addressing the problems often encountered; providing victim services; and seeking restitution.