Women Lawyers of Alameda County to Honor Women Judges and Feature Keynote Speaker Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O'Malley

    OAKLAND, CA, October 17, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- On Thursday, October 21, 2010 Women Lawyers Of Alameda County will host its Annual Judges Dinner & 30th Anniversary Gala at the historically-acclaimed Claremont Resort in Berkeley, CA. This annual event is held to honor incoming and outgoing women judicial officers in Alameda County. This year's honoree is the recently appointed Hon. Tara M. Desautels. Also, this milestone will acknowledge a renowned list of former WLAC Presidents including Ellen J. Beilock, Kathleen Courts, Priscilla Camp, Cynthia Podren, Frances S. Kaminer, Juliet L. Gee, Rachel Ginsburg, Susan Narita, Gillian M. Ross, Katherine A. Montgomery, Alice Chin, Hon. Sandra (Schweitzer) Mclean, Lise Pearlman, Deborah Chase, Cherri N. Allison, Carole Raimondi and Margaret A. Gannon.

Keynote speaker Nancy E. O'Malley currently serves as District Attorney for Alameda County, after having served many years as Assistant Chief District Attorney. She is a nationally recognized expert on violence against women, interpersonal violence, ethics and discovery; and has written statewide protocols in these areas. She has received countless awards for her role in advancing victims' rights and leadership in creating new and effective responses to crimes against women and exploited youth. She has served on countless state-wide task forces, advisory committees, and Judicial Council committees. DA O'Malley also serves as a national and statewide consultant to legislators. Under her leadership and vision, Alameda County launched a model program, the Alameda County Family Justice Center--a one-stop shop for victims of family violence, sexual assault, elder abuse and child abuse. Currently, she is Vice-President of Women Lawyers of Alameda County and President of California Women Lawyers.

This year's benchmark event will also feature a silent auction to raise funds for WLAC's Herma Hill Kay Scholarship Fund developed to encourage and support women aspiring to become lawyers. Herma Hill Kay is a pioneer among women in law and is the former Dean of Boalt Law School at U.C. Berkeley. The Herma Hill Kay program was instituted by WLAC in her honor and provides a special forum for women who are at the start of their legal careers.

WLAC began as an independent organization in 1980, evolving from a woman's committee of the Alameda County Bar Association. As was the fashion at the time, WLAC was loosely "governed" by a steering committee and reached decisions by consensus until the legal standards of professional organizations at the time required the group to form its own autonomous organization.

The inaugural Judges' Dinner was held in the YWCA on Webster Street, such an informal location that guests could smell the chlorine from the swimming pool! Nevertheless, the event was mobbed because at that time, women judges were a rarity. There were only 150 women judges nationwide in 1979. Since then, many of WLAC's original Judges' Dinner honorees have retired or been elevated to the Federal District Court and Court of Appeal. Judge Brosnahan is the senior female judicial officer still sitting in Alameda County, having begun her service in 1979.

Approximately ten years ago, WLAC memorialized Alameda County's women judges in a group photograph and many of the honored judicial officers proudly display the timeless snapshot in their chambers. In celebration of WLAC's 30th anniversary, a secondary commemorative photo will be taken during the gala as a souvenir of this momentous occasion

For more information on WLAC, visit http://www.wlaconline.org.

For press enquiries, photos or for more information about WLAC, judicial honorees and past Presidents, please contact Toni Mims-Cochran, President, (510) 465-3210 or via email to [email protected].

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