Lawyers Club Blog (ARCHIVE)

I am honored and humbled to serve as your 2020-2021 Lawyers Club President. Some people have expressed sympathy because my presidency is the year we witness the global COVID-19 pandemic, and worldwide protests for racial and criminal justice reform after the unjustifiable killing of Mr. George Floyd. During this pandemic, we have learned that the only statistic women are not leading on is the death rate. Otherwise, “across every sphere, from health to the economy, security to social protection, the [negative] impacts of COVID-19 are exacerbated for women and girls simply by virtue of sex”. (United Nation: Policy Brief: the Impact of COVID-19 on Women - April 9, 2020)  On May 25, Mr. George Floyd died after a police officer knelt on Floyd’s neck for 8 minutes and 46 seconds, while two other police officers knelt on Floyd’s body, and a third police officer stood and watched. None of the officers provided aid to Floyd as he said, “I can’t breathe.” The killing of Floyd has prompted diverse crowds to protest for racial and criminal justice reform. Unfortunately, where we are today with race relations is not a surprise, it is just more people are “woke” than ever before. 
 

My husband woke me up with excitement in his voice, “DACA is here to stay!” I was happy to hear it, but I didn’t trust the feeling.

As I prepared my final address for the newsletter, I thought of the message I wanted to leave our members to conclude my service as president. Serving as our 48th president and reflecting on all of the achievements Lawyers Club has accomplished since its founding, some important rights and legal protections remain out of reach for women, like paid family leave, protecting access to reproductive rights, and equal pay.

As many of you know, women of color face many obstacles in the legal profession. Studies have shown that the combination, or intersectionality, of race and gender has a particularly devastating effect on the professional lives of women of color. For example, Black women only earn 65% of wages earned by men and Latinas 62%. Women of color are also much more likely to leave the private practice or the legal profession entirely. While the Judicial Council of California does not identify demographics for judges based on a combination of gender and race, its annual judicial survey has shown that Asians comprise of 7.8%, Blacks comprise of 7.5%, and Latinos comprise 10.8% of superior court judges.
 

On January 18, 2020, the fourth annual Women’s March will be held in San Diego, an event for women and men to advocate for women’s rights and show politicians around the country that women’s rights cannot be ignored. The Women’s March in San Diego will coincide with other marches around the United States, including in our nation’s capital, as a response to actions by state and federal governments to retrench important civil rights, LGBTQ rights, and reproductive rights that protect women and families.
 

At the Bench Bar Committee, San Diego Lawyers Club members are given the opportunity to attend events that provide an informal, relaxed atmosphere for members of the bench and members of Lawyers Club to meet, interact, and discuss the legal profession. The goal of this experience is to help us all understand that members of the bench are approachable people – they make mistakes, understand that you may be slightly anxious when you are arguing in front of them, and maybe even spill salad dressing on their clothes too.
 

Human trafficking, which includes sexual exploitation and forced labor, is a significant problem in San Diego. According to data from the FBI, San Diego is one of the 13 worst regions in the United States for sex trafficking, an underground industry worth $810 million in San Diego County.

This year Lawyers Club celebrates its 47th anniversary of advancing the status of women in the law and society through advocacy and activism. Since its establishment, Lawyers Club has received numerous awards and accolades for its informative programming and advocacy for policies to advance the status of women. Our charitable arm, the Lawyers Club Fund for Justice, has awarded more than $400,000 to 45 organizations since its inception in 1997. Lawyers Club has also put on engaging dinner programs, featuring distinguished speakers, such as former Attorney General and U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sandra Day O’Connor (Ret.), U.S. Senator Olympia Snowe, Professor Anita Hill, and former United States Attorney General Hon. Loretta Lynch. Lawyers Club could not have achieved all of its success without the generous support of its sponsors. On behalf of Lawyers Club, I would like to THANK our sponsors for their support and commitment to advancing our mission. We are excited to have recently released our new sponsorship booklet. I encourage our sponsors, and anyone interesting in becoming a sponsor, to review the booklet to learn of our sponsorship opportunities, and reach out to Tracy Schimelfenig with questions.

I remember January 21, 2017, like it was yesterday. It was an emotional day. The new president had been sworn in just the day before. I was in a fog of confusion. I was depressed and disappointed in the results of the election. But a part of me hung on to hope, thinking I could be wrong in my assessment of an administration that was just about to begin. I hoped that the new administration would be different from what was advertised—more respectful of women and other diverse groups in America. Maybe it was just a tactic the new president had used just to get elected? But I wasn’t sure.

Women’s Voices

What was once a silenced and nearly invisible mass of people is now rapidly scaling the walls that kept them hidden away: Women.