Lawyers Club Blog (ARCHIVE)

The celebration of Independence Day this year will look different with the wearing of masks and social distancing to slow the spread of COVID-19. As we celebrate the significance of Independence Day, I invite you to reflect and remember women who stood out at the time for their courage and advocacy for women’s rights.
 

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 with important advancements for women in the past, a fundamental step to further the advancement of women in law and society is to collectively organize.  In the San Diego legal community, there is no other organization that advocates for the advancement of women better than Lawyers Club.  For over 48 years, our organization has championed the causes of women and for equal and fair treatment for all women. 
 

In January, I volunteered to write a blog post about the centennial anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment, a celebration of women finally “winning” the right to participate in the most fundamental act of basic governance in this country. I had some really cogent thoughts about this topic that have since evaporated with the fear and pain of the past three months. A worldwide pandemic, separation from our families and friends, illness and death, and then, another spate of senseless murders of black men and women by the police whose duty it is to protect all of us, and in the case of Ahmaud Arbery, by white vigilantes – frankly, it has been tough to focus.

As many of you know, June is Pride Month, a month to celebrate the LGBTQ+ community and create awareness for their continued struggle to achieve equality.  This month we join the community in celebrating a landmark decision by the United States Supreme Court, which finally recognized that Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 protects LGBTQ individuals from discrimination and unequal treatment.  Under this decision, the Civil Rights Act now protects LGBTQ employees from being fired or otherwise discriminated against due to their gender identity or sexual orientation. 
 

As many of you know, Lawyers Club’s Annual Dinner is the largest Lawyers Club event, and a must-attend event for the legal profession.  In the past two years, we welcomed over 800 attendees and this year with Ms. Stacy Abrams as our speaker we expected another exciting and successful event. 
 

Over the last week, we have seen thousands of people take to the streets to protest the killing of George Floyd and police brutality against people of color. Many have also challenged the systemic racism against people of color that have made the community more susceptible to the effects of COVID-19. In support of the protests, many individuals and organizations have issued well-intentioned statements. Although protesting and issuing statements of support are important, they are not enough to truly change systemic discrimination or the deprivation of the civil rights of the black community.
 

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.

Lawyers Club has been hard at work during this difficult time to support our members and the community.  We continue to serve the needs of our members by providing valuable virtual programming for networking and connecting, joining amicus briefs for important cases, endorsing judicial candidates for appointment and election, and supporting our law students and diverse legal community.  We need to continue to focus on advancing our mission because the issues affecting women have not ceased during the pandemic.  Indeed, in some respects, the pandemic has exacerbated issues that women face.  Now, more than ever, we need to support each other.