Join BWLA at the Fall General Body Meeting

Interested in Being More Engaged with BWLA or Signing Up for a Committee?

Are you interested in becoming more active in BWLA during the 2022-2023 bar year? If so, please consider serving as a Committee Member and/or sharing what BWLA can do to better serve you. BWLA has several committees that members can join. If you're interested in serving on a committee, please fill out a brief survey that can be found here.

Pay Your 2022-2023 Bar Year Membership Dues

Be sure to pay your current bar year membership dues before the upcoming Fall Meeting. Remember your dues help BWLA to continue to put together and host great programming aimed at the interests and goals of black women in the legal profession.

BWLA Walked in the Bud Billiken Parade and Distributes School Supplies

As part of its annual tradition, BWLA members, along with their family and friends, walked in the Bud Billiken Parade on Saturday, August 13, 2022. With all the generous donations received, BWLA was able to pack over 100 school bags with school supplies which they provided to students attending the parade route!

Thanks to everyone who donated, volunteered to pack school bags the evening before, and/or marched in  the parade! BWLA greatly appreciates everyone who donated and volunteered their time and resources to representing BWLA at this great event!

BWLA Attends Women's Bar Foundation

Rise Up and Reach Back Luncheon

On Friday, August 19, 2022, BWLA attended the Women's Bar Foundation's Rise Up and Reach Back Luncheon. Illinois Supreme Court Justice Lisa Holder White and Jessica Fairchild, one of the founding partners of Croke, Fairchild, Morgan & Beres, were both honored at this year's WBF Luncheon for the accomplishments in their respective legal and judicial careers and for creating future pathways of opportunities for women in the legal profession.

BWLA Attends All Bar Networking Event

On August 25, 2022, several members of BWLA's Board of Directors and Scholarship Fund Board participated in the 2022 Chicago Bar Association's All Bar Networking Social Event, held at Hubbard Inn. BWLA was among thirty other bar associations represented at the event and Board members spent the evening networking with various black female lawyers and law students who were eager to learn more about BWLA, our upcoming events and opportunities to get involved!

10th Annual Minority Bar CLE Conference

Register for the 

Ray Garrett and Corporate Counsel Institute

The 42nd Annual Ray Garrett Jr. Corporate & Securities Law and 61st Annual Corporate Counsel Institute is being held September 21-23, 2022 at Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. This three-day, in-person CLE event combines two of our popular annual programs, the Ray Garrett and Corporate Counsel Institutes, which provide private practitioners and corporate counsel with a timely analysis of current legal issues and developments confronting corporations.

Northwestern Law Professional Education is committed to increasing diversity in the legal profession and, as part of that effort, we are pleased to offer three (3) diversity, equity, inclusion and engagement (DEIE) tuition scholarships for attorneys interested in attending but who might face financial or other obstacles preventing them from doing so.

Congratulations past BWLA Board Member Amber Bennett on being named a Top 100 Under 50 Executive by Diversity MBA.

Congratulations to BWLA Past President Kenyatta Beverly on being named a Top 100 Under 50 Executive by Diversity MBA and a 2022 Salute! Top Women in the Law Honoree by Law Bulletin Media.

Congratulations to BWLA Parliamentarian Christian Conway on co-authoring an article with Brigid K. Ndege for Business Law Today, a publication of the American Bar Association (ABA) Business Law Section. Click here for full article.

Congratulations to BWLA Past President Kalia Coleman on her selection as a 2022 National Black Lawyers Top 100 in Illinois.

Congratulations to BWLA Past President Nakhia Crossley on being honored as the recipient of the Crescent Moon Award by The Upsilon Sigma Alumni Chapter of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc.

Congratulations to Cymone Forde on her new position as Attorney with IBM.

Congratulations to CCBA President Natasha Jenkins on being named a 2022 Women of Excellence by the Chicago Defender.

Congratulations to BWLA Past President Kenya Jenkins-Wright on being named Alum of the Year Northern Illinois University Law.

Congratulations to Beverly Jones on being named Young Alum of the Year by Northern Illinois University Law.

Congratulations to April Morgan on being named a 2022 Women of Excellence by the Chicago Defender.

Congratulations to BWLA Parlimentarian Weeya Young on her new position as Assistant Attorney General with the Office of the Illinois Attorney General.