<![CDATA[Queen's Bench - News]]>Thu, 10 May 2012 08:21:10 -0800Weebly<![CDATA[Remembering the Power of Words: Book Review]]>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:50:57 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/10/remembering-the-power-of-words-book-review.htmlAt our monthly Queen's Bench luncheon on October 11, 2011, our speaker, Avel Gordly, read from her memoir, Remembering the Power of Words: The Life of an Oregon Activist, Legislator and Public Servant. Reprinted here with permission is Teresa Statler's review from the Summer 2011 OWLS Advance Sheet. Enjoy!
]]><![CDATA[Women in Oregon Politics]]>Wed, 12 Oct 2011 10:25:37 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/10/women-in-oregon-politics.htmlAs a follow-up to our monthly Queen's Bench luncheon on September 13, 2011, our speaker, Laura Coyle from Emerge Oregon, shared with us some statistics on Women in Oregon Politics and information about Emerge Oregon's Class of 2012. Enjoy!

Women in Oregon Politics

A National Perspective:
The US currently ranks 87th in the world in terms of number of women in the federal legislature, behind Mexico, China and even Iraq. As of 2011, women make up:
  • 17% of the US Senate
  • 16% of the US House
  • 12% of the number of Governorships
  • 25% of the seats in state legislatures
  • 7% of the mayors in major US cities
A State Perspective:
In Oregon’s history, we have had:
  • One female US Senator
  • Four women serve in the House of Representatives
  • One female state labor commissioner
  • Two female superintendents of public instruction
  • Three female Secretaries of State
  • Five women serve on the state supreme court—including the two who currently serve
  • Three women have served as Mayor of Portland
  • Four female Speakers of the House
  • And one woman serve as Governor
In Oregon’s history, we have never had a female:
  • President of the Oregon Senate
  • State Treasurer (although you can blame me for that one)
  • State Attorney General
  • And no woman has ever served as Chief Justice of the Oregon Supreme Court
Oregon currently ranks 13th in the nation in terms of women holding legislative office at 27.8%. While Oregon has proven time and again that we are open to electing women, the percentage of women in our legislature declined in 2010; and as of October 2011, only 26 of our 90 state legislators are women. We know that women can get elected in Oregon. Our challenge is that not enough women are running: the exact problem that Emerge Oregon is designed to address.
  • That’s 9 women in the State Senate
  • 16 women in the State House (as of October 4, 2011, there are 17 women serving in the Oregon House)
There are no women representing Oregon in the US Congress and only 2 of Oregon’s 6 statewide elected officials are women

Emerge Oregon
Mission: To recruit women who want to run for political office (including both elected and appointed office), train them and provide them with the support they need to win

Our rigorous seven-month course prepares women to run and win and we’re recruiting and training Oregon’s next Democratic women leaders right now. In doing so, we will start filling the political pipeline with a pool of highly qualified candidates that reflect the breadth and diversity of the Democratic Party.  As of September 24, have graduated 55 alumnae.
  • 17 have gone on to hold elected or appointed office (31%), including one of our alumnae who was just appointed to the vacancy in House District 46
  • Six of our alumnae are currently running for office in 2012
Emerge Oregon is currently recruiting program participants for the Class of 2012, and we encourage you to apply.  The 2012 Program will meet once a month on weekends from February 2012 to August 2012. The application is currently posted on our website (www.emergeor.org/apply).  The deadline to apply is December 9, 2011.

2012 Program Dates:
Kick-Off/Welcome: January 2012, date TBD
Class One: Saturday, February 11th
Monday, February 20th (President's Day): Job Shadow in the Oregon Legislature
Class Two: Saturday, March 10th
Class Three: Saturday, April 14th
Class Four: Saturday, May 19th
Class Five: Saturday, June 9th
Class Six: Saturday, July 14th
Class Seven: Saturday, Aug 11th
]]><![CDATA[Queen's Bench Speaker Survey]]>Tue, 13 Sep 2011 16:02:04 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/09/queens-bench-speaker-survey.htmlQueen's Bench is asking your input about what topics or speakers you would like to see for our Monthly Luncheons next year. Please click here to take our short survey or fill out our contact form with your suggestions.
]]><![CDATA[Today's Picnic Canceled]]>Sat, 16 Jul 2011 09:15:47 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/07/todays-picnic-canceled.html
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]]><![CDATA[RSVP for the Annual BBQ & Picnic]]>Wed, 29 Jun 2011 14:27:49 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/06/rsvp-for-the-annual-bbq-picnic.htmlPicture
Please join Queen's Bench and the OWLS Portland-area Playgroup for a family-friendly picnic and BBQ on Saturday, July 16th from 11:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. at Sellwood Park (SE 7th Avenue & SE Miller Street) in Portland. There will be games, face painting, and plenty of time to visit.

RSVPs (click here) are appreciated for food planning, but not required. Please come for however long you can!
]]><![CDATA[Handouts from the May Luncheon]]>Wed, 18 May 2011 09:50:14 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/05/handouts-from-the-may-luncheon.htmlIn case you missed our monthly luncheon with Alisa Blum, we have reprinted here, with her permission, the handouts from her discussion regarding intergenerational communication techniques.

Right-click on the documents below and select "View Image" to

]]><![CDATA[A Perspective on Expanding Your Practice from Lisa LeSage]]>Thu, 14 Apr 2011 11:14:55 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/04/a-perspective-on-expanding-your-practice-from-lisa-lesage.htmlAs a follow-up to our monthly Queen's Bench luncheon on April 12, 2011, our speaker shared with us her notes on using our existing skillsets to expand our practices globally. Enjoy!

Incorporating Small Steps into Big Career Opportunities: An International Experience
By Lisa LeSage

YOU DON’T HAVE TO LEAVE THE LAW, JUST JAZZ IT UP A LITTLE
Lots of us who have been in practice a long time think about how it would be nice to add a little pizzazz to our lives, look at what appears to be “fun stuff” that others are doing, like helping with domestic violence cases, refugee rights, international human rights issues, but think, “there is no way I can do that, since I don’t have the connections, skills, experience.”  

We may not even be thinking so much about changing what we are doing, or leaving the practice of law, but either taking a vacation and doing something different with it, or incorporating something into our “after hours” professional lives, or actually making a big leap and moving on – not out of the law, but doing something different in law.

GIVE YOURSELF PERMISSION TO DREAM
If you don’t take time for yourself to do it, you never will.  You take time to do your nails, and other small personal things that make you feel better.  So just put one more thing on your list – “dream.”  Set aside a couple times a week (can be 20-minute slots), and actually put it on your calendar so you will do it – make it manageable.  “DT” (Dream Time) or “CT” (Career Time).  Use it to surf the web wildly, and make list of all the fun and/or interesting potential opportunities out there, from the ridiculous to the sublime. 
  • ABA’s ROLI initiative
  • Consultant to global nonprofit groups doing domestic violence work, children’s issues, immigration issues, micro lending issues, rule of law education, litigation training, workshops for law students and judges on substantive or procedural issues
  • Lawyers Without Borders
  • MercyCorps, World Wildlife Fund, etc.
  • UN, World Bank, InterAmerican Court of Human Rights consultancies
  • Fulbright Specialist Program, where you sign up and just need to do two or three weeks in a five-year period
  • Law schools, specialty schools and universities in foreign countries, on any topic  
YOU HAVE MORE TALENT THAN YOU THINK
So your resume looks like a bowl of spaghetti tossed on the floor?  Not so fast – we lawyers instantly categorize ourselves into “substantive silos” where we stare longingly out at the other silos, thinking, “I can’t get there from here.”  Instead of thinking about categories, start to think about details. Once you deconstruct your silo, you will find that you have a lot of transferable skills.  Use your “CT” or “DT” time to brainstorm, listing every little detail about what you know how to do – make a list of broad categories, and fill it in with minutia.    

General skills:  Most of us, especially those who are in small firms, have several of these skills, but we never think of ourselves in this way, we are “lawyers” first:
  • Managerial, employment and delegated authority experience – e.g., staff management, can be anything from PTA committee to small firm management
  • Budget experience
  • Language training or experience
  • Teaching or coaching experience
  • Program design or management experience
  • Experience working with diverse populations, especially refugee, immigrant, low income, elderly, persons with disabilities other “special” group
  • Board governance experience
  • Experience with legislative or policy issues
Particular Legal – Related Skills:
  • Substantive experience in any area of law
  • Legal research and writing experience – important nowadays as legal practice becomes more global – foreign firms and NGOs need research on everything from antitrust issues to human trafficking, and don’t have a) the legal research and writing training US lawyers have or b) access to legal research databases, even the free ones
  • Advocacy experience, whether written or oral
  • Law firm or CLE training experience, adjunct professor experience, any speaking/training experience
  • Bar organization experience, everything from Oregon Women Lawyer committees to service with National Lawyers Guild, ACLU, Multnomah Bar Association or Oregon State Bar section executive committees
  • Experience with policy-related issues, whether from serving on a local or regional board or representing clients
FILLING IN THE BLANKS
After I take stock, what can I do to “beef up my resume?”  Or what can I do to build some of the skills I want to develop.  NGOs in the U.S. and abroad, as well as foundations, law schools and other entities doing “global work” look for people who have experience in their own back yard, doing things like:
  • Amicus briefs in immigration cases
  • Pro bono work with legal aid civil rights cases such as fair housing, domestic violence, juvenile or consumer issues, etc.
  • Volunteering to be moot court judge for Classroom Law Project or law school moot court, high school civics courses.
  • Adjunct professor at law school, community college, PSU
  • Organize or speak at CLEs on a variety of topics
  • Get on a screening committee for local judges, or a Bar disciplinary committee – lots of OSB volunteer opportunities that go begging
  • Look at statewide commission vacancies that are appointed by the Governor, like the Psychology Licensing Board, Ethics Commission, Wage and Hour Commission, etc.
  • Get involved with a legislative issue, especially policy issues that the bar or a legal services organization or other nonprofit is interested in, such as basic worker rights, low-income housing preservation, affordable health care, environmental justice. 
  • Get involved with a local business services group, such as Mercy Corps, or Oregon Minority Entrepreneurs, the Hispanic Chamber, etc. or organizations which do business advising, or provide micro lending services, to recent immigrants, women, low income groups, and minority clients.
MAKE YOUR EXISTING NETWORKS WORK FOR YOU
There’s no reason you have to start from scratch or cold call:
  • Go back to your law school career services office, get list of alumni living overseas, or who are doing work in an area you are interested in, they can sort all kinds of data now; plus most of the offices will have booklets with NGOs you can work with
  • Think about your old law school professors – many of them have lots of connections overseas, that you don’t even know about
  • Former clients, members of boards you serve on, and local groups, such as Mercy Corps, NW Worker’s Justice Project, Immigration Counseling Service, to name a few, all have boards and staff, many of who have excellent international connections.
  • Don’t forget your undergraduate school either – most of them are a bigger goldmine than law school, have great international student offices, that can help you get connected to different projects students are working with, also to even house visiting professors, who often are here just for a week or so, and who have great connections
  • Form relationship with a law school in a foreign country and teach a short course during vacation – most don’t necessarily require the language, and many teach in English, most programs are undergraduate.
  • Get involved in World Affairs Council – amazing way to meet dignitaries, academics and business people from all over.
  • Don’t be afraid to ask colleagues to help you out with a letter of reference or to just be listed as a reference.  Do the job for them and make it easy - Be sure to give them the position description, your resume, and an “elevator speech” they can use. 
PARTING THOUGHTS     
It’s easier than you think, especially if you take small steps, and it mainly just takes a willingness to take some time for yourself, to be willing to reach out and try for something but fall short.  Keep in mind the mantra, “If I risk nothing, I go nowhere.”  You had to screw up the courage to go to law school, take the bar, represent your first client, do your first trial – you can do this.
]]><![CDATA[Spring Mixer at Lewis & Clark Law School]]>Mon, 14 Feb 2011 15:57:21 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/02/spring-mixer-at-lewis-clark-law-school.htmlPlease join Queen's Bench and the Women's Law Caucus for an informal networking reception at Lewis & Law School on Wednesday, March 16, 2011 from 5:00 to 6:30 p.m. If you can't come for the whole time, please drop by as your schedule permits!

Our guest speaker will be Martha Pellegrino, the Director for Government Relations with the City of Portland, who will speak briefly on the topic of “How to Work a Room,” giving attendees plenty of time to practice their networking skills.

We always have an excellent turnout from students at this annual event and hope to have an strong showing from female attorneys as well. This event is free and wine, non-alcoholic beverages and light hors d’oeuvres will be served. Parking passes will be available at the Law School on the day of the event or a free shuttle service is also available from downtown.

Registration is requested for planning refreshments. If you are planning to attend, please click here to register online at the Law School website.

Questions? Please contact Queen's Bench Vice President, Christine-Coers Mitchell.
]]><![CDATA[2011 Theme: Growth]]>Mon, 24 Jan 2011 14:13:03 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/01/2011-theme-growth.htmlPicture
The theme for this year’s Queen’s Bench is “growth.” We will be having speakers who will incorporate this topic into their luncheon talks, and Queen’s Bench as an entity will be exploring new events and projects that we hope our members will enjoy.

If you have any ideas, please contact a Queen’s Bench board member, or email us. We hope our members will enjoy a year of growth right along with us!
]]><![CDATA[A Perspective on Professional Development from Judge Adrienne Nelson]]>Wed, 19 Jan 2011 09:35:00 -0800http://www.owlsqueensbench.org/1/post/2011/01/a-perspective-on-professional-development-from-judge-adrienne-nelson.html As a follow-up to our monthly Queen's Bench luncheon on January 11, 2011, our speaker shared with us her excellent notes on the stages of professional development. Enjoy!

The Three “Rs” – Stages of Growth in Professional Development
By Hon. Adrienne Nelson

In a world in which we have multiple roles which we perform on a daily basis – community leader, daughter, mother, spouse/domestic partner, aunt, sister, trusted friend – it’s hard to find time for professional development. For me, juggling multiple roles has made it a real challenge to focus on my professional growth. Over time, I had to have an honest talk with myself about what was working in my life and what was not while accepting that self-awareness is part of professional development. Then I took slow and deliberate steps to become more self-aware through what I call the three R’s: reflection, reality and renewal.

Self-Awareness through Reflection, Reality and Renewal
To develop yourself professionally, you have to spend some time getting to know who you are and not just who you want to be or want others to see. This is where the first “R,” reflection, occurs. Finding out who you are is not easy. It takes initiative, commitment, hard work, perseverance and courage to get to know just who you are and what you want. How do you reflect to get to know yourself? By knowing your strengths and weaknesses, you will figure out your skills, limitations and boundaries. When you know yourself, you’re more empathetic to others’ needs and are rarely blind-sided or viewed as out of touch. As you get to know yourself, you will exhibit a unique professional presence. Self-awareness is an essential precursor to leading others and marketing yourself successfully. It is at this stage that you can come up with a professional development plan. More about that later!

Next, move into the second “R,” reality. Have a real heart-to- heart with yourself as often as needed: every three months, every six months or once a year. Determine where you are right now on your plan, if you have met your established goals and why or why not. Identify the skills and experience you need to have in order to achieve the next steps of your professional development plan. Revise your plan as needed. As you work through this step, you will learn your true professional value, which means you will understand your special skills, what contributions you bring and know what professional environments work and don’t work for you. When you are in the “reality” phase, you can foster success in yourself and others because you understand where you add value, and recognized when to say “no,” or when to stay out of others’ way so that they can do what they do best.

Now, move into the third “R,” renewal. Now that you know where you are and where you are going, take some time for replenishing yourself mentally, physically, emotionally as well as spiritually. Exercising, spending time with friends and family, developing hobbies and interests, taking time off from work, and eating well give you the tools needed as well as the ability to succeed in your professional development. Don’t minimize their importance.

By reflecting, living in reality and renewing myself on a regular basis, I receive some unexpected benefits along the way. I became more patient, peaceful and grounded. I let things just be the way they are without trying to control the outcome. As I accepted people and situations for what they are, I felt healthier, clearer and less stressed.

Self-awareness is a lifelong process with ups and downs. But being self-aware will help you handle all of the various tasks, interests and obligations in your life.

The Professional Development Plan
Through my experience with self-awareness, I came up with a ten-step professional development plan I would like to share with you but with these disclaimers: it is an evolving plan, the steps don’t have to occur in order, the plan is not a “one-size fits all” – it is just what has worked for me!

Step 1 - Take charge of your own life. It’s the responsibility of each of us to take steps to increase our insight, plan our own future, assess our career and professional growth, focus on our targets and goals and set professional standards. Going hand in hand with that, our standards are reflected in how we treat other people. By acting ethically and treating others with respect, you will earn other people’s admiration, make others want to work with you and encourage others to follow your lead.

Step 2 - Identify what stage you are in your professional development – the early career stage, the mid-career stage, or the late-career stage.
  • The entry stage of your career is when you first enter the profession or a new job within the profession. This is where you will need the most professional development in the most areas.
  • The mid-career stage is when you are established as a contributing member of the professional community with a unique identity. At least one area of expertise is developed during this stage and your professional identity is established through your work on projects, committees and special assignments. Often you are involved in organizations and associations in the professional community, ultimately chairing a committee and taking on leadership roles in them. Professional development continues in this stage but becomes more focused.
  • The late-career stage is when you take on increasing responsibility, either formal or informal, for developing others in organizations and the workplace until you play a key role in shaping the future by “developing” people, programs and ideas. Often you have developed a distinct competence in several areas of expertise and have a regional or national reputation. You can be a catalyst for change and are capable of exercising formal and informal influence in the decision-making process. Professional development occurs in this stage but may change depending on your evolving roles.
Step 3 - Identify the motivators driving your professional development activities – for example, widening a client base, becoming a partner with your firm, developing an area of expertise or gaining broader influence in the community. Write them down so they can be added to your action plan.

Step 4 - Verbalize your professional development goals. Clearly and concisely state your long-term professional goals. Examples of professional development goals might be to gain knowledge and skills necessary to work more effectively with a business or an organization, expand expertise in litigating cases or develop a personal brand. First, be sure your goals are so clear that you will know when or whether you have accomplished them. Second, write them down. Give your goals top priority by keeping them visible to you every day – either at work, at home or at both. You may also wish to carry them with you.

Your accomplishment will be determined by your ability to direct your day-to-day actions toward clearly defined, measurable goals. Success does not come from plans; it comes from accomplishments!

One of the most frequent reasons for not setting goals is the conscious or subconscious fear of failure. If you don’t set goals, you can’t fail. Not so – the clearest failures of the future will be those who can’t move ahead, can’t risk. In a rapidly changing society, no career can stand still for long. Even if you’re on the right track, if you’re not moving forward you’ll be run over.

Step 5 - Select appropriate professional development opportunities. For each professional development goal, list those professional development opportunities you wish to pursue that will assist you in reaching those goals. For example, take a CLE, speak at an event, go to a networking session. It is up to you.

Step 6 - Engage in mind, body and spirit stretching. In this step it is important to recognize that personal growth requires new experiences for mind, body and spirit. Branch out into interdisciplinary approaches in learning and living. Develop new linkages with people, organizations, and activities that develop new insights and experiences. This takes an experimental attitude which will involve risk.

Step 7 - Inventory your life. Periodically inventory your capabilities, desires and resources. Review the constraints on your life as well as your achievements. Conduct an annual personal performance review.

Step 8 - Write a personal mission statement. Writing a personal mission statement may seem time consuming or irrelevant, but it is a way to add meaning to all of the work that you do and gives you focus. Here’s what I know: when you have a better understanding of why you are here and what your purpose is, you can develop realistic goals and valuable long-range goals (10 to 20 or more years). Long-range goals can then be divided into short-term goals (1 to 5 years) and supported by tasks (daily, monthly, yearly).

Step 9 - Develop an action plan. In any integration of a career and personal growth, each of us needs an action plan than involves setting targets and reexamining our lifestyle to determine if it contributes to our goals. This action plan reviews past learning experiences and develops lifelong learning plans for personal education experiences, challenges and opportunities.

Step 10 - Plan for support, review, and evaluation. Identify and value the support of significant others in your life: those friends and colleagues who can give feedback on behavior, competencies and limitations to help you better understand how to market yourself and meet the needs of others. Evaluate new directions to assess their meaningfulness and satisfaction. Build spontaneous celebrations of achievement and successes into life to reinforce the value of continuous growth. This step helps you to “stay on track.”

Benefits of a Professional Development Plan
A professional development plan provides a system and process that can help you plan for the future. Some of the specific benefits are:
  • To help determine where you want to go and what you need to do to get there.
  • To provide an opportunity to discuss professional development goals with colleagues who can offer ideas, support and feedback.
  • To reinforce the concept of “everything’s possible” and that goals aren’t overwhelming if tackled step-by-step. The plan makes goals manageable.
  • To assist you in preparing information and plans for annual performance appraisal, honors and awards, professional leave, and building your resume and vita.
  • To help you determine needs for in-service training and professional development.
  • To assist you in planning for future career opportunities.
Conclusion
I hope that I have encouraged you to develop or refine your professional development plan. Living successfully is an opportunity to make change. Take the responsibility seriously. Know the road you travel will be often filled with difficult choices. Rise to the challenge knowing that you have everything inside you to be successful.
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