Home

   Board of Directors

   Calendar

   Chapters

   Contact Us

   Contract Lawyers

   DragonFlies

   Fall Conference 2008

   Judicial Endorsements

   Links

   Membership Information

   OWLS Supporters

   Roberts Deiz 2008


  Welcome to the Oregon Women Lawyers website

Our mission is to transform the practice of law and ensure justice and equality by advancing women and minorities in the legal profession.



Save the Date
Betty Roberts Autobiography Release CLE and Reception
June 13, 2008
3–5 p.m. CLE/ Panel Presentation
5p.m. Reception and Book Signing
Oregon Historical Society

1200 SW Park Avenue, Portland
Registration brochures will be mailed in early May.OWLS Members $75; Non-Members $90; Students $35. Registration Deadline: May 30.


The Oregon Women Lawyers Workplace Leader Award
Nominations will be accepted through July 15, 2008

The mission of Oregon Women Lawyers is "to transform the practice of law and ensure justice and equality by advancing women and minorities in the legal profession." We believe that law as traditionally practiced has included barriers to the advancement of women and minorities, and has not always been a friend to those seeking a healthy, balanced life. We seek to encourage and celebrate change that will eliminate those barriers and imbalances, and we expect that the profession will be stronger as a result.

While most legal employers agree in concept that such changes are desirable, many disagree on the specifics of achieving these goals. For example, how can legal employers help women avoid losing so much momentum in their careers while their children are small that they give up on becoming leaders in the profession? How can part-time employment work, for both employer and employee? What can legal employers do to promote effective mentoring relationships? What can they do to attract and retain qualified women and minority lawyers? How can they value contributions to the organization that are not captured by the usual tools for quantification, such as billable hours?

Advice on how to do these things abounds – but what really works?

The Workplace Leader Award

The OWLS Workplace Leader Award recognizes a legal employer making innovative and effective efforts to promote one or more of the following values:
• a healthy balance between work and life
• acquiring and maintaining a diverse workforce
• maximizing opportunities for women and minorities to succeed in the workplace and advance to positions of influence and leadership.

We are not looking for an employer to exemplify all of these virtues. Rather, the award will recognize a specific program, policy, or project that is successfully addressing one or more of the concerns outlined above.

In 2007, the award was shared by Farleigh Witt and Bodyfelt Mount Stroup & Chamberlain for implementing policies that favor professional fulfillment over maximizing profits.

The 2008 award recipient will be honored at OWLS' Fall CLE, to be held in conjunction with the National Association of Women Judges conference in October 2008.

Nomination information

Nominations should include information that will help the award committee evaluate the specific program, policy, or project of the employer, the markers of success of that program, policy, or project, and names of people who can be contacted for further information. Nominations must be received by July 15, 2008 and should be sent to Leslie O'Leary, Oregon Women Lawyers, c/o Williams Love O'Leary & Powers P.C., 9755 SW Barnes Rd., Suite 450, Portland, Oregon 97225; loleary@wdolaw.com.

OWLS helps hundreds of women attorneys create valuable professional networks and warm friendships. Our networking and leadership gatherings provide information helpful to experienced attorneys seeking to polish their leadership skills, newer attorneys looking for mentors and assistance, large firm attorneys navigating a culture that still retains a bias toward the male model of success, and sole practitioners looking for referrals and connections.

If you are not a member of OWLS, we encourage you to join. Email OWLS for a pro-rated 2007-2008 Membership Form.

Click here for the OWLS Foundation Web Site.

Please contact us for more information about OWLS:

Oregon Women Lawyers
P.O. Box 40393
Portland, Oregon 97240
Phone: 503.595.7826
Fax: 503.243.2019

info@oregonwomenlawyers.org
or
catherine@oregonwomenlawyers.org


linda@oregonwomenlawyers.org