The Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association recently held its second “speed networking” event at the Brooklyn Bar Association on Wednesday, Sept. 26 where they encourage members to invite non-members or any inexperienced attorneys that they know. The two-hour event allowed a panel of five judges to talk about their experiences for an hour and afterwards everyone broke off into smaller groups so everyone could get at least seven minutes of one-on-one time with a judge.

“We did this last October and it was really successful,” said Natoya McGhie. “This year we made sure to invite a panel that included judges from a diverse list of courts so that there is something for all attorneys no matter their practice area. So we have justices from the Criminal Court, Housing Court, Civil Court and the Court of Claims.”

The moderator was Hon. Genine Edwards and the panel included Hon. Rachel Adams, Hon. Cheryl Gonzales, Hon. Miriam Cyrulnik, Hon. Sylvia Ash and Hon. Lillian Wan. Each woman is not only a judge, but all are active members of the BWBA.

“Especially as a young trial attorney there are things that are not in the case law,” Justice Edwards said. “You need to pick someone’s brain about a specific strategy and it’s much easier going to someone you know. People get to work with each other on committees and get to know each other as people.”

In conjunction with this effort, the BWBA is also working to create a mentorship committee, which McGhie will chair.

“We’ve created this mentorship committee so our judges and attorneys can get more involved with younger and more experienced attorneys,” McGhie said. “The BWBA helps with networking, but we want to be about mentorships as well.

“I was lucky when I was young because I just happened to work for Justice Nancy Bannon, I had a good mentor,” McGhie continued. “But not everyone is so lucky. We want women, and men, to know that they can join our organization and we’ll help to provide them with someone who can help them get started or advance their careers.”

The BWBA will meet again on Wednesday, Oct. 3 at 6 p.m. at the Brooklyn Bar Association where it will honor Justice Jeanette Ruiz, administrative judge for the NYC Family Court, during its annual Hispanic Heritage Month celebration. One Wednesday, Oct. 10, it will host a “Lunch with a Judge” event with Hon. Alan D. Scheinkman, presiding justice of the Appellate Division, Second Judicial Department.

---

Related Articles

Brooklyn Women’s Bar Association honors past president Justice Quinones

October 2 | By Rob Abruzzese, Legal Editor