MSBA Women in the Legal Profession Committee
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2/15/05 | 1/18/05 | 10/19/04
| 9/16/04 | 8/18/04
10/15/03
| 9/17/03 | 4/23/03
| 3/19/03 | 2/13/03 | 12-3-02
| 10/21/02 | 9/25/02
Participating: Leslie Altman, Jessica Clay, Kirsten Hansen, Anne Johnson, Suzette Kusnierek, Susan McKay, Lesley Reynolds, Hon. Kathleen Sanberg, Danielle Shelton, Susan Tindal, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
SAGE Nominations:
Sue Bores indicated that two nominations for received for the SAGE Best Practices
award. The committee members present at the meeting declined to review them.
Instead, Susan McKay, Leslie Altman, Kirsten Hansen and Jessica Clay volunteered
to meet via a conference call to discuss the nominations and decide if follow-up
interviews with the applicants will be needed.
The 2005/06 Budget & the Budget Process:
Sue reported that an allocation will be included in the 2005/06 budget for
a statistical data gathering project. President-Elect Sue Holden will provide
more information and direction on the project at a later date.
Speaking Opportunities at the Law Schools:
At past meetings, Anne Johnson has expressed an interest in seeking out speaking
opportunities with the women's student groups at the law schools. At this
meeting, Anne indicated that she wants to proceed with this and plans to
put together a panel of women attorneys in different practices and stages
of career to talk about what it is like outside of law school, what obstacles
the women law students may encounter, what changes are happening, and the
resources and groups that are available to women attorneys. Anne volunteered
to contact Hamline Law School, the University of Minnesota and St. Thomas
to arrange dates. Danielle Shelton volunteered to contact William Mitchell.
Information Clearinghouse:
The goal of this project is to collect information on local and national groups
that are working on gender issues in the legal profession and provide descriptions
and links on the committee's webpage. Unfortunately, this item has been on
the committee's agenda since September of 2003 and has not developed into
anything more than an idea. Anne asked the group if they still had an interest
in pursuing this project. Susan McKay, Suzette Kusnierek and Danielle Shelton
volunteered to form a subcommittee with Anne to gather information on the
internet and organize it. Anne has a research assistant who has started researching
information and will share it with the committee at a future meeting.
Participating: Leslie Altman, Dana Bartocci, Rebecca Bernhard, Jessica Clay, Dyan Ebert, Kirsten Hansen, Suzette Kusnierek, Susan McKay, Tricia Pepin, Hon. Kathleen Sanberg, Danielle Shelton, Michael Tracy, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Diversity Committee's Proposal:
Michael Tracy, co-chair of the MSBA's Diversity Committee, was in attendance
and spoke to the group about the Diversity Committee's proposal to ask the
MSBA to form a task force to update the Glass Ceiling Task Force Report that
was prepared by the Hennepin County Bar Association in 1993. A copy of the
report was distributed at the meeting.
Michael indicated that the task force would be composed of members from the MSBA, HCBA & RCBA Diversity Committees, the Women in the Legal Profession Committee, the minority bar associations and possibly a few other groups. Specifically, the Diversity Committee plans to focus on the employment barriers faced by minorities, including minority women.
MSBA President-Elect Susan Holden has already discussed this project with the Diversity Committee. Michael Tracy will follow up with Susan to let her know that the Women in the Legal Profession Committee is interested in participating and to determine how to proceed on this project.
The 2005/06 Budget & the Budgeting Process:
The committee spent time discussing their budget needs for the 2005/06 bar
year and the committee’s interest in securing additional funding so
that additional surveying can be done. Sue Bores had previously provided
the co-chairs with information about the MSBA’s budgeting process and
indicated that if the committee plans to request additional funding they
will need to do so by January 25. Susan McKay volunteered to contact the
Minnesota Center for Survey Research and ask for a cost estimate.
Law School Speaking Opportunities:
A discussion was held regarding speaking opportunities at the law schools and
the need for the committee to define the topics that it plans to offer. Minnesota
Women Lawyers' speaker bureau was cited as a model that the Women in the
Legal Profession Committee could follow. It lists attorneys who are available
for speaking engagements and their topics of expertise. This idea will be
discussed in more detail at the next meeting.
Next Meeting:
The committee’s next meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, February 15 at
Noon at the MSBA offices.
Participating: Leslie Altman, Dyan Ebert, Kirsten Hansen, Dana Holt, Susan McKay, Danielle Shelton, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Status of the Best Practices:
Sue Bores reported that 25 legal employers have signed-on to the Best Practices
and she passed around a list of the participants for the committee members
to review.
Report from the Nominations Subcommittee:
The committee members reviewed a draft of the nomination form for the annual
SAGE Best Practices award and spent time discussing it. The Best Practices
brochure will be included in the nomination materials and the committee decided
that question #5 should direct the nominees to the bullet points listed under
each Best Practice in the brochure. It was also suggested that the form specifically
ask for the name of the person in charge of implementing the Best Practices
within the law firm/company. Dyan Ebert made note of the comments and will
incorporate them into another draft, which will be sent to the entire committee
for feedback.
Law School Speaking Opportunities:
Anne Johnson has drafted a letter that offers the committee as a resource for
presentations to law students on gender equity. The presentations will provide
a brief summary of the SAGE survey data, provide an overview of the Best
Practices and the Recognition Program, and address why these should be important
to graduating law students. Anne's letter had previously been circulated
to the committee via e-mail and at the meeting it was approved to send to
the Career Services Offices and the women's law student groups. Additionally,
it was suggested that a similar letter be sent to MNCLE, law firms, other
legal employers and district & county bar associations. Dyan volunteered
to work on this.
Also, the committee decided to develop a list of the topics/presentations that it would like to offer and will ask committee members to sign-up for the topics that they are willing to present on. This idea will be developed more at the next meeting.
It was noted that there are several new members on the committee and they are probably not going to be familiar with the SAGE survey data. A suggestion was made that before the committee starts looking for speaking opportunities, it should conduct a training session that reviews the history of the SAGE program. It was noted that Judge Sanberg has been with the committee since its beginning and has the most knowledge on the committee and its work. Sue will contact her to ask if she will be available to conduct a training session at the next meeting.
Information Clearinghouse:
Leslie Altman mentioned that she is a member of the ABA's Commission on Women
in the Profession and noted that they are also developing an information
clearinghouse on their website. She offered to contact Anne Johnson to see
if she had found a law student to work on this project and to share the contact
information for the person who is coordinating the commission's website project.
Other Business:
Sue passed out a meeting notice for a CLE program entitled "Women in the
Private Practice of Law: The Choice to Stay or Leave" that is being sponsored
by Res Ipsa Loquitur on October 27. She thought that it might be of interest
to committee members and noted that Judge Sanberg and Anne Johnson will be
presenting on SAGE and the Best Practices.
Participating: Dyan Ebert via the phone, Anne Johnson, Suzette Kusnierek, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Danielle Shelton, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Report from the Nominations Subcommittee:
Prior to the meeting, Sue Bores had circulated a revised version of the Nomination
Form. Committee members were asked to review it and provide feedback on it.
Several comments were received and Anne Johnson will discuss them with the
other members of the Nominations Subcommittee.
One of the comments noted that the annual award was initially intended to recognize a legal employer who had gone beyond the Best Practices. However, the phrase at the top of the nomination form indicates that it is intended to recognize "a legal employer who has made a significant contribution through the implementation of the SAGE Best Practices". The committee members spent time discussing this and decided that the nomination form should be designed to help identify a legal employer who has gone above and beyond the Best Practices.
Law School Speaking Opportunities:
Anne Johnson has drafted a letter that offers the committee as a resource for
presentations to law students on gender equity. The presentations would provide
a brief summary of the SAGE survey data, provide an overview of the Best
Practices and the Recognition Program, and address why these should be important
to graduating law students. A copy of the letter will be circulated via e-mail
to the committee membership for it to review and comment on.
The plan is for the letter to be sent to the Career Services Offices and the women's law student groups at the law schools. Danielle Shelton has already talked to William Mitchell and they have expressed an interest in inviting the WLP Committee to speak next spring. Anne has also had a similar discussion with Hamline Law School.
It was noted that there are several new members on the committee and they are probably not going to be familiar with the SAGE survey data. A suggestion was made that before the committee starts looking for speaking opportunities, it should conduct a training session that reviews the history of the SAGE program.
Information Clearinghouse:
Anne is working through Hamline Law School to find a student who can help with
the internet research that will be needed for the Information Clearinghouse.
At this time, she is exploring the possibility of creating a work study program
so that the student can be paid.
New Business:
At the August meeting, a discussion was held about how to include the participation
of both metro and non-metro attorneys. It was noted that several committee
members do not work in the metro area and have long commutes to attend a meeting.
After several different options were discussed, a decision was made to schedule
the meetings at 4:00 P.M. on the third Thursday of each month at the MSBA offices
so that non-metro area committee members can spend the majority of their day
in the office before driving to Minneapolis.
However, the low attendance at this meeting, along with several comments that Sue has received, indicate that this issue should be revisited. Sue will survey the committee and ask if members have a preference of scheduling meetings in the early morning, at Noon or in the late afternoon.
The Women in the Legal Profession
Committee
Meeting Summary for August 18, 2004
Participating: Justice Paul Anderson, Rebecca Bernhard, Dyan Ebert, Kirsten Hansen, Dana Holt, Anne Johnson, Debra Lund via the phone, Susan McKay, Hon. Kathy Sanberg via the phone, Danielle Shelton, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Status of the Best Practices Sign-On:
Twenty-four legal employers have signed-on to the Best Practices. Prior to
the meeting, Sue Bores had sent a draft of the September Bench & Bar
ad to the committee via e-mail and asked for suggestions or comments. None
was received and the ad was approved. The committee would also like to run
the ad in the MWL newsletter With Equal Right, however it might
not be able to afford it. Dyan Ebert volunteered to contact MWL and ask if
they will extend a discounted rate to the committee.
Recognition Program:
It was decided that the nomination form for the annual SAGE Best Practices
award needs to be revised so that the questions ask for more specific information
on each of the six Best Practices. Susan McKay suggested forming a Nominations
Subcommittee and Rebecca Bernhard, Dyan Ebert, Anne Johnson and Susan volunteered.
They will work on further developing the nomination questions and will submit
a draft to the committee at its September meeting.
The committee also established the following timelines for the year:
January 3 Sue will send out the revised nomination form to
legal employers.
February 1 Deadline to receive nominations.
February 17 The WLP Committee meets to review the
nominations and determine if additional information will be needed
from the nominees.
Feb/March The Screening Subcommittee will conduct
follow-up interviews with the nominees and determines an award recipient.
March 17 The Screening Subcommittee makes its recommendation
to the WLP Committee.
April 15 The MSBA Executive Committee meets and
will need to approve the award recipient.
June 15-17 The MSBA Convention will be held in Brainerd.
Kirsten Hansen, Dana Holt, Susan McKay and Judge Sanberg volunteered to form the Screening Subcommittee.
Information Clearinghouse:
It was suggested that the committee try to find a law student to help with
the internet research that will be required for this project. Anne Johnson
offered to check law student availability at Hamline and will report to the
committee in September.
New Business:
A discussion was held regarding finding speaking opportunities within the women's
organizations of the law schools to discuss gender equity within the legal
profession. Several committee members have contacts within the law schools
and volunteered to ask them about speaking opportunities. It was decided that
the committee should develop either a presentation or "speakers bureau" that
it can offer as a resource. Anne Johnson volunteered to develop a list of topics.
At the next committee meeting, members will review the list and sign-up for
the topic that they are willing to present on.
The committee spent time talking about how to increase participation of both metro and non-metro attorneys. It was noted that several committee members do not work in the metro area and have long commutes to attend a meeting. After several different options were discussed, a decision was made to schedule the meetings at 4:00 P.M. on the third Thursday of each month at the MSBA offices so that non-metro area committee members can spend the majority of their day in the office before driving to Minneapolis.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for Thursday, September 16 at 4:00 P.M.
The Women in the Legal Profession
Committee
Meeting Summary for October 15, 2003
Present: Leslie Altman, Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Jennifer Debrow, Erika Donner, Kristin Eads, Anne Johnson (co-chair), Susan McKay, Deb Pexa, Sharon Reich Paulsen, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Status of Best Practices Sign-On
Currently, one legal employer has signed on to the Best Practices: Larkin Hoffman
Daly & Lindgren. Sue Bores checked the Lindquist & Vennum webpage and
confirmed that a press release was issued announcing the firm's commitment to
the Best Practices. Anne Johnson reported that she has contacted the firm and
notified them that the MSBA has not received their letter of commitment.
A letter will be sent to the legal employers who participated in the SAGE survey reminding them of the Best Practices and the recognition program. They will also receive a copy of the Best Practices and information on how to sign-up. The list of SAGE survey participants was reviewed and committee members volunteered to follow-up with contacts that they have at each employer.
Recognition
Committee members reviewed a draft of the certificate that employers will receive
when they sign on to the Best Practices. Suggestions were made to improve it
and these will be incorporated into another draft, which will be distributed
at the November meeting. It was decided that the certificate will indicate the
year in which the employer committed to the Best Practices. As employers annually
renew their commitment, they will receive a sticker with the year on it, which
can be added to the certificate.
Jennie Clarke distributed a draft of the nomination form for the annual award. Committee members spent time discussing it and made several suggestions. Jennie will incorporate these into another draft and distribute it to the committee for comments.
Publicity
Deb Pexa, Executive Director of Minnesota Women Lawyers, offered space in the
next edition of its newsletter for an article on the Best Practices. Anne volunteered
to write it. The committee would also like to publish an article in Bench &
Bar that provides an update on the Best Practices and the recognition program.
Anyone interested in working on this should contact committee co-chairs Anne
Johnson or Jennie Clarke.
Information Clearinghouse
This year, the committee has decided to focus on developing an information clearinghouse.
The goal is to collect information on local and national groups that are working
on gender issues in the legal profession and provide descriptions and links
on the committee's webpage. Jennie reported that she has started collecting
information and links from the internet and that Standford University maintains
a site that the committee may find useful as a model. Committee members who
have ideas or links for this project should forward them to Jennie at jclarke@hensonefron.com.
New Business
The Minnesota Legal Administrators Association (MLAA) has contacted Anne and
asked the Women in the Legal Profession Committee to present the Best Practices
to its membership. The tentative date of the program is January 13. Anne will
follow-up with them to finalize the details.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, November 19 at noon.
The Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Meeting Summary for September 17, 2003
Present: Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Jennifer Debrow, Erika Donner, Kirsten Hansen, Anne Johnson (co-chair), Susan McKay, Deb Pexa, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Laura Walvoord, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
Status of Best Practices Sign-On
Sue Bores reported that Larkin Hoffman Daly & Lindgren has signed on
to the Best Practices and that several other employers are considering adoption.
It was mentioned that Lindquist & Vennum had issued a press release announcing
that they had committed to the Best Practices. Anne Johnson will follow-up with
the firm and let them know that the MSBA did not receive their commitment letter.
A suggestion was made that the legal employers who participated in the SAGE survey should be sent a reminder of the Best Practices, the recognition program and that they have not yet signed-on. This will be done via a letter, which Anne volunteered to write. At the next meeting, the committee plans to review the list of employers who participated in the survey and identify key contacts so that committee members can make follow-up calls.
Recognition
Sue and Pat Everheart are designing certificates, which will recognize the
employer's commitment to the Best Practices. They hope to have a mock-up ready
for the October meeting. In the meantime, Anne volunteered to write a thank-you
letter, which will be sent with the certificates.
The committee discussed the process for the annual award and started establishing a timeline. The Women in the Legal Profession Committee will select the award recipient and submit its choice to the MSBA's Executive Committee for approval. The Executive Committee will meet on April 16 and May 21. The convention will take place on June 9-June 11 in Duluth.
Jennie Clarke has drafted the nomination form for the annual award, which she will circulate to the committee via e-mail and ask for comments. The committee has not determined the last date on which it can accept submissions.
Information Clearinghouse
This year, the committee has decided to focus on developing an information
clearinghouse. The goal is to collect information on local and national groups
that are working on gender issues in the legal profession and provide descriptions
and links on its webpage. The committee hopes that in doing this it will begin
a process of trying to connect with some of these groups so that everyone knows
what the other is doing and to see if there are synergies that can be created
by having stronger relationships with these groups.
Committee members who have ideas or links for this project should forward them
to Jennie Clarke at jclarke@hensonefron.com.
New Business
The committee would like to become more involved with the law schools, in particular
the women's law school associations. Anne Johnson volunteered to write a letter
to each law school and offer the committee as a resource, particularly for speaking
opportunities.
Next Meeting
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, October 15 at noon.
Present: Leslie Altman, Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Anne Johnson (co-chair), Susan
McKay, Deb Pexa, Sharon Reich Paulsen, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Sue Bores (MSBA staff).
March 28 Executive Committee Meeting:
On March 28, Jennie Clarke and Anne Johnson met with the Executive Committee
and discussed the history of the SAGE survey, the Committee's work to develop
the Best Practices and the plan for implementation of a recognition program.
After a lengthy discussion, the Executive Committee approved a resolution, which
will be forwarded to the Board of Governors for consideration at its April 26
meeting. If you would like a copy of the resolution, please contact Sue Bores
at either sbores@mnbar.org or 612-278-6325.
Anne reported that the Operations Committee requested that the Women in the Legal Profession Committee review its 3-year budget and pare down its anticipated needs. The revised budget that was submitted, and which was approved by the Operations Committee, is as follows:
2003 - 2004: $6,000
2004 - 2005: $4,000
2005 - 2006: $4,000
Convention:
The committee sponsored CLE "Gender Equity in the Legal Profession: Implementation
of SAGE Best Practices" will be held on Thursday, June 19 from 11:15 a.m.
to 12:45 p.m. The schedule of presenters is as follows:
A mailing will be done that invites legal employers to both the CLE program and the reception. Pat Everheart, Director of Public Relations, designed an invitation and also created a promotional piece on the Best Practices. A mock-up of each was provided at the meeting and the committee members were asked to review them and suggest changes.
It was decided that the mailing will be sent to the SAGE participants, managing
partners of the top 100 law firms, district and Minority bar associations, the
MWL leadership, members of the Board of Governors and other organizations that
are listed in the January issue of Bench & Bar. Additionally, Deb Pexa will
promote the events in The MWL Exchange.
Jennie Clarke reported that she is working on creating a form that employers
will sign when they agree to the Best Practices. This will be made available
at both the CLE program and the reception. After the convention, certificates
will be mailed out to the employers who signed on to the Best Practices.
Other Business:
A brief discussion was held regarding the name of the annual award. As discussed
at the March 19 meeting, it has been noted that it is likely that people will
not be familiar with Martha Angle Dorsett and her contributions to the law.
The suggestion was made to rename the award the SAGE Best Practices Award. No
formal action was taken on this and it will be discussed at a future meeting.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, May 28 at noon.
The Women in the Legal Profession Committee
Meeting Summary for March 19, 2003
Present: Jennifer Debrow, Anne Johnson (co-chair), Leslie Altman, Susan McKay, Deb Pexa, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Sue Bores (MSBA staff)
MSBA Convention:
Jennifer Debrow reported that the committee has been selected to sponsor an
Elimination of Bias CLE at the MSBA Convention, which will be held at the Hyatt
Regency Hotel on Nicollet Mall. The program is scheduled to start at 11:15 A.M.
and end at 12:45 P.M. It was noted that this will not conflict with lunch, which
will start at 12:45 P.M.
It was decided that the CLE program will cover a brief history of the SAGE program, the survey results and introduce the Best Practices & Recognition Program. Anne Johnson, Judge Sanberg, and Leslie Altman volunteered to be speakers. Additionally, Jennifer will check on the availability of Justice Anderson or Ray Krause.
A suggestion was made that the Committee consider sponsoring a late afternoon reception at which it thanks the employers who participated in the SAGE survey. Sue checked with Kammi Stout, the MSBA's Convention Manager, and confirmed room availability and the time (4:30 P.M. to 6:00 P.M.). Deb Pexa will ask the Minnesota Women Lawyers Board if they are interested in co-sponsoring the event. If they are interested, she will draft the announcement that will be published in the convention brochure. Additionally, Sue and Pat Everheart will work on designing invitations, which will be sent to the SAGE participants.
It was noted that there will need to be some type of form that employers sign when they agree to the Best Practices. Anne will ask the Recognition Subcommittee to start working on this.
March 28 Executive Committee Meeting:
The Executive Committee will be meeting on Friday, March 28 to consider adoption
of the Best Practices and the Recognition Program. Anne Johnson and Jennie Clarke
will attend the meeting. In preparation, they prepared a packet of information
for the Executive Committee members to review in advance: a brief report on
the history of SAGE, copies of the public and private survey results, the Best
Practices draft and copies of several articles, which had been published on
SAGE.
Other Business:
A discussion was held regarding the name of the annual award. It was noted that
it is likely that people will not be familiar with Martha Angle Dorsett and
her contributions to the law. After discussing several other options, it was
decided that perhaps the best name would simply be the SAGE Award. Anne Johnson
will notify the Recognition Subcommittee of the discussion and ask them to reconsider
the name.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, April 23 at noon.
Present: Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Jennifer Debrow, Jon Duckstad, Anne Johnson (co-chair), Leslie Altman, Susan McKay, Deb Pexa, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Sue Bores (MSBA staff)
Discussion with Jon Duckstad:
MSBA President Jon Duckstad accepted the committee's invitation to attend this
meeting. It began with the committee members introducing themselves and explaining
their interest in the Women in the Legal Profession Committee.
Anne Johnson began the discussion by giving Jon an overview of the Best Practices and Recognition Program and informed him that the WLP committee will be asking the MSBA for its continued support at the March 28 Executive Committee meeting and then, hopefully, at the April 26 Board of Governors meeting.
The discussion also focused on the Tier 2 recognition, which will be awarded annually at the MSBA Convention. Jon told the committee that it will need to submit its final choice to the Executive Committee for approval each year.
Leslie Altman had recently attended the ABA mid-year conference and heard about a study that the Glass Ceiling Task Force of the Washington State Bar had conducted. It is similar to the SAGE survey, with the addition that it includes data on women of color. To read the entire report, cut and past the following link into your browser: http://www.wsba.org/2001/glassceiling.htm.
MSBA Convention:
The committee has been selected to sponsor a 90-minute program at the MSBA Convention.
The program title will be "Gender Equity in the Legal Profession: Implementation
of the SAGE Best Practices" and will be held on Thursday, June 19. This
will be discussed in detail at the next committee meeting.
Other Business:
The committee discussed its three-year budget proposal and the costs associated
with developing the recognition program. Jennie Clarke has been researching
various types of awards and developed budget proposals for two options. In option
A, the committee would design an award and use the same one every year. In option
B, an artist would be commissioned to design and produce a different award each
year. No decision was made on this and it will be discussed at a future meeting.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, March 19 at noon.
Meeting Summary for December 3, 2002
Present: Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Anne Johnson (co-chair), Leslie Altman,
Susan McKay, Deb Pexa, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Sue Bores (MSBA staff)
November 19 Focus Group:
The November 19 focus group was well attended, however, not as helpful as the
focus groups that were held in July. Several helpful suggestions and comments
were received and the Best Practices Subcommittee will meet to incorporate these
into the Best Practices.
The majority of participants indicated that their employers were already practicing some, if not all, of the Best Practices. However, a few employers indicated that while they support the Best Practices, they were choosing not to commit to all of them. For example, one person indicated that the partners at their firm had decided not to develop a mentoring program.
A discussion was held on how to handle this situation. It was decided that the employees should be made aware of the Best Practices and that their employer had signed on to them. Hopefully, the employees will be encouraged to hold their employers accountable.
A suggestion was made that the Women in the Legal Profession Committee sponsor quarterly roundtables and invite the employers who signed on to the Best Practices. This will be discussed further at a future meeting.
Recognition Subcommittee:
The Recognition Subcommitee will meet to start work on designing the certificates
that will be distributed to the Best Practices participants.
Marketing & Publicity:
Elise Schadauer and Terrie Wheeler, of Professional Services Marketing, met
with the committee in October and discussed ideas that will generate publicity
for SAGE and the Best Practices. They have prepared a detailed report, which
was handed out to the committee members. If you would like a copy, please contact
Sue Bores at either sbores@mnbar.org or 612-278-6325.
Pat Everheart, Director of Public Relations at the MSBA., will be invited to
the January meeting to discuss this report in depth.
Other Business:
The committee would like to invite members of the MSBA's Executive Committee
to upcoming meetings to discuss the future of SAGE and to solicit MSBA support
for the Recognition Program. Anne Johnson will contact Susan Holden, the MSBA
Secretary and check her availability for either Wednesday, January 15 or Thursday,
January 16.
MSBA President Jon Duckstad and President-Elect Jim Baillie will be invited
to the February meeting, which has been scheduled for noon on Thursday, February
13 at the MSBA offices.
Meeting Summary for October 21, 2002
Present: Anne Johnson (co-chair), Leslie Altman, Hon. Ray Krause, Sharon Reich Paulsen, Deb Pexa, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Elise Schadauer, Terrie Wheeler, Sue Bores (MSBA staff)
Best Practices Subcommittee:
WLP committee members had previously been asked to review the Best Practices
and make comments/suggestions on them. These were then incorporated into the
Best Practices and a revised version was handed out at the meeting. The next
step will be to invite SAGE participants to a focus group, which will be held
in November, and to solicit their feedback.
The date of the November focus group was changed to Tuesday, November 19 so that members of both subcommittees will be in attendance. Jennie Clarke will write a letter of invitation to the SAGE participants and forward it to Sue Bores, who will send it out.
Recognition Subcommittee:
Judge Kraus provided an overview of the Recognition Subcommittee's recommendations:
The committee discussed the level of detail and verification that will be needed for the second tier applicants and decided that this should be at the discretion of the Award Subcommittee.
A motion was made to approve the recommendations of the Recognition Subcommittee and it passed. Judge Kraus will make the above noted change to the report.
Marketing & Publicity:
Terrie Wheeler and Elise Schadauer, of Professional Services Marketing (PSM),
attended this meeting and talked to the committee about publicity and marketing
of SAGE. A discussion was held regarding recognition that had worked in the
past and to determine the best possible outcomes in the future. Terrie and Elise
will review the notes that they took at this meeting and send recommendations
to Judge Sanberg. These will be discussed at a future meeting.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 3 from 12:00 p.m.
to 1:30 p.m. at the MSBA offices.
Meeting Summary for September 25, 2002
Present: Anne Johnson (co-chair), Leslie Altman, Jennie Clarke (co-chair), Hon. Ray Krause, Susan McKay, Sharon Reich Paulsen, Hon. Kathy Sanberg, Sue Bores (MSBA staff)
Best Practices Subcommittee:
The Best Practices will be distributed via e-mail to the entire committee
and members will be asked to review it one more time. Comments will be due by
Friday, October 4 to Anne Johnson. The Subcommittee will then meet one more
time to incorporate any comments and suggestions received.
Before final publication of the Best Practices, and finalization of the Recognition Program, it was decided that the committee should hold another focus group of participants in the SAGE process. The purpose of the focus group would be to get feedback from individuals who are not as closely tied to the development of the Best Practices and the Recognition Program and who are decision makers at their places of employment about the feasibility and practicability of these steps of our program. The focus group is scheduled to take place on Wednesday, November 20 at noon. Prior to the focus group meeting, the draft best practices and the draft format for the recognition program would be distributed to those participating. Jennie Clarke will draft a letter inviting SAGE participants to attend.
Recognition Subcommittee:
Judge Kraus reported that the Recognition Subcommittee has prepared several
recommendations. These will be distributed via e-mail to the entire WLP committee
for review and discussed in depth at the next meeting. One of the main points
to work out is the verification process of second tier nominees to ensure that
an employer is meeting the Best Practices and not overstating their achievements.
The final recommendations, along with a three year budget request, will be
submitted to the Board of Governors at its April 26 meeting. Sue Bores will
arrange for the committee to be on the agenda. The plan is for the first tier
awards to be launched at the 2003 MSBA Convention. The second tier award will
be announced at the 2004 Convention.
Publications & Promotion:
Judge Kraus wrote an article for the Minnesota Lawyer's special Women in the
Law issue, which was published on August 26. If you missed it and would like
a copy, please contact Sue Bores at either sbores@mnbar.org or 612-278-6325.
Judge Sanberg has written an article for Minnesota Women Lawyer, which is scheduled to be published in October. The committee has postponed the Bench & Bar article until early next year.
At the next meeting, Jennie Clarke will bring Terry Wheeler, who is the marketing person at Henson & Efron. She has volunteered to help the committee develope a strategy to publicize SAGE and the Best Practices.
Future plans include developing a CLE program that will promote the Best Practices and Recognition Programs. This program will be for Bias credits and it may be held at the MSBA convention in June.
The SAGE Executive Summary:
Anne Johnson has completed a draft of the Executive Summary for Public Employers
and copies were handed out at the meeting. Committee members are asked to review
it and contact Anne with any comments. She can be reached at either atjohnson@gw.hamline.edu
or 651-523-2299. If you would like to receive a copy of it, please contact Sue
Bores.
It was decided that final drafts of the Executive Summary for Private Employers and Public Employers be sent to those employers who participated in the SAGE surveys and the July focus groups.
A suggestion was made that when other bar associations request copies of the SAGE materials they should be charged a fee to cover the copy costs. No decision was made on this and it may be discussed at a future meeting.
Next Meeting:
The next meeting has been scheduled for Monday, October 21 from 12:00 p.m. to
1:30 p.m. at the MSBA offices.
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