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MLGBA Celebrates Its 25th Anniversary, Gala Dinner Held at Westin Copley Place, Boston, Friday, May 7, 2010

Members of the MLGBA gathered at the Westin Copley Place in Boston’s Back Bay to celebrate yet another successful MLGBA year, honor our student scholarship winner, and enjoy some fine
entertainment. After a festive reception hour, Board members and Dinner Committee Chairs Neal Minahan and Richard Moore opened the Gala with welcoming remarks. We were thrilled to present the Tufts University Beelzebubs as the evening’s entertainment. Dinner followed a video retrospective entitled “MLGBA: Honoring Our History.” MLGBA Co-Chairs Jane Rothchild and David Eppley provided remarks before another video short: “MLGBA: Recognizing our Growth.” The Co-Chairs, with the help of Daniel Levin, recognized past Co-Chairs of the MLGBA who were in attendance. Board member and Chair of the Outreach Committee Patience Crozier then presented the Alexander G. Gray, Jr., Scholarship award to Talia Stoessel of Northeastern University School of Law. In addition, we were honored by video presentations from Massachusetts Governor, Deval Patrick, and our Attorney General, Martha Coakley, acknowledging the work of the MLGBA over the past 25 years. Co-Chairs David Eppley and Jane Rothchild closed out the evening with a farewell.

Photographs courtesy of Marilyn Humphries of Marilyn Humphries-Photography.
www.humphriesphotography.com.

Click on the link below to see photos from the Gala!

http://mhumphries.smugmug.com/Other/572010-MLGBA-25th-Anniversary/12131412_rHs5C#862562319_jrWvL

MLGBA Annual Boston-Area Law Student Reception

On Thursday, September 24, 2009, current members of the MLGBA welcomed our new and returning law students in the Boston area to the start of another school year. Held in the offices of WilmerHale in the Financial District, the Annual Boston-Area Law Student Reception drew a crowd of 150 attorneys and law students, and the MLGBA added more than 30 new members to its roster.

After opening remarks from MLGBA Co-Chairs David Eppley and Jane Rothchild, Bruce Bell of GLAD spoke about its Infoline. Attorney members and law students alike were then encouraged to speak to MLGBA Board members about working with the MLGBA and joining one of our various committees (for more information on MLGBA’s committees, see page 11 of the October 2009 newsletter).

Attendees included Michelle Peirce, President of the Massachusetts Women’s Bar Association; John (Jack) Regan, Partner at WilmerHale and Boston Bar Association President; Christine Hughes of Emerson College and the Boston Bar Association Council; Richard M. Page, Jr., Executive Director of the Boston Bar Association; and WilmerHale partners Wendell Taylor and Neil Jacobs.

Thanks to WilmerHale for graciously hosting the event and to all of you for supporting the MLGBA.

Yarashus, Wagner, Cook, Freiberger & Washienko will be open for business on May 1 in the high-rise building known as 1 Beacon Street.

Yarashus, Wagner plans to focus on personal injury, employment, insurance and business litigation, taking its cue from the areas of practice of its five members.

Two of its founding members are leaders in the MLGBA. Charles P. Wagner, who is leaving the firm of Siegel, Wagner & Swartz, also at 1 Beacon St. Wagner is co-chair of the Massachusetts Lesbian and Gay Bar Association and a specialist in employment law. Patricia A. Washienko has been active with the employment section of MLGBA and most recently was a sole employment-law practitioner.

Richard M. Juang, class of 2010 at Northeastern Law School and a member of the Committee for Transgender Inclusion has been selected as this year's recipient of Northeastern University Law School's Excellence in Social Justice Award. The award recognizes Richard's long-standing transgender political work and his current work with the MLGBA's Committee for Transgender Inclusion, his co-founding of the Interfaith Coalition for Transgender Equality (www.interfaithcoalition.org), and his participation in the free legal clinic for low-income transgender people, created by the Massachusetts Transgender Legal Advocates (www.transgenderlegaladvocates.org). This work, which deals with the intersections among gender and sexuality discrimination, racism, and poverty fits well with Northeastern's commitment to social justice and diversity. The award includes includes a certificate and a financial award of $1,500.

TO ALL: If you have news to share of your own success or milestone or the success or milestone of an MLGBA Member, please send it along to awalker@mintz.com and we will be thrilled to pass along the information.