A Message from the Chair: 2020/2021

  • September 29, 2020
  • Rachel Sachs, Chair, OBA Women Lawyers Forum

Welcome to the new WLF year!

To the new 2020-2021 Women Lawyers Forum Executive: Welcome and thank you for your commitment to the section. To the members: We are so glad you are joining us this year. To last year’s executive: Thank you for all your hard work and swift adaptation to COVID-19.

2020 has been a difficult year, to say the least. We’ve all seen our share of struggles and it remains uncertain whether we’ll see a return to a pre-pandemic sense of normalcy. I am doubtful, but also hopeful that we, as a society and a profession, have been forced into a time of change, much of it for the better.

With tensions bursting to the surface with Black Lives Matter, following on the heels of MeToo and IdleNoMore, all while the pandemic’s terrifying uncertainty wove through all aspects of our lives, we’ve had to adapt significantly in the way we work, live and protect our loved ones. For many of us women in law, we felt the emotional passing of Ruth Bader Ginsburg on the eve of Rosh Hashanah brought 2020 to its nadir. But simultaneously, we recognize the impact of her advocacy for justice and gender equality and are inspired to carry forward what we’ve learned from her life and works into ours.