London's Lavender Law

It’s the legal profession’s equivalent of a long-term relationship. When Michelle Waites, Senior Patent Counsel for Xerox Corporation, attended The LGBT Bar’s Lavender Law conference several years ago, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She left having forged a lasting business relationship that still endures today. It was during The LGBT Bar’s event – an annual gathering of more than 1,600 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied legal professionals – that Waites first met Marla Butler, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP, who specializes in patent law. Today, the two are still close friends as well as professional colleagues. Butler’s firm continues to work with Xerox – a business partnership forged via The LGBT Bar. On November 19th, The Bar will present its first-ever conference outside the United States. Dubbed “A Lavender Law Experience for Europe,” the day-long Business Legal Conference will replicate programs such as the one that brought Waites and Butler together for legal professionals in Europe.

 

It’s the legal profession’s equivalent of a long-term relationship.

When Michelle Waites, Senior Patent Counsel for Xerox Corporation, attended The LGBT Bar’s Lavender Law conference several years ago, she wasn’t sure what to expect. She left having forged a lasting business relationship that still endures today.

It was during The LGBT Bar’s event – an annual gathering of more than 1,600 lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and allied legal professionals – that Waites first met Marla Butler, a partner at Robins, Kaplan, Miller & Ciresi LLP, who specializes in patent law.

Today, the two are still close friends as well as professional colleagues. Butler’s firm continues to work with Xerox – a business partnership forged via The LGBT Bar.

On November 19th, The Bar will present its first-ever conference outside the United States. Dubbed “A Lavender Law Experience for Europe,” the day-long Business Legal Conference will replicate programs such as the one that brought Waites and Butler together for legal professionals in Europe.

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“We hear, every single year, about important business relationships that are forged through The LGBT Bar’s networking and educational events,” says the group’s executive director, D’Arcy Kemnitz. “For LGBT professionals, and our allies, ‘community’ is important. And for more than a quarter-century, The Bar has been the premiere place for our community to come together, network and make our professional more inclusive, more involved and more profitable. We’re excited to be exporting that experience to London for our inaugural event abroad.”

Presented in conjunction with Interlaw Diversity Forum, and hosted by JPMogran, the event includes CLE & CPD panels; a corporate counsel awards reception honoring Guardian News & Media’s Director of Editorial Services Gillian Phillips, and a career fair for both young and seasoned professionals looking for their first job – or their dream job – in the law.

The event will also honor Fiona Woolf, Lord Mayor of the City of London, for her work supporting LGBT equality.

“Our goal,” Kemnitz says, “is to bring together London’s best law firms, recruiters and corporate counsel representative for a unique, one-day expo to help attendees make the best connection with clients, the community and their careers.”

That unique experience is key, The Bar says, to forging profitable relationships like the one between Waites and Butler.

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“I had never been to a conference where you would meet people from law firms you might work with,” Waites recently said. “In my company, there’s a push for having a diverse network of outside counsel, but I didn’t know of anybody among our outside counsel who was LGBT, so I wanted to go and try to meet some LGBT lawyers I could bring back to Xerox.”

Three years later, the connection endures.

“That kind of strong, business relationship is what The LGBT Bar is all about,” says Kemnitz. “And that’s exactly the value we’re bringing with us to London in November.”

For a complete line-up of events, and to register, visit www.LGBTBar.org/London.