The National Conference of Women’s Bar Association (NCWBA) has chosen the Tennessee Lawyers’ Association for Women (TLAW) as the recipient of the NCWBA’s 2018 Outstanding Member Program Award for TLAW’s groundbreaking work on its Empowerment Conferences. 

Several years ago, the TLAW Board of Directors recognized that the position of women in the legal profession has advanced since TLAW was founded, but the same concerns that gave rise to TLAW still exist today. Moving a greater percentage of women into elective office, the judiciary, chief corporate counsel, and law firm leadership is still challenging, with obstacles such as bias and the leaky pipeline keeping women from achieving their full potential.

The Conference was created as a way to address the need for further progress of women in the profession and to serve as a catalyst for continued efforts by women across Tennessee to increase female presence at the highest levels of the profession in the public and private sectors. The inaugural Conference was held in 2016. The 2017 Conference was held in conjunction with a national judicial conference. The evening before each Conference, there is a networking event for speakers and attendees.

The caliber of speakers at the Empowerment Conference is unmatched in Tennessee. Accomplished attorneys and judges provided insight about running for elected office, leadership at law firms, ethical considerations for in-house attorneys, retention in the legal practice, the path to partnership and more. This program is the first of its kind in Tennessee and has been duplicated in a shorter form by women's bar organizations in Nashville and Memphis.

The NCWBA Award recognizes innovative projects, programs, and services for organization members or the bar. TLAW is proud to be recognized for the Conference, which provides invaluable opportunities for women lawyers in Tennessee. The Award will be presented to TLAW at the NCWBA’s national Women’s Bar Leadership Summit, which will be held on Friday, August 3, 2018 in Chicago. 

If you want to attend TLAW’s award-winning Empowerment Conference, registration is now open for this year’s Conference, themed Right Time, Right Now! More information and registration are available here.

Empowerment Conference Co-Chair Kyonzte Hughes-Toombs moderates a panel at the Empowerment Conference 2017: Women Who Win!