Article about AWA Member Judge Kay Robilio

Photograph by Kim Brukardt

Former Association for Women Attorneys President and 2003 Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award Winner, Judge Kay Spalding Robilio, is featured in today's Memphis Daily News.  Judge Robilio is celebrating her thirtieth year of being on the bench at the Shelby County Circuit Court.  The article tracks Judge Robilio's distinguished career and includes several great quotes from the judge.  Please pick up a copy of the Daily News today or check out the article on their website.  You can see the article by following this link: Memphis Daily News, Judge Robilio.

AWA Scholarship Recipients

Article by Kim Brukardt

Association for Women Attorneys 2013 Scholarship Recipients

This year, the AWA scholarship awards total $5,500, according to AWA Scholarship Chair, Anita Lotz.

Photograph by Kim Brukardt

The 2013 scholarship recipients are:

• Dorothy Osradker Memorial Scholarship: Jessica H. Chandler
• Judge Rita Stotts Memorial Scholarship: Angela Denise Harris
• AWA Annual Scholarship: Kaycee Roberts Arnold

2013 Annual Banquet

Article by Kim Brukardt

Career Support, Friendship and Role Models 

Equal Success at AWA Event Jan. 17

Photograph by Ben Harrison

MEMPHIS, TENN. (Jan. 23, 2013)…The Tower Center at Clark Tower, with its beautiful backdrop of arched windows and neon lighting, was brimming with camaraderie among nearly 200 attorneys, judges, educators and law students Jan. 17 during the 33^rd annual Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) Banquet and Silent Auction.  That sentiment of friendship among colleagues, mentors and mentees was echoed in the acceptance speech made by the evening’s honoree, U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Paulette J. Delk, AWA’s 24^th recipient of the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award for outstanding achievement in the legal profession.  AWA Banquet Co-Chairs this year were Keating Lowery, attorney with Lawrence & Russell, PLC and Diana Comes, law clerk to the Hon. Ronald L. Gilman, United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit.  AWA’s Silent Auction serves as a fundraiser for law student scholarships to the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.  The Marion Griffin-Frances Loring award is named after its very first recipient, Frances Grant Loring and Marion Griffin, the first woman to be elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives. Judge Delk also inducted the new 2013 AWA board of officers and chairpersons and led the oath of office.        

Frances Riley, 2013 AWA President

Article by Kim Brukardt

Frances M. Riley

2013 President

Association for Women Attorneys (AWA)

Goals, Initiatives and Platform Statement:

AWA has always had a professional/student- mentoring program.  I want to initiate a professional- to-professional program.  It is very difficult for new lawyers to develop effective practice skills and expertise, especially those who are on their own.  Also, many times even experienced attorneys need assistance in unfamiliar areas.  Hopefully, this new initiative of AWA will match professionals, provide educational programs and further enhance the practice of law.  Shared knowledge and improved skills benefit us all. 

Photograph by Kim Brukardt
(l to r) Judge Kay Robilio, AWA President Frances Riley, Anita  Lotz at the Annual Banquet

Originally from Scranton, Pa., East Memphis resident Frances M. Riley is the shared law clerk to the Bankruptcy Judges of the Western District of Tennessee, Eastern and Western Divisions. Prior to joining the bankruptcy court, Riley was in private practice during which time she focused on business bankruptcy reorganization and general business law.  Riley has extensive experience in construction, zoning, housing and community development law. She obtained her bachelor of science degree in community development from Pennsylvania State University, and her juris doctorate from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law.   She is a member of the Memphis Bar Association and Association for Women Attorneys, as well as a fellow of the Memphis Bar Foundation.  She is admitted to practice in Tennessee Supreme Court; U.S. District Court, Western District of Tennessee; U.S. Bankruptcy Court, Western District of Tennessee; and the United States Supreme Court.

2013 Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award Winner

Article by Kim Brukardt

2013 Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award Winner, Judge Paulette Delk

The Marion Griffin-Frances Loring award is named after its very first recipient, Frances Grant Loring and Marion Griffin, the first woman to be elected to the Tennessee House of Representatives.

Chief Judge of the Bankruptcy Court for the Western Division of Tennessee David S. Kennedy introduced the Hon. Judge Delk.  He remarked that she must have touched the lives of some 2000 students during her 19-year tenure as a law professor at the University of Memphis from 1987 to 2006.  She also taught as an adjunct professor for four years.          

Photograph by Kim Brukardt
(l to r) Judge David Kennedy, Judge Paulette Delk, AWA President Frances Riley

Judge Delk recognized her husband, Dr. Sam Delk, a general surgeon, who encouraged her to attend law school when she thought age 28 was too old to pursue the profession. “Twenty-eight seemed old back then,” she said with a smile in her voice to laughter in the audience.  Judge Delk also introduced her cousin, Steven, a FedEx pilot, and his wife Linda.  She had many supporters that night to represent each important step in her career, including The Links, Incorporated organization and its Shelby County Chapter President Mrs. Lillian Brown, who offered a bouquet of flowers during a congratulatory presentation.

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In order to become a member of AWA, please click on the link (in purple below) for the form.

AWA Membership Information

AWA Member, Linda Warren Seely, to be 2013 MBA President

The 2013 MBA President

Linda Warren Seely, the Director of Private Attorney Involvement at Memphis Area Legal Services, has been elected to be the 2013 President of the Memphis Bar Association.  Linda has been actively involved with the Association for Women Attorneys for a number of years, and she served for several years as the publicity chair on the AWA Board.

You can read more about Linda, her career, and her accomplishments on the MALS website. 

The Memphis Bar Association, the University of Memphis School of Law, and Counsel on Call is sponsoring a reception in Linda's honor on February 28th at the University of Memphis School of Law.  Please click here, which is a link to MBA's website, to see the invitation and to find more details. 

Judge Paulette Delk's Speech from the Annual Banquet

As you know, AWA honored Judge Paulette Delk at this year's Annual Banquet and awarded her the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award.  Many of you so enjoyed Judge Delk's comments that you have asked for a copy or reproduction of what she said.  Although we cannot recreate the scene, Judge Delk has given us a copy of her remarks. 

Judge Delk's comments:

     "For those of you who are unfamiliar with Marion Griffin, you should know that she was the first woman admitted to practice law in Tenn. and the first woman to serve as a member of the TN Gen Assembly.

      Frances Loring was a founding member of AWA, and I am so proud to say that I knew Frances Loring. I met her shortly after moving to Memphis, and becoming an associate at what is now the Baker Donelson law firm. When I moved to Memphis, I knew very few people other than the lawyers at the firm. And when I arrived at the firm, there were two women attorneys there, but they left a month or two after I arrived–merely coincidental, I believe. So for a while, I was the only woman at the firm. And as gracious as the other associates were, it was a very lonely place. Although only 3% of the attorneys at the firm where I was an associate in Chicago were women, in actual numbers I had 15 or so women colleagues, and we were a very supportive group. I missed the support of other women attorneys, so when I learned of AWA, I made a bee-line to a meeting. I met Frances Loring at my very first meeting, and she was so welcoming and supportive. I am so very honored to receive the award that bears her name.

Annual Banquet Photos

Here are a series of photographs from our Annual Banquet:

(1) Ben Harrison, a professional photographer who provided his services for free, did an excellent job of capturing the evening.  If you would like prints of his photos, please purchase them from his website here. I have provided a handful of photos below, but check out all of the photographs he took on his website (click here).

Photograph by Ben Harrison

MBJ's Article on Legal Ladies

The Memphis Business Journal featured women attorneys, who are also actively involved in AWA, in an article called Legal Ladies: Female lawyers now make up one-third of profession.  Judge Kay Robilio, who has been in the legal field for over thirty years, discussed the changes she has seen for women in the profession.  Estelle Winsett, who is an attorney and the assistant dean for law career services, offered a special perspective because she has been an attorney in the "field" and also works closely with women in law school.  Louise Chandler, as a fairly recent law school graduate, highlighted how much has changed because, as a child or young adult, she was unaware of any gender inequality in the legal field.  The article also mentions the HF Law Group, PLLC, which is owned by former AWA president, Michele Howard-Flynn.

This article is an interesting read and can be found in the February 1-7, 2013 issue of the Memphis Business Journal.  You can often find the paper around town (courthouses), but if you are an online subscriber, you can view the article on Memphis Business Journal's website.  If you are not a subscriber, you can see a blurb  here, can subscribe online, or can purchase a PDF of the issue on the website for a small fee.

AWA President, Fran Riley, featured in MBJ

AWA President, Fran Riley, is featured in the Memphis Business Journal's February 1-7, 2013 issue.  She is the subject of the "In the Spotlight" feature, which discusses a variety of things including Fran's career and interests.  The MBJ always does a great job in this feature of asking just the right questions to learn something new about each person featured.  Pick up a copy of the Memphis Business Journal around town to learn more about Fran.  If you are a subscriber, you can see the article on Memphis Business Journal's Webpage.  If you are not a subscriber, you can (1) subscribe for online access, (2) find a "teaser" of the feature on the website, or (3) you can pay a few dollars for a PDF version of the February 1-7, 2013 issue.

Judicial Reception 2012

AWA hosted a reception on December 6, 2012 to honor all of the judges in and around Memphis and Shelby County.  Thank you to Monica and Andre Wharton for opening their home for the event.  Guests enjoyed music from Rhodes College students and delicious food catered by AWA member, Mary McGinnis.  Ashley Martin was the event organizer and did a wonderful job.

2013 AWA President Fran Riley with the hosts, Monica and Andre Wharton

1st Annual Golf Tournament

(Registration at the Mirimichi Club House)

AWA's First Annual Golf Tournament was a huge success.  The event was hosted on June 1, 2012 at Mirimichi Golf Course, which is both a world-class and beautiful course.  Mirimichi has Audubon International Classic Sanctuary and Golf Environmental Organization certifications. The weather was perfect golfing weather, but it was also perfect for the non-golfers, who were treated to environmental tours and golf cart tours.  Thank you Mary Morgan Whitfield and Jennifer Himes, who were the event organizers.  Mary Morgan was also one of the participants with the best overall team score.   

Check out AWA's Facebook page for the Golf Tournament Photo Album: Click Here.

Here are some snapshots from the event:

Registration

AWA Memphis

AWA is starting a blog! We are going to use this format to post pictures, invitations to events, news, and any information we find to be useful.  AWA also has a website (AWA Website) and Facebook page.

You can find information about AWA's history, purpose, board members, events, and more on the AWA Website, and AWA's Facebook page is often updated with current AWA happenings.  Please visit our website (http://www.awamemphis.org/index.php) and Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/MemphisAWA) to see photos and information on our past events.

If you have any problems, questions, or concerns, please contact AWA using the form on our website: Contact AWA.