AWA in the News Roundup

The Association for Women Attorneys has been in the news several times in the past few weeks.   Links to articles about AWA or our members are listed below.  Please email (using this link) if you have suggestions of articles that we should include.

AWA Members:

- The Memphis Daily News, Riley Takes Reins of Women Attorneys Group

- The Commercial Appeal,  People in Business: February 17, 2013 (mentions both Fran Riley and Judge Paulette Delk)

- The Memphis Business Journal, article about Fran Riley and article about women attorneys in Memphis, which includes several AWA Members

- The Commercial Appeal, letter to the editor about Marion Griffin

- The Memphis Daily News, Robilio Celebrates 30 Years on the Bench

- The Memphis Daily News, Seely Sees Career at Memphis Area Legal Services as "Mission Work"

2013 Annual Banquet:

- The Commercial Appeal, Career Support, Friendship and Role Models Equal Success at AWA Event

- The Memphis Daily News, Association for Women Attorneys to Hold Annual Banquet

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.

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.

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.