Midyear Meeting and Southeastern Leadership Conference in Atlanta Georgia, April 3-5, 2009

NAWJ PRESIDENT LA TIA W MARTIN SENDS THE WARMEST HOLIDAY GREETINGS TO ALL AND WISHES THAT WE PROSPER IN SPIRIT, MIND AND SERVICE TO OTHERS IN THE NEW YEAR.

Midyear Meeting and Southeastern Leadership Conference in Atlanta Georgia, April 3-5, 2009.

We are pleased to announce that the Intercontinental Buckhead Atlanta has been selected as the host hotel for the 2009 Midyear Meeting and Southeastern Leadership Conference. The rate is $179.00 per night and you can make your reservation by calling 1-877-422-8254 and identify our group name (NAWJ). Mark your calendars and keep an eye out for more information in the January Monthly Update.

Make Your Reservation at the 2009 Annual Conference Host Hotel Now! Conference Dates are October 15-18, 2009.

Reservations are now being accepted at The Peabody Hotel in Memphis, Tennessee. The rate is $199.00 per night and you can make your reservation by calling 1-800-PEABODY (Press 2) and identify our group name (National Association of Women Judges). Be advised that the NAWJ room block is limited and the rate is subject to availability.

NAWJ 2009 Membership Directory

NAWJ Members,

Under the Direction of Judge Shelia Johnson, NAWJ’s VP of Publication, we are beginning to prepare the 2009 Membership Directory. Last month you should have received an email from Jeff Groton asking you to review the current data we have on file for you so that we can ensure that we publish the most accurate data. Thank you to all that responded with updates. If you DID NOT get this email, contact Jeff ASAP at [email protected] so that you can verify your data.

NAWJ Member Elected to the Board of Judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas

At an election held on November 12, 2008, the Board of Judges of the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas elected NAWJ member Pamela Pryor Dembe as the new President Judge. She replaces NAWJ honorary member Darnell Jones, who has been appointed to the US District Court for the Eastern District of Pa.

NAWJ member Sheila Woods-Skipper has been appointed Supervising Judge of the Criminal Division of the Court of Common Pleas, the position formerly held by President Judge Dembe.

New York Chapter of NAWJ will host the 2nd Annual Holiday Event - December 17 2008 New York chapter of NAWJ will host the 2nd annual holiday event at the NYS Appellate Division, First Department Courthouse on December 17 2008. NAWJ president La Tia W. Martin will recognize the newly appointed and elected women judges in attendance and invite them to join our organization.

Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Juanita Bing Newton to be Honored

The New York State Judicial Friends Organization will honor NAWJ member, Deputy Chief Administrative Judge Juanita Bing Newton, at the twenty seventh Rivers, Toney, Watson Awards dinner held at Steiner Studios Stage Theatre of the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

Keep NAWJ Up-to-Date on Your Local Activities!

If you would like to post events on the NAWJ Web calendar please send an e-mail with “NAWJ Calendar Submission” in the subject line to [email protected] and include the following information (in this format) in the body of that e-mail—

Event date: Event time: Event title: Event description: Contact: Location:

E-mails without the above information may cause a delay or error in posting. You may attach flyers or registration forms to be posted along with your event, but it is most helpful if you can extract the required information and present it in the above format. Thank you for your help.

A Message from Vice President of Publications Hon. Shelia R. Johnson

Dear NAWJ Members,

The deadline (January 15th) for submission to Counterbalance is fast approaching!! We need your help in identifying issues and/or articles of interest for publication. Remember, Counterbalance is a wonderful membership recruitment tool, as it provides a unique opportunity to highlighting the many interesting activities that this organization sponsors and the causes it supports.

If you have female judges in your state who have been recently appointed, or if they have been promoted or received an honor, please let me know. I can feature this with photos. Also, if there are vacancies on the various benches in your state and your governor is set to fill with an appointment, please advise, and I will forward that information to Justice Martin who will take any pertinent action.

If you have authored an article on an issue of interest to women in the legal profession, or you know of such an article, please let me know. Perhaps it can be recreated for our newsletter. If you or your court has a special program that serves the interests of women in the law or the judiciary or which serves the interests of justice in some way, it may also be a subject for publication. Similarly, if you have traveled within the US or abroad and you find news on issues concerning the judiciary please share them with me at email address: [email protected].

If there is anything that you have done or know about, that serves the interests of women lawyers, judges or the interests of justice, especially for women, please let me know. Your submissions need not be scholarly. They need not be complete edited versions. Any pertinent information in any form will be considered, even if just a brief note or unedited commentary.

Please feel free to pass this request along to judges in your area!!

Regards, Hon. Shelia R. Johnson VP, Publications