[Alumni Home] [Contact Us] [Site Map]


Celebration Fifty-Five, The Women's Leadership Summit, Harvard Law School, September 18-21, 2008

Program

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 18

Kickoff Events

5–9 p.m.

Registration

5:30–
6:45 p.m.

Finding Our Voices: How to Write Your Book (and How We Wrote Ours)
    
 Co-Host: The HLS Law & the Arts Initiative

Moderator: Theresa Park '92, The Park Literary Group, Owner

Panelists:

Julie Buxbaum '02, The Opposite of Love (Dial 2007)

Viola Canales '89, The Tequila Worm (Random/Wendy Lamb Books 2005)

Nancy Geary '90, Being Mrs. Alcott (Warner Books 2005) and others

Rebecca Haile '91, Held at a Distance: A Rediscovery of Ethiopia (Academy Chicago Publishers 2007)

Tama J. Kieves '85, This Time I Dance: How One Harvard Lawyer Left It All to Have It All (Tarcher Penguin 2003) and owner of Awakening Artistry

Helen Elaine Lee '85, Water Marked (Scribner 2001) and others; Associate Professor MIT Program in Writing and Humanistic Studies
Christina Meldrum '94, Madapple (Knopf 2008)

Lauren Willig '06, The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (Dutton 2005) and others

6:45–8 p.m.

Cocktails, Buffet Supper, Kickoff Festivities
     Co-Hosts: The HLS Massachusetts Alumnae      Network, HLS Women's Law Association

8:30 p.m.

Open Mike: HLS Women on Law and Life in the 21st Century

Moderator: Anne C. Weisberg '85, HLSA Alumnae Committee, Founder & Former Chair; Deloitte U.S. Firms, Director, Talent

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 19

Starting the Conversation

10 a.m.

Welcome, Dean Elena Kagan '86

10:30 a.m.–12 p.m.

Plenary Session: Faces of Female Leadership: Taking Stock of Where We Are—and Where We're Going

Moderator: Lena G. Goldberg '78, Harvard Business School, Senior Lecturer; previously Fidelity Investments, Executive Vice President - Strategic Corporate Initiatives

Panelists:

Hon. Deborah A. Batts '72, U.S. District Court, Southern District of New York

Mona Harrington '60, MIT Workplace Center, Director; author of Women Lawyers: Rewriting the Rules (Plume/Penguin 1995)

Susan C. Levy '82, Jenner & Block, Managing Partner

Margaret E. Montoya '78, University of New Mexico School of Law, Professor of Law

Jennifer J. Raab '85, Hunter College, President

Kate Reilly '09, Harvard Law School, Student; President of Harvard Women's Law Association

12:15–
1:45 p.m.

Opening Luncheon Featuring a Conversation with Dean Elena Kagan '86

2–3:15 p.m.

Plenary Session: Defining Leadership: Personal Visions for Law and Life

Moderator: Kim Robinson '93, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Coordinator of Organisational and Leadership Development

Panelists:

Charlotte P. Armstrong '53, The Ross Companies, Senior Consultant; Harvard Law School Association, Former President (1994-96)

Brenda Feigen '69, Kenoff & Machtinger, Of Counsel; Co-Founder of Ms. magazine and author of Not One of the Boys: Living Life as a Feminist (Knopf 2000)

Erica Ariel Fox '95, Global Negotiation Insight Institute, Founder; Mobius Executive Leadership, Partner; Lecturer at Harvard Law School

Juliette Kayyem '95, State of Massachusetts, Undersecretary of Homeland Security

Zia Mody LL.M. '79, AZB & Partners, Senior Partner

3:30–
4:45 p.m.

Concurrent Panels

Cross-Cultural Conversations: Women Leaders around the World

Moderator: Ana Maria Salazar '89, TV show ("Seguridad Total") and radio host; author and journalist; Grupo Salazar, independent international consultant

Panelists:

Peggy Kuo '88, New York Stock Exchange, Chief Hearing Officer; former prosecutor at the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia

Lenora M. Lapidus '90, American Civil Liberties Union, Women's Rights Project, Director

Anne-Marijke Morgan de Rivery LL.M. '80, GE Capital Solutions, Legal Director

Kim Robinson '93, Oprah Winfrey Leadership Academy for Girls, Coordinator of Organisational and Leadership Development

Running for Office: Getting Your Candidate—Or Yourself—Elected

Moderator: Lucia Fakonas Howard '75, Fakonas Howard Ltd., President; Arizona List, Board of Directors

Panelists:

Elizabeth Holtzman '65, Herrick, Feinstein, Counsel; previously served as U.S. Congresswoman, District Attorney of Kings County (Brooklyn), Comptroller of New York City

Rhonda Adams Medina '93, Nickelodeon/MTV Networks Kids & Family Group, Senior Vice President and Deputy General Counsel; Democratic National Committee, member of the DNC's National Women's Finance Leadership Committee and of the DNC's Platform Committee

Ellen L. Weintraub '84, Federal Election Commission, Vice Chair

Managing Your Career: The Art of Transition

Moderator: Scott A. Westfahl '88, Goodwin Procter, Director of Professional Develoment

Panelists:

Julie Anna Alvarez '88, Fordham University School of Law, Career Planning Center, Director

Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., Lawyers Life Coach LLC

Irene Reed '98, Northwestern University School of Law, Center for Career Strategy and Advancement, Associate Director

Carol Stafford Stein '85, Harvard Law School, Bernard Koteen Office of Public Interest Advising (OPIA), Attorney Advisor

Models of Motherhood: Two-Career Couples, Single Moms, Adoption, and Other Choices

Moderator: Jennifer S. Taub '93, University of Massachusetts Amherst, Isenberg School of Management, Lecturer & Coordinator of Business Law Program

Panelists:

Katherine Ashton '85, Debevoise & Plimpton, Partner

Elizabeth Bartholet '65, Harvard Law School, Morris Wasserstein Public Interest Professor of Law and Faculty Director of the Child Advocacy Program

Maia H. Harris '00, Nixon Peabody, Associate

Elaine Johnson James '82, Edwards Angell Palmer & Dodge, Partner

S. Elaine McChesney '78, Bingham McCutchen, Partner

Lynn Savarese '81, aspiring writer and volunteer for educational and human rights organizations including the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children

5–6:30 p.m.

"Speed Networking" Reception

MC: Lori E. Lesser '93, Simpson Thacher, Partner

7 p.m.

Celebration Dinner and Presentation of Celebration 55 Award

Celebration 55 Award Recipient: Rita E. Hauser '58, Hauser Foundation, President

Keynote Speaker: Samantha Power '99, Anna Lindh Professor of Practice of Global Leadership and Public Policy at Harvard's John F. Kennedy School of Government; Pulitzer Prize-winning author of A Problem from Hell: America and the Age of Genocide (Basic Books 2002)

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 20

Leadership in Context

8-9:15 a.m.

Continental Breakfast with Special Interest / Affinity Group Tables

9:30–
10:45 a.m.

Concurrent Panels

The Large Law Firm: Leadership Challenges and Opportunities

Moderator: Brande Stellings '93, Catalyst, Senior Director, Advisory Services

Panelists:

Rima J. Alaily '98, Heller Ehrman, Partner

Preeta D. Bansal '89, Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom, Partner

Deborah L. Feinstein '87, Arnold & Porter, Partner

Ann Bailen Fisher '76, Sullivan & Cromwell, Partner

Elizabeth L. Grayer '89, Cravath, Swaine & Moore, Partner

Laura C. Hodges Taylor '82, Goodwin Procter, Partner

Lori E. Lesser '93, Simpson Thacher, Partner

Leadership in the Corporate World: Pathways to Success

Moderator: Deirdre Stanley '89, Thomson Reuters, Executive Vice President & General Counsel

Panelists:

Diana Daniels '74, Washington Post Co., Former Vice President, Secretary & General Counsel (1988-2007)

Laura S. Franco '87, CBS Corporation, Senior Vice President & Associate General Counsel

Elaine Mandelbaum '83, Citigroup Markets & Banking, Managing Director and Deputy General Counsel

Kim Rucker '93, Avon Products, Senior Vice President & General Counsel

Nicole Seligman '83, Sony Corporation, Executive Vice President and General Counsel (Invited)

Alternative Visions of Leadership and Success: Nontraditional Career Paths

Moderator: Monica Parker '99, Leaving The Law.com, Founder & Owner

Panelists:

Maryanne Hancock '01, McKinsey & Company, Principal

Sheila Heen '93, Triad Consulting Group, Partner; Harvard Law School, Lecturer on Law; co-author of Difficult Conversations: How to Discuss What Matters Most (Penguin 2000)

Katina Leodas '88, Leodas Search Group, Principal

Rosemary Cox Masters '64, Psychotherapist

Theresa Park '92, The Park Literary Group, Owner

Stacy Stern '93, Justia, President; Co-Founder & Former President of Findlaw

The Entrepreneurial Leader: Launching Your Own Law Firm

Moderator: Sheela Murthy LL.M. '87, Murthy Law Firm, Founder, President & Managing Attorney

Panelists:

Maria J. Krokidas '73, Krokidas & Bluestein, Co-Founder & Principal

Sandra (Raye) Mitchell '94, The Mitchell Law Group, Founder & Principal

Hillary Richard '88, Brune & Richard, Co-Founder & Principal

Marcia S. Wagner '87, Wagner Law Group, Founder & Principal

Leadership from the Bench: The Judicial Experience

Moderator: Hon. Elizabeth S. Stong '82, U.S. Bankrupty Court, Eastern District of New York

Panelists:

Hon. Judith A. Cowin '70, Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, Associate Justice

Hon. Maria Cristina Mattioli LL.M. '94, Federal Labor Judge, Federal Labor Court of the 15th Circuit, Campinas, Brazil

Hon. Marla Miller '80, Superior Court of California, County of San Francisco

Hon. Sondra M. Miller '53, McCarthy Fingar, Chief Counsel; Appellate Division of the New York Supreme Court, Second Department, Judge (retired); previously served as New York State Supreme Court Judge in the Ninth Judicial District and Westchester County Family Court Judge

Hon. Reena Raggi '76, U.S. Court of Appeals, Second Circuit, Brooklyn, NY

Hon. Jane R. Roth '64, U.S. Court of Appeals, Third Circuit, Wilmington, DE

Hon. Patti B. Saris '76, U.S. District Court, District of Massachusetts, Boston

Hon. Wilhelmina M. Wright '89, Minnesota Court of Appeals

11 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

A Public Conversation between Dean Elena Kagan '86 and Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg '56-'58

12:15–
1:45 p.m.

Celebration Luncheon: The Women of HLS—New Initiatives

Presenter: David B. Wilkins '80, Kirkland and Ellis Professor of Law and Director of the Harvard Law School Program on the Legal Profession

2–3:15 p.m.

Concurrent Panels

Feeding the Pipeline: Law Firm Strategies for Training and Retaining Women

Moderator: Hon. Fernande R. V. Duffly '78, Massachusetts Appeals Court; National Association of Women Judges, President (2007-present)

Panelists:

Lindsay Blohm '06 & Ashley R. Riveira '06, authors of Presumed Equal: What America's Top Women Lawyers Really Think about Their Firms (AuthorHouse 2006)

Carolyn C. Clark '68, Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCloy, Consulting Partner

Claudia L. Hammerman '91, Paul Weiss, Partner

Deborah K. Holmes '88, Ernst & Young, Americas Director, Corporate Responsibility

Vernā Myers '85, Vernā Myers Consulting Group, Principal

Jennifer H. Weddle '00, Holland & Hart, Associate

Crossing Boundaries: Leadership in International Law and Business

Moderator: Jennifer M. Daniels '88, Barnes & Noble, Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary

Panelists:

Judith F. Aidoo '87, Caswell Communications, Owner & Chief Executive Officer

Karen E. Glover '75, Kirkpatrick & Lockhart Preston Gates Ellis, Global Integreation Partner

Eleanor Pelta '86, Morgan Lewis, Partner

Sarah Eaton Stuart '91, Reebok, Senior Counsel

Alice Young '74, Kaye Sholer, Partner and Chair of Asia Pacific Group

Making a Difference While Making a Living: Public Service Leadership

Moderator: Jodi Grant '93, Afterschool Alliance, Executive Director

Panelists:

Denise J. Casper '94, Middlesex District Attorney's Office, Deputy District Attorney

Piper Hoffman '99, Outten & Golden, Partner

Wendy Jacobs '81, Harvard Law School, Environmental Law and Policy Clinic, Director

Jamienne S. Studley '75, Public Advocates, President

Julie Su '94, Asian Pacific American Law Center, Litigation Director (Invited)

Leading as a Volunteer: Leveraging Your Legal Background

Moderator: Susan Lytle Lipton LL.M. '71, Harvard Law School Fund, Chair (2003-05)

Panelists:

Jenny Brody '81, D.C. Volunteer Lawyers Project, Founder & Executive Director; solo practitioner

Elena M. Paul '88, Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts, Executive Director

Maria A. Skirnick '69, Meredith Cohen Greenfogel & Skirnick, Partner; Sponsorship Chair for A Celebration of Public Interest at HLS

Silda Wall Spitzer '84, Children for Children, Founding Chair; ServiceNation Leadership Council

Leadership in Legal Education

Moderator: Jeannie Suk '02, Harvard Law School, Assistant Professor of Law

Panelists:

Anita L. Allen-Castellitto '84, University of Pennsylvania Law School, Henry R. Silverman Professor of Law and Professor of Philosophy

Sarah M. Buel '87, University of Texas School of Law, Clinical Professor of Law

Adam Neufeld '04, McKinsey & Co., Associate; lead author of "Study of Women's Experiences at Harvard Law School" (Working Group on Student Experiences, February 2004)

Carol Steiker '86, Harvard Law School, Howard J. and Katherine W. Aibel Professor of Law; Special Advisor for Public Service


Kathleen M. Sullivan '81, Stanford Law School, Stanley Morrison Professor of Law and Former Dean

Paths to Leadership in the World of Arts and Entertainment

Moderator: Lesley Rosenthal '89, Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Panelists:

Brenda Feigen '69, Kenoff & Machtinger, Of Counsel; previously film producer (Navy Seals, Orion 1990), agent and business affairs attorney with William Morris Agency

Crystal Nix Hines '90, Television Writer and Producer ("The Practice," "Alias," "Commander-in-Chief") (Invited)

Lisa Jones Johnson '82, Media International, Partner; formerly CEO of Comedy Express Television

Karen J. Levinson '82, John Silberman Associates, Of Counsel

Debra Martin Chase '81, Martin Chase Productions, CEO and President ("The Princess Diaries," "Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants," and "The Cheetah Girls" movie franchises")

Zola Mashariki '97, Senior Vice President of Production, Fox Searchlight Pictures

Debra Osofsky '89, American Federation of Television and Radio Artists (AFTRA), National Director, News and Broadcast

Foundations of Leadership: Skills and Strategies

3:30–
4:45 p.m.

Concurrent Panels

Making Rain: Taking the Lead in Bringing in Business

Moderator: Sara Holtz '75, ClientFocus, Founder

Panelists:

Peggy Steif Abram '86, Faegre & Benson, Partner

Dale Cendali '84, O'Melveny & Myers, Partner; Chair of the New York Intellectual Property and Technology Practice; firmwide Chair of the Copyright, Trademark, and Internet Subpractice.

Cari K. Dawson '93, Alston & Bird, Partner and Chair of the Class Action Practice Team for the Litigation and Trial Practice Group

Karen F. Green '81, WilmerHale, Partner; Chair, Parmaceutical and Healthcare Group; former Litigation Department Chair

On Ramping: Back to Work on Your Own Terms

Moderator: Kate Neville '92, Neville Career Consulting, Founder & Principal

Panelists:

Shelley C. Chapman '81, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Partner

Carol Fishman Cohen HBS '85, iRelaunch, Co-Founder; co-author of Back on the Career Track: A Guide for Stay-at-Home Moms Who Want to Return to Work (Warner Books 2007)

Marguerite A. Fletcher '90, Solo Practitioner and Diversity Consultant

Janine Hill '74, Council on Foreign Relations, Deputy Director of Studies Administration

Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., Lawyers Life Coach LLC

Alice Turinas '87, The Law Office of Robert M. Mark, Of Counsel; HLSA Alumnae Committee, Co-Chair

Leadership Strategies for the Corporate Board

Moderator: Gail Merel '77, Andrews Kurth, Partner

Panelists:

Rhea Kemble Dignam '72, Ernst & Young, Principal

Patricia A. King '69, Georgetown University Law Center, Carmack Waterhouse Professor of Law, Medicine, Ethics & Public Policy; Harvard Corporation, Fellow

Ellen J. Odoner '77, Weil Gotshal & Manges LLP, Partner

Hillary Sale '93, F. Arnold Daum Chair in Corporate Finance and Law, University of Iowa College of Law

Laura Stein '87, The Clorox Company, Senior Vice President, General Counsel & Corporate Secretary

Elisse B. Walter '74, Securities and Exchange Commission, Commissioner

In a Different Voice: Strategies for Powerful Self-Presentation

Moderator: Sally Rosenberg '86, Oratorio, Presentation Skills and Leadership Coach

Panelists:

Susan Cain '93, author of Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking (Crown/Random House 2009); Negotiation Company (consulting firm), Owner

Hon. Lucy Koh '93, Superior Court of California, County of Santa Clara

Catherine O'Neil '90, King & Spalding, Partner

6–7 p.m.

Celebration Reception for All Participants and Students

7 p.m.

A Celebration Dinner

Keynote Speaker: Jamie Gorelick '75, WilmerHale, Partner; formerly U.S. Deputy Attorney General, Vice Chair of Fannie Mae, member of the bipartisan "9/11 Commission"

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 21

Composing a Life in the Law—and Beyond

9–10:15 a.m.

Concurrent Panels

Leading Change: How to Be a Change Agent in Your Organization

Moderator: Anne C. Weisberg '85, Deloitte U.S. Firms, Director, Talent; co-author of Mass Career Customization (HBS Press 2007)

Panelists:

Shelley C. Chapman '81, Willkie Farr & Gallagher, Partner

Debora de Hoyos '78, Mayer Brown, Partner & former Managing Partner (1991-2007)

Ashish Nanda Ph.D. (HBS), Harvard Law School, Professor of Practice; HLS Program on the Legal Profession, Research Director; Faculty Director of HLS Executive Education programs

Andrea L. Zopp '81, Exelon Corporation, Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer

The New Girls Club: Forging Friendships, Forging Careers

Moderator: Marissa C. Wesely '79(80), Simpson Thacher, Partner; Kate Stoneman Project (network of women partners at ten leading NYC law firms), Co-Founder

Panelists:

Patricia López Aufranc LL.M. '85, Marval, O'Farrell & Mairal, Partner; FAME (Argentine Forum of Executive Women), Co-Founder

Elizabeth A. Brown '96, Fish & Richardson, Principal; Past President of the Harvard Law School Association of Northern California, founder of the HLSA Northern California Women's Network, current member of HLS Massachusetts Alumnae Network Steering Committee

Rebecca Eisenberg '93, AdBrite, Inc., Vice President, General Counsel & Secretary; Loco Parentis (network of working mother-attorneys), Founder & President

Suzanne M. Nora Johnson '82, The Goldman Sachs Group, Former Vice Chairman, Senior Director; early member of 85 Broads (global professional women's network launched by Goldman women)

Valerie A Yarashus '90, Yarashus, Wagner, Cook, Freiberger & Washienko, Founder & Principal; Massachusettts Bar Association, President-Elect

Developing Your Signature Strengths as a Leader: A Positive Psychology Workshop

Facilitator: Ellen Ostrow, Ph.D., Lawyers Life Coach LLC

10:30 a.m.–12:00 p.m.

Town Meeting: Where Do We Go from Here? (Our Vision(s) for the Future)

Moderator: Sharon E. Jones '82, Harvard Law School Association, President Elect; Chicago Urban League, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer

Panelists:

Stefanie A. Balandis '93, Greater Boston Legal Services, Housing Unit, Senior Attorney

Hon. Frederica Brenneman '53, Judge Trial Referee, State of Connecticut

Hon. Jane Lakes Harman '69, United States Congress, Representative (D-CA)

Judith Richards Hope '64, Georgetown University Law Center, Distinguished Visitor from Practice; author of Pinstripes and Pearls: The Women of the Harvard Law School Class of '64 Who Forged an Old-Girl Network and Paved the Way for Future Generations (Scribner 2003)

Ruth A. Marcus '84, Washington Post, editorial writer and columnist

Ramona E. Romero '88, DuPont Legal, Corporate Counsel, Logistics and Energy; Hispanic National Bar Association; President

Linda Chatman Thomsen '79, Securities and Exchange Commission, Director of the Division of Enforcement

Sandra S. Yamate '84, American Bar Association Commission on Racial and Ethnic Diversity in the Profession, Director

12:15–
1:45 p.m.

Farewell Luncheon and Harvard Law School Association Award Presentation

HLSA Award Recipient: Hon. Jane Lakes Harman '69, United States Congress, Representative (D-CA)

Keynote Speaker: Stephanie K. Bell-Rose '84, Goldman, Sachs & Co., Managing Director and President of the Goldman Sachs Foundation