Attorney Tessa R. DeVault represented Johnson Law by attending the 41st Annual Colorado Women’s Bar Association’s (“CWBA”) “Wonder Women” Convention in Vail, Colorado. Tessa is a proud member of the CWBA’s Mountain Chapter for attorneys who live or work in Eagle, Summit, Lake, Clear Creek, Garfield, Pitkin, and Park Counties. Johnson Law proudly serves all of Colorado’s communities from the Western Slope to the Front Range with offices in Edwards, Denver, and Louisville. Attending legal conventions connects our attorneys to the legal networks needed to provide excellent services to our clients across the state.
This year’s CWBA Convention focused on the big and small ways women lawyers are superheroes to their clients and their communities. Diversity and Inclusiveness were strong themes throughout the programming that spanned over three days of lectures, roundtable discussions, and workshops.
Keynote speaker Ms. Paulette Brown addressed the audience on the topic of Champions and Mindset Power. Paulette was the first woman of color to lead the American Bar Association in its 137-year history and is a nationally recognized leader and top lawyer.
Her keynote address identified the female attorney as the “24-hour woman” – one who balances the challenges of being a lawyer, the demands in maintaining a home life, and serves as a leader within her community. Paulette shared her successes in forming the American Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion 360 Commission, which effectuates policies aimed at dismantling barriers to inclusion and diversity while economically empowering diverse attorneys. Other highlights from her presentation were when she reminded the group that well-behaved women rarely make history, and she challenged women attorneys to identify where they want to be in history, what they want their contribution to be within the justice system, and then to write down their personal and professional plans in order to achieve them. The presentation ended with Paulette telling the group to “own your greatness.”
Following the inspiring work of Paulette was Denver’s own Dr. Nita Mosby Tyler. Dr. Mosby Tyler founded The Equity Project, LLC – an organization designed to support organizations and communities in building diversity, equity, and inclusion strategies. Her presentation was entitled: Using Your Power: Incorporating Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion into Everyday Life. The presentation started by identifying the phenomenon of “diversity fatigue” – feelings of exhaustiveness from discussing diversity.
Dr. Mosby Tyler presented on the differences between equity, diversity, and inclusiveness by describing equity as the umbrella of everything we are doing. Equity is the creation of systems where everyone can thrive and people have what they need. Diversity is the richness and beauty of the differences between all of us. Inclusion is an intentional action of what you do with diversity. Inclusion should be a win/win for all involved. Attorneys carry the responsibility and power to include those who are otherwise socially excluded. The strongest leaders are those who have expertise and mutual respect for others. Dr. Mosby Tyler ended her presentation by challenging the group to take responsibility to be the crafters of new doors that lead to equity.
The CWBA’s mission is to promote women in the legal profession and the interests of women generally. The Colorado Construction Attorneys at Johnson Law are involved in many organizations that provide a strong network of resources and connections for all types of legal issues. Johnson Law is proud to be part of a legal community serving the diverse interests of Coloradoans throughout the state.
For more information on the Colorado Women’s Bar Association or any of the speakers mentioned, please contact Tessa DeVault at [email protected].
