This past 2019 year has been a remarkable year for ETLAW, beginning with our first CLE of the year, an ethics CLE, and culminating with our long-standing Annual Meeting and YWCA Holiday Toiletry Drive Luncheon. At the luncheon, we showed our holiday spirit by assembling hundreds of care packages for fellow women in the YWCA’s housing program; awarded our prestigious Spirit of Justice Award to one of our worthy members; heard a lively account of the year from our historian and received a sentimental farewell speech from our outgoing president; and officially elected our new 2020 Board. As shown at the luncheon, this past year has flown by, but many memorable moments were formed along the way – many of them milestones and many of them firsts for ETLAW. Please enjoy the below photos and accompanying descriptions for highlights of 2019.
In May, the entire Tennessee Supreme Court was present at our Annual Supreme Court Luncheon, and we heard from Chief Justice Jeffrey S. Bivins (featured above in the middle) regarding the priorities of the Court.
During the summer, we enjoyed our Annual Summer Social at Bistro by the Tracks. (Our first-ever Happy Hour was hosted at Calhoun’s in April.)
By the end of the summer, we reached our milestone goal of 100 paid members and celebrated this accomplishment with a special ice cream social sponsored by Cruze Farm. (2019 President Elizabeth Carroll’s theme for the year focused on increased connections and increased service; with the attainment of 100 members, her vision was in large part fulfilled!)
In October, among many other events we support, we represented ETLAW at the 2019 Komen Knoxville Race for the Cure with a large team of 29 members led by ETLAW member Wynne Caffey-Knight.
By December, we reached another milestone by offering 11.5 CLE credits (3.5 more than the number of credits guaranteed per year), including multiple ethics hours and collaboration with such organizations as TLAW, UT’s Law Women, and LMU’s Women of the Law Society. CLE topics throughout the year ranged from the ethical implications of self-care to the legal and tax implications of donor-advised funds. Additionally, CLE opportunities included a special RBG screening with panelists Suzanne H. Bauknight and Kristi M. Davis (featured above), who are ETLAW members and local judges, and a 2-part series on gender bias and professional conduct by member and UT College of Law Professor Paula Schaefer.
By December, we gave our members the continued opportunity to get to know one another by featuring 11 different members in our Member Spotlight series, a first of its kind in our monthly newsletter.
In December, we continued our worthy tradition of assembling 300+ care packages for residents of the YWCA’s Women’s Housing Program at our Annual YWCA Holiday Toiletry Drive Luncheon.
In December, we awarded our major annual ETLAW award, the Spirit of Justice Award, to member Christina Magráns-Tillery (featured above to the right) for her work as a strong advocate for women in the legal profession and for fair housing rights.
In December, we elected our 2020 Board at our Annual Meeting. Katie Waldrop (featured above) will serve as president for 2020.
The past 2019 Board and the upcoming 2020 Board appreciate all of the accomplishments, contributions, and dedicated service provided by ETLAW members and the organization as a whole during the 2019 year. As we reflect on the past and anticipate the future, the upcoming Board hopes that ETLAW members will look forward to all of the upcoming opportunities scheduled for 2020, including our CLEs, annual luncheons, socials, and more!