Last Thursday evening I joined distinguished members of the Massachusetts judiciary and bar and Suffolk University Law School alumnae on a panel to discuss our professional experiences as part of the Law School’s “All Rise: Uniting to Advance Women and the Future of Law” event. Seated next to the Hon. Elspeth B. Cypher, Associate Justice of the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court; the Hon. Amy L. Nechtem, Chief Justice of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court; Deborah Marson, Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of Iron Mountain; Loletta L. Darden, Assistant Clinical Professor of Law and director of the Law School’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic; and Maria R. Durant, a partner at Hogan Lovells, my role was to speak on behalf of the “Young Generation” of alumnae. A daunting task.
Conn Kavanaugh’s Carol Starkey conceived the event and moderated the panel, which covered topics ranging from the importance of mentors to the top challenges facing women in the legal industry and from how to lead to the vision for the advancement of women over the next decade. As the youngest member of the panel, I was in the unique position of offering advice to the many law students in the audience about how to follow in the footsteps of the other panelists while simultaneously being inspired by them.
Following the panel, I continued to be inspired by the women who received the first Marian Archer “Trailblazer” Award and the first Catherine T. Judge Teaching and Service Award. The honorees all exemplified the strength and leadership of the Law School’s alumnae and faculty.
All in all it was a wonderful night celebrating Suffolk women—students, faculty, and alumnae. It also didn’t hurt when my former professor, Karen Blum, called me a genius when she accepted the Catherine T. Judge Teaching and Service Award.
By Alexis Theriault
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