Minnesota Women Lawyers

TO ADVANCE THE SUCCESS OF WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION AND STRIVE FOR A JUST SOCIETY.

THE MWL ANNUAL ROSALIE WAHL LEADERSHIP LECTURE (FALL 2021) THE WAHL LECTURE WAS HELD REMOTELY IN HONOR OF RETIRED JUSTICE ROSALIE WAHL ON NOVEMBER 3, 2021. COMMEMORATING MWL'S 27TH ANNUAL WAHL LECTURE, THE EVENT HONORED JUSTICE WAHL, AND CELEBRATED MINNESOTA WOMEN LEADERS WHO NOT ONLY HAVE A SEAT AT THE TABLE, BUT ARE ALSO CHANGE AGENTS IN THEIR OWN COMMUNITIES. MWL WAS PLEASED WELCOME KEYNOTE SPEAKER PHUONG PHILLIPS, CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER FOR ZYNGA. BREAKING BARRIERS AND BUILDING A BETTER TOMORROW IN A FIRESIDE CHAT WITH MWL PRESIDENT KRISTIN HAUGEN, MS. PHILLIPS SHARED HER PERSONAL JOURNEY FROM IMMIGRATING TO AMERICA AS A VIETNAMESE REFUGEE TO BECOMING A NATIONALLY RECOGNIZED ATTORNEY, INFLUENCER, AND LEADER. SHE TALKED ABOUT HOW HER FAMILY INFLUENCED, AND MENTORS HELPED TO GUIDE, HER CAREER INCLUDING PROMINENT ROLES AT SOLAR CITY, TESLA, AND NOW ZYNGA. SHE SHARED HER EXPERIENCE AS A WOMAN OF COLOR ATTORNEY WORKING IN A MALE DOMINATED INDUSTRY, THE WAYS THAT SHE HAS STAYED TRUE TO HERSELF THROUGHOUT HER CAREER, AND HOW SHE HAS WORKED FOR EQUITY AND CHANGE. ABOUT OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER: PHUONG PHILLIPS IS CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER FOR ZYNGA, OVERSEEING ALL LEGAL AFFAIRS AND GOVERNMENT RELATIONS FOR THE COMPANY. PRIOR TO JOINING ZYNGA, PHILLIPS SERVED AS ASSOCIATE GENERAL COUNSEL FOR TESLA, INC. AND WAS THE LEAD M&A ATTORNEY. BEFORE THAT, PHILLIPS SPENT MORE THAN SIX YEARS AT SOLARCITY AS ITS VICE PRESIDENT, DEPUTY GENERAL COUNSEL AND HEAD OF CORPORATE AND SECURITIES. BEFORE JOINING SOLARCITY, PHILLIPS SPENT MORE THAN SEVEN YEARS AS A CORPORATE ATTORNEY AT WILSON SONSINI GOODRICH & ROSATI. PHILLIPS WAS HONORED BY THE SILICON VALLEY BUSINESS JOURNAL WITH A WOMEN OF INFLUENCE AWARD (2015), THE RECORDER WITH A WOMEN LEADERS IN TECH LAW AWARD (2018), THE BAY AREA CORPORATE COUNSEL - DIVERSITY AWARD (2019), THE IN-HOUSE COUNSEL DIVERSITY AWARD BY THE CALIFORNIA MINORITY COUNSEL PROGRAM (2019), THE TRAILBLAZER AWARD FROM THE VIETNAMESE AMERICAN BAR ASSOCIATION OF NORTHERN CALIFORNIA (2019) AND NAMED ONE OF THE TOP 100 LEGAL INFLUENCERS BY THE BUSINESS JOURNAL (2019). MOST RECENTLY, PHILLIPS WAS HONORED WITH THE IN-HOUSE OUTSTANDING INDIVIDUAL CONTRIBUTION AWARD AT THE NORTH AMERICAN CHAMBERS DIVERSITY & INCLUSION AWARDS (2020), GC OF THE YEAR FROM THE WOMEN, INFLUENCE & POWER IN LAW (2020) AS WELL AS HONORED WITH THE WOMEN OF ACHIEVEMENT AWARD FROM LEGAL MOMENTUM (2021). IN 2014, SHE RECEIVED THE CLEAN ENERGY EDUCATION & EMPOWERMENT (C3E) INITIATIVE LAW & FINANCE AWARD FROM THE DEPARTMENT OF ENERGY AND MIT, RECOGNIZING HER NATIONALLY AS A TOP LAWYER ADVANCING INNOVATIVE CLEAN ENERGY FINANCING SOLUTIONS. PHILLIPS SERVES AS THE EXECUTIVE CHAIR OF WOMEN AT ZYNGA, AN EMPLOYEE-LED RESOURCE GROUP OFFERING A VARIETY OF PROGRAMMING FOR WOMEN IN GAMING, AS WELL AS ON THE BOARD OF THE CALIFORNIA MINORITY COUNSEL PROGRAM, THE LAW FOUNDATION OF SILICON VALLEY, PROJECT GLIMMER AND DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS FOR THE STRAUBEL FOUNDATION. PHILLIPS RECEIVED HER BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN COMMUNICATION STUDIES WITH A SPECIALIZATION IN BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA, LOS ANGELES, AND HER J.D. FROM UCLA SCHOOL OF LAW. THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER DID NOT RECEIVE AN HONORARIUM.

ONGOING LEADERSHIP, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND MENTOR PROGRAMS MWL SPONSORED ONGOING PROGRAMS THROUGHOUT THE YEAR DESIGNED TO FOSTER LEADERSHIP, PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT AND MENTORING OPPORTUNITIES FOR WOMEN LAWYERS. WHEN IT WAS NOT SAFE TO MEET IN PERSON, PROGRAMMING TOOK PLACE REMOTELY VIA ZOOM WEBINAR. EQUITY INITIATIVES MWL SPONSORED ONGOING PROJECTS AND INITIATIVES RELATED TO THE SYSTEMIC ADVANCEMENT AND SUCCESS OF WOMEN ATTORNEYS. OVERALL, THE EQUITY COMMITTEE WORKS TO DEVELOP AND IMPLEMENT ACTION STEPS FOR MWL TO ACHIEVE EQUITY FOR WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION, INCLUDING: 1) ASSESSING THE CURRENT STATUS OF WOMEN IN THE LEGAL PROFESSION IN MINNESOTA; 2) IDENTIFYING BARRIERS THAT PREVENT WOMEN FROM ACHIEVING EQUITY; 3) STEPS (SPECIFIC PROGRAMS/INITIATIVES) THAT CAN BE TAKEN TO OVERCOME SUCH BARRIERS; AND 4) IMPLEMENTATION OF ACTION STEPS AS APPROPRIATE. ACTIVITIES ARE INCLUSIVE OF BOTH THE BENCH AND THE BAR.

ANNUAL MEETING (SPRING 2022) HONORING OUR PAST, CELEBRATING OUR PRESENT, ADVANCING OUR MISSION MINNESOTA WOMEN LAWYERS WAS PLEASED TO INVITE ITS MEMBERSHIP AND THE LEGAL COMMUNITY TO ATTEND ITS 50TH ANNUAL MEETING CELEBRATION ON TUESDAY, JUNE 7TH, 2022 AT THE NICOLLET ISLAND PAVILION, JUST OUTSIDE DOWNTOWN MINNEAPOLIS. WITH THIS MILESTONE EVENT, WE HONORED MWL'S PAST 50 YEARS AND THOSE WHO MADE IT POSSIBLE. WE CELEBRATED TODAY'S SUCCESS, INTRODUCING OUR FY22-23 BOARD OF DIRECTORS AND RECOGNIZING OUR 2022 ANNUAL AWARD RECIPIENTS. FINALLY, WE LOOKED AHEAD WITH COLLECTIVE PURPOSE AND CONVICTION, AS WE HEARD INSPIRING REMARKS FROM OUR KEYNOTE SPEAKER, LATANYA LANGLEY. LATANYA LANGLEY SERVES AS CHIEF LEGAL OFFICER AND CORPORATE SECRETARY OF EDGEWELL PERSONAL CARE COMPANY, A LEADING PURE-PLAY CONSUMER PRODUCTS COMPANY WITH AN ATTRACTIVE, DIVERSIFIED PORTFOLIO OF ESTABLISHED BRAND NAMES IN THE WET SHAVE, SUN AND SKINCARE AND FEMININE CARE CATEGORIES BASED IN THE GREATER NEW YORK AREA. PRIOR TO JOINING EDGEWELL, MS. LANGLEY WAS MOST RECENTLY VICE PRESIDENT, GENERAL COUNSEL AND CORPORATE SECRETARY AT BIC(R). THROUGHOUT HER 22-YEAR CAREER, MS. LANGLEY HELD SEVERAL LEADERSHIP ROLES INCLUDING EXECUTIVE ROLES AT DIAGEO, INCLUDING GENERAL COUNSEL AND CORPORATE SECRETARY OF GUINNESS GHANA BREWERIES LTD. BASED IN ACCRA, GHANA. MS. LANGLEY BEGAN HER LEGAL CAREER AS AN ASSOCIATE AT PAUL HASTINGS LLP, WEIL, GOTSHAL & MANGES LLP AND SHIPMAN & GOODWIN LLP, SPECIALIZING IN CORPORATE LAW AND BUSINESS FINANCE AND RESTRUCTURING. MS. LANGLEY IS A MEMBER OF THE NEW YORK AND CONNECTICUT BARS AND THE UNITED STATES DISTRICT COURT FOR THE DISTRICT OF CONNECTICUT. SHE RECEIVED HER BACHELOR'S DEGREE IN POLITICAL SCIENCE AND DOCTOR OF LAWS, HONORIS CAUSA FROM TRINITY COLLEGE, WHERE SHE SERVES ON THE BOARD OF TRUSTEES AND RECEIVED HER JURIS DOCTOR DEGREE FROM THE UNIVERSITY OF CONNECTICUT SCHOOL OF LAW WHERE SHE SERVES AS AN ADJUNCT PROFESSOR. THE KEYNOTE SPEAKER DID NOT RECEIVE AN HONORARIUM.

MWL MEMBER MONDAY SERIES (SEPT 2021 TO JUNE 2022) MWL CONTINUED ITS MONTHLY OPPORTUNITY TO ENGAGE WITH MINNESOTA WOMEN LAWYERS AND ITS MEMBERS, LEARN FROM LEGAL COMMUNITY LEADERS, AND BUILD CONNECTIONS ACROSS THE PROFESSION. HELD ON THE 2ND MONDAY OF EACH MONTH (UNLESS NOTED OTHERWISE) FROM 12:00 NOON TO 1:30 P.M., MWL MEMBER MONDAYS PROVIDED A CONSISTENT OPPORTUNITY FOR MWL MEMBERS AND THE STATEWIDE LEGAL COMMUNITY TO CONNECT ON TOPICS OF COMMON INTEREST, ALL IN SUPPORT OF MWL'S MISSION AND VALUES. EACH MONTH'S GATHERING OFFERED A DYNAMIC AND RELEVANT PROGRAM IN A VARIETY OF REMOTE FORMATS. WE HEARD FROM COMMUNITY LEADERS, PARTICIPATED IN A WORKSHOP-STYLE FORMAT, AND ENGAGED IN A GROUP-WIDE DISCUSSION. FURTHERMORE, MWL MEMBER MONDAYS PROVIDED MEMBERS AND NON-MEMBERS ALIKE WITH THE OPPORTUNITY TO LEARN MORE ABOUT MWL AND ITS BENEFITS, AS WELL AS OPPORTUNITIES TO VOLUNTEER AND FURTHER ENGAGE WITH THE ASSOCIATION. MWL MEMBER MONDAYS WERE FREE AND MOST OFFERED 1.0 CLE CREDIT. SEPTEMBER 12, 2022: LEADERSHIP, ALLYSHIP & INTERSECTIONALITY OCTOBER 3, 2022 (1ST MONDAY): WALKING OUT THE DOOR: RETENTION & SUCCESS IN PRIVATE PRACTICE NOVEMBER 14, 2022: LESSONS FROM A PANDEMIC: ANALYSIS OF MWL'S SURVEY OF WOMEN ATTORNEYS DECEMBER 12, 2022: RISING TO THE CHALLENGE: STORIES OF SUCCESS JANUARY 9, 2023: DOBBS IN THE NEW YEAR: WHERE ARE WE NOW? WHAT'S NEXT? FEBRUARY 13, 2023: SECURING THE SKILLS AND SUPPORT TO BEST ENSURE YOUR PROFESSIONAL SUCCESS MARCH 13, 2023: OPPORTUNITY & IMPACT: PRO-BONO AND NON-PROFIT SERVICE APRIL 10, 2023: PAY EQUITY & THE LEGAL PROFESSION JUNE 12, 2023: INCLUSIVE LANGUAGE MATTERS THE SPEAKERS DID NOT RECEIVE AN HONORARIUM.