On January 26, 2008, the WBASNY Board of Directors met at New York Life Insurance Company in New York, New York.  Here are the highlights of that meeting.

• President Cortese reported that she had sent letters to Governor Eliot Spitzer to encourage the appointment of women to recent Appellate Division vacancies and to advocate for judicial pay raises in New York State.
• President Cortese reported that she and/or other WBASNY leaders had participated in a number of successful events including (1) the New York Chapter’s annual reception for newly elected and newly appointed judges; (2) a meeting of the New York State Judicial Committee on Women in the Courts; (3) a Rochester program on women’s health and reproductive rights on the anniversary of the decision in Roe v. Wade; and (4) meetings with a delegation of South African women attorneys.
• Chief Administrative Judge Ann Pfau presented a report on the state of the judiciary, focusing on the need for judicial pay raises.
• At the request of Western New York Chapter President Kelly Philips, board members participated in a “purple postcard” project to encourage Governor Spitzer to reinstate funding for New York State’s displaced homemaker programs, which were designed to provide women with the professional skills needed to enter and re-enter the work force.
• President Cortese stated that WBASNY and its chapters had offered 56 programs for CLE credit over the past year.
• President Cortese reported that an on-line directory for WBASNY members hopefully would be issued in 2008.
• Convention 2008 Committee Co-Chair Jody Fay reported that the 2008 convention would take place at the Hyatt Chesapeake Bay in Cambridge, Maryland, from May 29 to June 1.  Her co-chair, Robin Abramowitz, reported that the committee had selected eight CLE programs for presentation at the convention.  The topics of the selected programs were as follows:  (1) corporate law; (2) elder law; (3) collaborative divorce; (4) child welfare; (5) problem-solving; (6) ethics; (7) reproductive rights; and (8) criminal law.
• Awards Committee Co-Chair Jessie Aitcheson announced the winners of the following WBASNY awards:  (1) Joan L. Ellenbogen Founder’s Award – Judge Evelyn Frazee (Rochester); (2) Marilyn R. Menge Award – Linda Morrone (Suffolk); (3) Hanna S. Cohn Pro Bono Award – Eileen Buholtz (Rochester); (4) Doris S. Hoffman Outstanding New Lawyer Award – Kathleen Wright (Nassau); and (5) Stephanie Kupferman Juvenile Justice Award – Carol Sherman (Brooklyn).
• At the request of Employment and Labor Law Committee Co-Chair Pamela Elisofon and the Legislation Committee, the board voted to support the Fair Pay Restoration Act (FPRA), which was passed in the U.S. House of Representatives and is pending in the U.S. Senate.  The FPRA was intended to amend Title VII and the Age Discrimination in Employment Act, and it clarifies that an unlawful discriminatory practice occurs each time compensation is paid pursuant to a discriminatory compensation decision or other practice.
• Children’s Rights Committee Co-Chair Susan Kaufman reported that the committee is planning an exciting program with the Health Issues Committee to be held on April 10, 2008, at Fordham Law School on the topic of how the legal system addresses mental health issues affecting children.
• International Women’s Rights Committee Co-Chair Christina Kallas announced that the committee will be co-sponsoring a multi-disciplinary conference on April 17, 2008, at the United Nations, potentially for CLE credit.  She said that the conference will focus on United Nations Security Council Resolution 1325, which was adopted in 2000 and urges member states to ensure an increased representation of women in the decision making process relating to the resolution of conflicts during post-war reconstruction.
• Capital District President Linda Clark announced that her chapter and the Capital Region Bankruptcy Bar Association have been named to receive a 2008 Award of Merit in the Smaller Associations category from the New York State Conference of Bar Leaders for the Credit Abuse Resistance Education Program, which involved counseling students about the responsible use of credit.