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Pepperdine Caruso School of Law to Host Inaugural Black Women and the Law Summit


Black Women and the Law Summit - Pepperdine Caruso LawOn November 6, Pepperdine Caruso School of Law will host its inaugural Black Women and the Law summit on the Zoom platform, from 11 AM to 4 PM PDT. The summit, led by Chalak Richards (JD ’12), assistant dean of student life, diversity, and belonging and the Honorable Tiffany M. Williams, associate director of advocacy, empowerment, and faith at Caruso School of Law, will explore the status of Black women, with particular emphasis on the impact of legal and systemic barriers to societal and professional advancement, while celebrating their historic contributions to law and society. 

Presenters will educate, illuminate, and offer strategies and solutions for Black women's success in the legal field and in law school. Scheduled just days after the 2020 presidential election, this event is an opportunity to gather from across the country and examine different areas of the legal profession to engage in discussion, learn, and prepare to take meaningful action. 

Speakers will include Paulette Brown, former American Bar Association president; the Honorable Ann Claire Williams, retired US Court of Appeals judge; the Honorable Karen Stevenson, US magistrate judge; Rachael Splaine Rollins, Suffolk County district attorney; and Rosalyn Satchel, Blanche E. Seaver Professor of Communication at Seaver College. Caruso School of Law students, as well as alumni Carmen Cole (JD 01), Zna Portlock Houston (’84, JD ’87), Capri Maddox (JD ’01), and Terrence Williams (JD ’11, MDR ’11), will also share their insights and experiences.

The Black Women and the Law Summit is cosponsored by Pepperdine Caruso School of Law’s Black Law Students Association, Diversity Council, Women’s Legal Association, Moot Court Board, Multicultural Law Coalition, National Latinx Law Students Association, and the National Lawyers Guild, and by the American Constitution Society and Womxn of Color Collective at the University of California, Berkeley School of Law, the Black Law Students Association Chapters of the University of California, Los Angeles Law School, McGeorge School of Law, and Southwestern Law School. This event is eligible for 3.45 MCLE hours.

For additional information about the inaugural summit, and to register to attend, visit the Caruso School of Law page on the Engage website.