ABOUT US

Rhode Island Women's Bar Association promotes the advancement of the status of women in Rhode Island and in the legal profession. RIWBA offers a forum to discuss and address local, national, and international issues of significance to women generally and to female attorneys in particular. RIWBA advocates for the fair and equal administration of justice throughout the state of Rhode Island. Through philanthropy, education, mentoring and connecting people, RIWBA has improved and continues to improve the Rhode Island community as a whole.

RIWBA offers accredited Continuing Legal Education seminars targeted at the needs, challenges and issues facing female attorneys in their practices. In the past, the RIWBA has partnered with female Rhode Island Judiciary members to bring seminars that offer unique insight on the practice of law in Rhode Island state courts. RIWBA has also made significant charitable efforts throughout Rhode Island, including annual holiday gift bag drives, clothing drives to assist women entering the work force, and events to support to local female youth living in group homes. Furthermore, various RIWBA-sponsored networking events have fostered a close-knit relationship among our members, providing our membership with valuable sources of knowledge and contacts.

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT

I am excited to be President of the Rhode Island Women’s Bar Association in the 2011-2012 membership year. 

Since I have been on the Board, I have had the opportunity to see this organization grow and develop in exciting ways.  Over the past several years, the membership of RIWBA has markedly increased, a mentoring program was created through a partnership with the Roger Williams School of Law, and RIWBA created this website.

In the upcoming year, I will strive to continue this growth and look to further expand RIWBA’s impact on the advancement of the status of women in Rhode Island and women in the legal profession.  The 2011-2012 membership year will contain an interesting calendar of events, including many of our past favorite events, such as the membership kick-off in September, continuing legal education focusing on challenges to women in the community and the popular “Dressing Well” fashion event. 
In addition, we will be seeking to expand the organization’s impact on its membership and on the community.  First off, we will be increasing the amount of funds we raise and donate for charities that benefit women in Rhode Island.  Data released by the United States Department of Labor last month and recently analyzed by the National Women’s Law Center shows that women continue to be more negatively impacted by the economic downturn in this country than their male counterparts. In the coming year, we will be making additional efforts to integrate charitable components into this organization’s activities and to identify charities that are assisting women in Rhode Island through these difficult times. 

Secondly, we will be seeking to increase the participation of our membership in the operation of the organization and organization’s events.  RIWBA will be revamping its by-laws this year and in that process, we will be considering how to better include members in Board matters and Committees.  In addition, we will be conducting a survey of the approximately 140 person membership, to help the Board identify what activities our members would find most beneficial and what challenges our members face in their day-to-day practice.

Thirdly, we will be looking to develop RIWBA as a resource of information.  We are in the process now of updating our website so that events and news of the organization appear quickly and so that additional information is provided to our membership, both to inform members of legal news relating to women’s issues and to increase the referral potential of the organization.

As always, we are continually looking for our member’s input and new ideas, and I encourage you to contact me with any feedback and suggestions for the upcoming year. 

Thank you for your continued support and I look forward to the upcoming year.

Alicia J. Samolis
President
June 2, 2011