If you missed out on our October social at House Creek Beverage Company, you missed out! We had a great time hanging out on the patio, unwinding, and sharing some food from Guasaca. Everyone who attended agreed: we will be coming back there again.

The end of the year feels like it’s coming at me fast now, and I am just hoping I can keep up. I feel like the proverbial duck trying to look cool, calm, and collected on the surface while under the water, I’m paddling furiously. Anyone else? If so, you’re not alone, friend. Here is to drinking our water, getting enough sleep, and making it through the end of the year.

Please join us and some women from Campbell University School of Law at our luncheon this week. We are so lucky to have Elizabeth Lane, PhD, who is an assistant professor in the Department of Political Science at NC State to give us an overview of her work. Dr. Lane focuses on the Supreme Court and how the characteristics of lawyers and other actors impact judicial decision making and public perceptions of the high court. Given that the Supremes are in the headlines every day of their October Term (or does it only seem that way?) I can’t wait to see what she’s going to say. Buy your ticket here - we still have room! Join us at 12:30 p.m. for lunch, Prof. Lane begins her talk at 1 p.m. Thanks to Campbell Law for being such a generous host and partner.

This week, the North Carolina legal community learned that beloved Greensboro attorney Janet Ward Black passed away. Janet Ward was a true trailblazer in North Carolina legal circles: in addition to building and running one of the largest women-owned law firms in the state, Janet Ward’s singular dedication to service to our profession was unmatched. From serving as a board member for Legal Aid of North Carolina to holding leadership roles at both the North Carolina Advocates for Justice and the North Carolina Bar Association, to her work with Habitat for Humanity and dozens of other organizations, Janet Ward happily gave of her time and talents over the course of her career. I encourage you to read her obituary and the other coverage of her passing to see a partial listing of her accomplishments. Among those many things, Janet Ward created the 4All Service Day in 2008, when she was serving as president of the North Carolina Bar Association. 17 years later, thousands of attorneys have donated tens of thousands of hours of time every year, providing free legal advice to anyone who calls and we will continue to do so. More than anything, Janet Ward was a woman of deep faith, sincere conviction, and a commitment to living that faith and her convictions out. She was a woman of valor, and we are so lucky to have known her and called her a colleague and friend. If you’d like to join others in remembering Janet Ward, a memorial service will be held on Friday, November 14, at First Presbyterian Church in Greensboro at 1 p.m.

As always, I invite you to become a dues-paying member of Wake Women Attorneys and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys today. I understand that we all have a lot of demands on our dollars (and our time), but to me, participating in WWA and NCAWA feels more important than ever before in my legal career. With the Rule of Law under threat by people who seek to undermine the judiciary, legislators willing to abdicate their powers, and an executive branch dead set on expanding to take over as much as it can, we — women attorneys — are called to create something new. In this time of tremendous upheaval, adversity, and trauma, we can be part of birthing a renewed commitment to our profession. One where a foundational belief is the equality of all - not just the white men who got their share of the American pie in the first draft of the US Constitution. Shout out to Professor Nakia Davis, our keynote speaker at the NCAWA convention this year. Her speech on this idea has been percolating in my brain ever since she gave it. I was also very encouraged by the words Justice Anita Earls shared over our lunch meeting. I didn’t take notes, but the gist was that we have been through hard times before, and organizations like WWA got through it by staying focused on our mission, vision, and values, keeping our heads down, and doing the work. And you know what? I’m up for that. Join me.

Hope to see y’all soon,

Sarah Jessica Farber

WWA President