HeplerBroom attorneys Dede Zupanci, Emilee Bramstedt, and Sarah Jolley recently attended the Second Annual Women in the Law Symposium, which was sponsored by the Southern District of Illinois Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. The symposium honored the experiences of women from the bar, the bench, and beyond.

One highlight of the event was a discussion on serving as leaders and overcoming significant hurdles in the workplace. This discussion was led by a panel of distinguished female federal judges, including Sarah Pitlyk (District Judge, Eastern District of Missouri), Nancy Rosenstengel (Chief U.S. District Judge, Southern District of Illinois), Diane Sykes (Chief Judge, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit), Sara Darrow (Chief U.S. District Judge, Central District of Illinois), and Reona Daly (U.S. Magistrate Judge, Southern District of Illinois).

Another highlight was Washington University Professor of Law Kimberly Norwood’s presentation on how affinity and implicit bias affect women in the legal profession. She also discussed how to raise awareness of these problems and various options for overcoming the issues.

The final presentation of the day featured U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar, who provided insights into not only her day-to-day duties in the Department of Justice and at the United States Supreme Court, but also how she worked her way up to her current position and how she manages to find work/life balance.