President’s Message, Summer 2025
Happy Summer Members! Welcome to the summer hiatus. I hope you have given yourselves a chance to rest, to reconnect with family and friends, and to recharge your batteries. Soon we will be moving into Fall. As lawyers we really never stop working, but the summer brings with it a slower pace. The courts slow down; we dress down at the office; we take vacations. We get some time to clear our proverbial plates and catch up on work that may have gone on the back burner. We organize ourselves and prepare for Fall when the switch goes back on to full speed and we dive into a “new year”.
The beginning of the school year brings mixed emotions for all parents. College students are gearing up to leave the nest once again as they pursue their independence. Younger students are reconnecting with friends they haven’t seen since the last day of school. Parents are running around like chickens with their heads cut off buying clothes, books, pencils, pens…checking out the teacher’s list of school supplies. It is a rite of passage for sure. We see how our children are growing and changing and becoming their own people. I see people posting pictures of their children from last year to this year and see how much they have changed – how much they have grown. It is bittersweet. Our little ones are going into the world without us – even if they are just going to school for the day. Time rolls on. Unfortunately, we cannot stop the march of time, even if we wish we could keep them little forever. We worry about who they will meet, the decisions they will make, the challenges they will face. It is all part of being a parent – and sometimes it is really tough. But we must be strong. Our job as a parent is to give our children the tools to be the best they can be. I have always viewed my job as a parent as helping my son be independent – to learn how to handle different situations and people without relying on me. It is not easy…and he often does not appreciate it now – but it will benefit him in the future because we cannot keep them little forever and we cannot wrap them in bubble wrap as they go into the world.
Just as we support our children as they begin to explore the world, it is important that we support ourselves and each other. Our founders created WLIB as a support network for women in the legal profession when we were the minority. WLIB remains a support network for all our members for support in our professional lives and in our personal lives. We are here for each other as we transition through the different stages of our lives. We are here to lend an ear, a shoulder to cry on, a trusted resource for advice and guidance. Like our children, WLIB grows and matures each year. We are different from what we were last year and different from what we will be in the future.
I am so proud of what WLIB has become. I hear from so many members how much they appreciate being part of WLIB and the friendships (both personal and professional) they have made. We have an amazing network of members that are a phone call or email away. I encourage each of our members to be active in our community. Be sure to come out to our events. Send an email on our listserv. The support and guidance we give to our children you can get from your fellow members of WLIB. We are here for you and for each other. I wish you and your children strength, fortitude, and compassion once the summer hiatus is over and we move into this “new year”.
I wish you and your children to be the best people you can be. I hope that WLIB can help you on that path to success.
Until next time….
