I am humbled to serve as this year’s President of the notable Mississippi Women Lawyers Association. I am obliged to carry the torch that has been gracefully held by women who are true trailblazers in the Mississippi legal community and beyond. I look forward to continuing the efforts of this organization in being a vessel for engagement, resources, encouragement, and more throughout our communities and state.

Our service year themes in recent years have carried a tone of supporting our female colleagues in our profession. MWLA has always done a stellar job in upholding each year’s theme and growing our organization. This past year brought our spirited traction to an unfortunate halt. This year, I would like us to {Reconnect} as we look to regain our robust membership and revive MWLA’s purpose of enhancing and advancing the image of Mississippi women lawyers as safely and effectively as we can!

Please join the {Reconnect}! Your input, your ideas, and your support are needed to continue the mission of the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association. As we kick off this service year, if you have any interest in serving on a committee or connecting with a Director, please do not hesitate to reach out to us! Joining in on our efforts is a great way to network, gain leadership skills, and give back simultaneously. I am hopeful this year will be fulfilling to each of our members!

Yours in service,

Sara R. Cotten

OUR DEDICATION TO DIVERSITY

As an organization, the Mississippi Women Lawyers Association has been fortunate to have a diverse group of members and to have, and continue to have, persons of color in our leadership. While we have made great efforts in the past, it has not been enough. We want to hear from you. We want to learn. We want to do better.

At this time, it is ever so important that we focus on what we can do to better ourselves and our unique Mississippi community. We’ve been working behind the scenes to make the upcoming year a special one. Some of the things we have done and are planning to do moving forward are:

• Amplify Black and other minority voices through diversifying speaking opportunities and offering educational information on the necessity of diversity and equality;
• Ensure that the Day of Leadership 2021 serves as a platform for actual diversity training. Our plan as an organization is to provide a platform to show different perspectives and what we all can do to improve as an organization and as individuals;
• One of our core goals has always been to promote and encourage the success of our members, in part to combat stereotypes and negative messaging so too often faced by women lawyers. Moving forward, we pledge to find ways to not only celebrate the accomplishments of our members, but also our member’s families and loved ones. Our belief as an organization is that a shift in perspective equals a shift in perception. We want to highlight any special moments in families of all diversities to help change the
  narrative of people of color. Look for those spotlights on our social media platforms.
• Continue our community outreach and actively work to combat racial inequality in the criminal justice system by sponsoring and volunteering during expungement clinics hosted throughout the State;
• Continue to promote literacy and serve all in the community by supporting the Mississippi Book Festival and continue our partnership with Big House Books;
• Encourage law firms and all agencies with legal divisions to review their diversity and inclusion policies and practices, as well as encourage minority representation on firm committees;
• Dedicate a specific chair role to diversity inclusion to have a finger forever on the pulse of the needs of our diverse community;
• Support our members to actively pursue reforms that will improve our legal and judicial system to one that is just and fair for all.

Most of all, we as an organization pledge to continue the dialogue that is occurring in our nation around racism and our role in fighting it. Our foot is on the gas pedal. If you have ideas, please reach out to us. While we may not have the answers, we care and want to be a part of the solution in the fight against injustice for all Mississippians.

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