Women's Bar Association Holds Annual Meeting and New Lawyer Reception

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Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts

105 Chauncy Street, 8^th Floor, Boston, MA  02111

Ph: 617.973.6666    Fax: 617.973.6663  

wba@womensbar.org    www.womensbar.org

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

WOMEN’S BAR ASSOCIATION HOLDS ANNUAL MEETING

AND NEW LAWYER RECEPTION

Women’s Bar Association Ushers in New Leadership

BOSTON, MA– March 16, 2022– The Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts (WBA) held its Annual Meeting and New Lawyer Reception on March 14, 2022 at Suffolk University Law School.

The WBA is pleased to welcome Kristy Lavigne as the organization’s incoming President.   Kristy is an Assistant Bar Counsel at the Office of Bar Counsel. Prior to joining the Office of Bar Counsel, Kristy was an Assistant Attorney General in the Insurance and Unemployment Fraud Unit of the Criminal Bureau at the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office for seven years and an Assistant District Attorney at the Cape and Island’s District Attorney’s Office for nine years.  Kristy has been active in the WBA since 2013, serving on the Board of Directors since 2016 and as Treasurer from 2018-2021 and last year as President-Elect.  She has been involved in the Gala Committee and served as co-chair of the Government Lawyers Committee.  In 2015, Kristy was a member of the Women’s Leadership Initiative. Most recently, she was integral to the successful 2021 hybrid “Gala Where it Happened.”

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey spoke at the New Lawyer Reception and shared lessons from her career, including the profound and continuing effect of the WBA in developing and sustaining a network of women attorneys, and extolled the importance of representation in the legal professional and beyond.

At the annual meeting, the WBA also voted on a slate of officers and elected members of the Board of Directors.  The organization welcomes the following new and returning officers and directors for 2022-23.

WBA Officers

President: Kristy Lavigne, Office of Bar Counsel

President-Elect: Jessica Babine, Cornetta Babine LLC

Vice President of Membership & Statewide Outreach: Kim Donlon, Major, Lindsey & Africa

Vice President, Operations: Julie Dick, Community Legal Aid

Treasurer: Alexandra Mitropoulos, Hirsch Roberts Weinstein LLP

Secretary: Raquel Webster, National Grid

WBA Immediate Past President

Heather Gamache, Moriarty, Troyer & Molloy LLC

WBA Board of Directors

At-Large Directors

Jessica Caamano, Goulston & Storrs PC
Margaret Caulfield, Alkermes, Inc.
Theresa Coney, Committee for Public Counsel Services
Meghan Cooper, Peabody & Arnold LLP
Nicole Forbes, Globalization Partners
Kate Isley, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Danielle Johnson, Greater Boston Legal Services
Gwen Nolan King, Sugarman, Rogers, Barshak & Cohen, P.C.
Emily Robey-Phillips, Jones Day
Nancy Rothstein, Massachusetts Office of the Attorney General
Jamie Sabino, Massachusetts Law Reform Institute
Payal Salsburg, Laredo & Smith LLP
Amy Sennett, Open Text, Inc.
Sarah Sousa, Arrowood LLP
Jenna Ventorino, WilmerHale

Regional Directors
Lesley A. Leonessa, Dell EMC (Greater Boston)
Victoria Spetter, Law Firm of Victoria C. Spetter, PC (Middlesex)

The new board brings energy, a wealth of experience in varied legal disciplines, diversity, and a steadfast commitment to advocating on behalf of women’s issues.

Incoming WBA President Kristy Lavigne remarked, “I am excited, honored, and humbled to officially be the President of the Women’s Bar Association, an organization which has come to mean so much to me. The Annual Meeting and New Lawyers Reception was invigorating, having so many people dedicated to the WBA in-person at a live event! I look forward to a year of being at the helm of the WBA as it continues to work toward achieving the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society.” 

Outgoing WBA President Heather Gamache reflected, “It has truly been an honor serving as President this year. I am proud of the resiliency of our organization, both its membership and leaders, as we all continued to face challenges created by the pandemic. I am grateful for the opportunity to have collaborated with so many of our members and bar leaders on issues facing our profession and community, and to have been a voice advancing the full and equal participation of women. Congratulations to Kristy Lavigne, our new WBA President, and our new Executive Board and Board of Directors, I look forward to continuing our important work with you all.”

About the Women’s Bar Association of Massachusetts

Founded in 1978 by a group of activist women lawyers, the Women’s Bar Association boasts a large membership of women lawyers, judges, policy makers, and law students across Massachusetts.  The WBA is committed to the full and equal participation of women in the legal profession and in a just society. The WBA works to achieve this mission through committees and events and by developing and promoting a legislative agenda to address society’s most critical social and legal issues.  Other WBA activities include networking and professional development, drafting amicus briefs, studying employment issues affecting women, encouraging women to enter the judiciary, recognizing the achievement of women in the law, and providing pro bono services to women in need through its sister organization, the Women’s Bar Foundation.  For more information, visit www.womensbar.org