CBA Record

ALLIANCE FOR WOMEN 2016 AWARDS LUNCHEON Celebrating Excellence By Nina Fein Editorial Board Member

to find their own professional mentors. When that’s not possible, she stated that women lawyers must step up and mentor themselves. Hudson counseled that women need to find thoughtful and deliberative ways and people to help them move forward on their paths to success. She encouraged women lawyers to “Dream Big,” looking beyond the immediate barriers to a broader stage to motivate them to meet the challenges in the workplace each day. Hudson’s straightforward advice teamed well with the insightful counsel of her esteemed co–honoree, Paula Hudson Holderman. The 2016 Founder’s Award recipient Paula Hudson Holderman declared that her best advice to women lawyers is to be mindful about avoiding unintentional yet customary missteps during the course of their careers. Holderman cautioned col- leagues to detour from trying to be one of the “guys,” but instead to simply be their “authentic” selves as they worked each day focused on effective practice skill development. She also cautioned her audience to take care of themselves, understanding that healthy mind-body experiences allowed one to survive the rigors of a law practice and the stress of the workday. Holderman, a trailblazer urged women to understand that they can not do everything themselves and that they must ask colleagues, family and friends to help them accomplish work tasks and life chores. In that way, they can be fresh, ready to address their work days and sustain a dedication to their goals. Holderman also held out the need for intentionality in a career, so that women can prioritize their life’s decisions, from simple wardrobe choices to strategic decisions about giving to important civic and philanthropic causes. She concluded that if women lawyers embrace these ideas, they would be able to look back on successful careers, feeling that they had not settled for being ordinary, but were extraordinary and that they had helped A Brilliant Career: Paula Hudson Holderman

Award recipients Paula Hudson Holderman and Kristen E. Hudson. Photo by Bill Richert.

T he CBA’s Alliance for Women held its 2016 Annual Awards Luncheon on May 24, 2016 at the Standard Club to honor two of its own for their outstanding contributions to the legal community. For more than 20 years, the Alliance has helped advance women in the law and to promote gender parity. This year, the Alliance selected lawyers who embody superlative qualities: Kristen E. Hudson of the law firm of Chuhak & Tecson, P.C. and Paula Hudson Holder- man, who recently retired fromWinston& Strawn. Also, prior to the award ceremony, in memoriam, the Alliance paid tribute to member Ginger Wilson. Wilson was a dedicated professional, known for her contributions to the Alliance for Women and the African American community. The first award presented was Alta Mae Hulett Award, named for a teacher who chose to advance her education and study law. In 1872, she became the first woman to pass the Illinois bar. Yet, in a patent act of gender discrimination, subsequently

she was denied the right to practice law in Illinois. Undaunted, she led the fight to lobby the Illinois legislature to pass a law to give women, married or single, the unconditional right to practice law. Her unwavering commitment to fairness and equality opened the doors for women lawyers to work in the state. The Alliance’s Founder’s Award honors the lifetime achievements of one exceptional veteran woman lawyer in Illinois. Rising Star: Kristen E. Hudson The Alta Mae Hulett Award was presented to Kristen E. Hudson. When she accepted the award, she noted the presence of her mentor in the audience. In her remarks, Hudson offered guiding principles for the emerging generation of women lawyers. She recommended that to honor the legacy of Alta Mae Hulett, women lawyers needed to focus on not who has “the best shoes in the office,” but on developing best practices skills. A strong advocate for the benefits of mentorship, Hudson encouraged women

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