The Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) is hosting its 38th annual banquet on Jan. 16 at 409 S. Main St., Memphis. The event will honor Claudia Haltom, the CEO of A Step Ahead Foundation, as AWA’s 29th recipient of the Marion Griffin-Frances Loring Award for outstanding achievement in the legal profession.
The 200-member Association for Women Attorneys (AWA) was formed in 1979 and is made up of attorneys from the Mid-South. The president and board members serve one-year terms.
The purpose of the AWA is to support colleagues in the challenges they face as women and as attorneys, through mentoring AWA student chapter members and promoting public service in the community.
The event will begin at 6 p.m. with a cocktail reception featuring live entertainment from David Pool and Jimmy Smith of the Risky Whiskey Boys and will also feature wine pull. The seated dinner and program will begin at 7 p.m.
The program will also include the induction of 2018 AWA board officers and committee chairs, the awarding of scholarships to deserving students from the University of Memphis Cecil C. Humphreys School of Law and the passing of the AWA presidential gavel from Diana Comes, an attorney with Butler Snow LLP to Eileen Kuo, a Cordova resident and an attorney with Jackson Lewis P.C.
Tickets are $60 for AWA members, $70 for nonmembers and $30 for law students. Tables are $480 for eight guests or $600 for 10. For more banquet information or tickets, contact AWA Banquet Co-Chair Megan Warden at mwarden@smmlawoffice.com or (901) 821-0044.
In an effort to support aspiring attorneys, AWA conducts fundraising activities for its scholarship fund, such as continuing legal education seminars, special events throughout the year and a golf tournament. There is also a mentorship program in place to foster relationships between attorney mentors and University of Memphis law students. In addition, the association members are encouraged to give back to the community by providing pro bono work to citizens who cannot otherwise afford legal assistance.
