By Amber Peckio Garrett and Jennifer White

The 2008 Oklahoma Bar Association Women in Law Conference just keeps getting bigger and better, and this year is no exception. Scheduled for Sept. 18 in Tulsa at the Renaissance Hotel, the conference will address a broad spectrum of issues relevant to all OBA members, especially women. A possible total of nine mandatory continuing legal education credit hours are available because the conference includes a daytime and evening program.

DAYTIME PROGRAM

This year’s daytime program theme is “It’s All About Me; It’s All About You: Finding Strength in Ourselves and in Numbers.” In keeping with that theme, attorneys of distinction and with wisdom gained from years of practicing law will share information with conference participants about how to succeed in law with humor and grace. Presenters include judges, OBA officers and Lt. Gov. Jari Askins.

In the first program session, “The Search for Kindred Spirits: Getting to the Bench,” judges will share information about how to chart your plan on becoming a judge.

In “What Not to Wear! Appropriate Dress for Today’s Women Lawyers,” do’s and don’ts in dress will be discussed. This session includes an actual “fashion” show with special emphasis on district and local court rules dress codes.

The last morning session, “Dare to Achieve More Without Sacrificing!,” OBA President Bill Conger, Past OBA President Melissa DeLacerda and Anne Sublett of Tulsa Lawyers for Children will discuss how to balance your practice with civic and family commitments.

Newly-appointed University of Tulsa College of Law Dean Janet Levit is the luncheon keynote speaker. Levit is the first female to hold a position as dean at an Oklahoma college of law.

In the afternoon sessions OBA staffers will share their expertise with conference participants. “Ethics and Professionalism: Tips from the Trenches” is the topic to be addressed by Gina Hendryx, OBA ethics counsel. Jim Calloway, director of the OBA Management Assistance Program, will present “Working Smarter Not Harder: Practice Tips for Today’s Attorney.”

“Non-Traditional Careers for Ms. JD” will be discussed by a stellar panel that includes the Oklahoma Lt. Gov. and OBA member, Jari Askins.

EVENING PROGRAM

Are you or is someone you know a “nice girl?” Could a seemingly professional woman be sabotaging her own career simply by working hard, saving the law firm money and refusing certain perks? Surely those things could not be standing between her and the coveted corner office, could they? Think again.

“Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office: 101 Unconscious Mistakes Women Make that Sabotage Their Careers” is the presentation scheduled for the Women in Law Conference evening banquet. Dr. Lois P. Frankel will present, with humor and grace, this audience- friendly program, based on her international bestseller with the same title.

Dr. Frankel literally wrote the book on coaching people to succeed in businesses large and small around the globe. Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office and Nice Girls Don’t Get Rich are international bestsellers translated into over 25 languages and featured on The TODAY Show, CNNand CNBC, in the New York Times, USA Today, People and TIME Magazine. Business Week named Corner Office one of the top 10 business books of the year when it was released.

Combining her experience in human resources at a Fortune 10 oil company with a Ph.D. in psychology from the University of Southern California, Dr. Frankel is a pioneer in the field of business coaching. For the past two decades her unique formula has helped thousands of people create winning strategies to achieve superior career successes and business goals.

Whether she has been practicing law for a while or is just starting out, Nice Girls Don’t Get the Corner Office offers a way for a woman to identify and modify specific self-defeating behaviors that are subconsciously making her sound, look, act and be treated like a “girl.” This program hits home with any woman who wants to better understand how she unknowingly sabotages her best efforts to achieve her full career potential — and what to do about it.

The Mona Lambird Spotlight Awards will also be presented at the evening banquet. These awards have been given annually to five women since 1996. The awards recognize women who have distinguished themselves in the legal profession and paved the way for other women. In 1998, the award was named to honor the late Mona Salyer Lambird, the first woman president of the Oklahoma Bar Association, and one of the award’s first recipients. The award is sponsored by the OBA Women in Law Committee.

The daytime program has been approved for seven hours of mandatory continuing legal education credit including one hour of ethics. The evening program has been approved for two hours of mandatory continuing legal education credit, including 0 hours of ethics. Register online. Go to CLE Event Calendar and find the Sept. 18 event.