Lavender Law Provides Winston with Networking Opportunities, Enhanced Visibility

Led by New York Partner and Winston Pride Co-Chair David Sakowitz, Winston Pride had a significant presence at the National LGBT Bar Association’s 2019 Lavender Law Annual Conference & Career Fair held August 7-9 in Philadelphia. Our firm is a major sponsor of the LGBT Bar and has participated in this event for more than a dozen years.

We kicked off the conference with a bourbon tasting event on Wednesday evening with in-house counsel and targeted law students in attendance. With recruiting for our 2020 summer associate class in full swing, the career fair on Friday provided an additional opportunity for our attorneys to meet talented and diverse law students.

Programming during the conference featured a number of Winston attorneys and alumni. Director of Diversity & Inclusion Sylvia James moderated a discussion on “Heterosexism, Global Business Travel and LGBTQ Rights” that included Partner David Sakowitz and alum Wesley Bizzell, now Senior Assistant General Counsel at Altria Client Services.  Winston alum Peter Perkowski, now Legal & Policy Director for OutServe-SLDN, joined other panelists from the National Minority AIDS Council and Lambda Legal for a discussion titled “What Do You Mean My HIV Prevents Me From Serving My Country?”

As in past years, our attendees found this event to be extremely valuable for raising the firm’s visibility within the LGBTQ bar community, networking with clients and prospects, interacting with law students whom we might not otherwise meet during on-campus interviews, and catching up with their Winston colleagues from across the firm.

Visit our Diversity & Inclusion page for more information about our programs and initiatives.