NYSBA, NBAWF to Sign MOU to Advance and Empower Women in Legal Profession

NYSBA, NBAWF to Sign MOU to Advance and Empower Women in Legal Profession

In accordance with the approval granted by the NBAWF Council at its meeting which held on May 28^th, 2020, the NBA Women Forum (“NBAWF”) will be entering into a partnership with the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) through its Women-In-Law Section. The partnership between the two associations will undertake joint initiatives to advance and empower women in the legal profession for success.

According to the information made available to Newswire Magazine by Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha, Vice-Chairperson of NBAWF, who also double as Head of the NBAWF Planning Committee, the partnership will be evidenced by a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) set to be executed by both parties at a Signing Ceremony, which is scheduled to hold on Thursday, August 13th, 2020 at 5pm prompt.

See the attached statement:

10^th August 2020

Dear Distinguished NBAWF Council Members and Committee Heads,

Signing Ceremony of the New York State Bar Association and the Nigerian Bar Association Women Forum

We write to inform you that in accordance with the approval granted by the NBAWF Council at its meeting which held on May 28^th, 2020, the NBA Women Forum (“NBAWF”) will be entering into a partnership with the New York State Bar Association (“NYSBA”) through its Women-In-Law Section. Under the partnership, the NYSBA and the NBAWF will undertake joint initiatives to advance and empower women in the legal profession for success. 

The partnership will be evidenced by a Memorandum of Understanding (“MoU”) set to be executed by both parties at a Signing Ceremony, which is scheduled to hold on Thursday, August 13th, 2020 at 5pm prompt.

In attendance, will be the President of the NYSBA, President Scott M. Karson, the Chair of the NYSBA Women in Law Section, Ms. Terri. A Mazur, the President of the NBA, Mr. Paul Usoro SAN and the Chairperson of the NBAWF, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose SAN.

1       Virtual dry run for the Signing Ceremony

A dry run for the Signing Ceremony has been scheduled for Tuesday, August 11, 2020 at 1pm.

2       Modalities for the Signing Ceremony

The Signing Ceremony, which is estimated to last for one hour, will be hosted on Zoom. Majority of the attendees will attend the Ceremony via Zoom. However, the NBAWF will also have a physical signing room (in Victoria Island), with no more than 10 people present, where the MoU will be physically signed and pictures also taken.

The registration link for the Signing Ceremonyy is: http://bit.ly/NYSBANBA

3       Agenda

The proposed agenda for the Signing Ceremony is set out below:

S/N	Item	Responsibility	Time allocated
1	Welcome and introductions	Moderator, Dr. Foluke Dada, Head,  Advocacy Committee of the NBAWF	5 minutes
2	Opening remarks	NYSBA President, President Scott M. Karson	5 minutes
3	Opening remarks	NBA President, Mr. Paul Usoro, SAN	5 minutes
4	Introduction of the NYSBA and NYSBA – Women-in-Law Section	Chair, NYSBA – WIL Section, Ms. Terri A. Mazur	5 minutes
5	Introduction of the NBA and NBA Women Forum NBAWF.	Chairperson, NBAWF, Prof. Oluyemisi Bamgbose, SAN	5 minutes
6	Transaction Lead:An introduction to the partnership:	Mr. Ernesto Guerrero, Manager, Program Manager, Law Students and Diversity & Inclusion, NYSBA	5 minutes
7	Transaction Lead:The Partnership: Key outcomes.	Ms. Ayotola Jagun, Head, NBAWF External Relations Committee	5 minutes
8	Signing:Virtual signing of the MoU	On behalf of NBAWF Chairperson: NBAWF Witness 1 [NBAWF to decide] Witness 2 [NBAWF to decide]   On behalf of NYSBA   President: NYSBA Witness 1:[NYSBA to decide] Witness 2:[NYSBA to decide]	10 minutes
9	Questions and answers	Moderator to coordinate	5 minutes
10	Vote of thanks and closing	Mrs. Aideyan, Secretary NBAWF	5 minutes

4       Post ceremony events

4.1    Press release

Both parties have agreed to issue a joint press release after the ceremony. A statement from the President of the NBA, Mr. Paul Usoro (SAN) and the President of the NYSBA, Mr. Scott M. Karson will be published in the press release.

4.2    Pictures

Pictures from the Signing Ceremony event will also be published in the media.

5       Conclusion

The Signing Ceremony, which will mark the commencement of a laudable Partnership between the NYSBA and the NBAWF, is anticipated to have far reaching effects; and will undoubtedly be commemorated as one of the Forum’s key accomplishments.

I am therefore making a call to action to you all to assist the NBAWF with sustaining its goal to advance gender equality and empower female lawyers for success, by putting all hands on deck and collaborating towards making the Signing Ceremony a resounding success.  Please extend the Signing Ceremony invitation to the members of your respective committees and also to every man or woman who is interested in driving the change that is required to achieve our goals.

I thank you in anticipation of your continued support and commitment.

Please accept the assurance of my highest consideration.

Signed:

Mrs. Chinyere Okorocha
Vice-Chairperson, NBAWF; Head, NBAWF Planning Committee