Minnesota Lavender Bar Association

Thank you to all who participated in our Trans Day of Remembrance drag bingo fundraiser! Thanks to your generosity, we raised over $500 for Family Tree Clinic. Special thanks to Priscilla Es Yuicy and Frozean Pissás for hosting a fabulous time together for our community.

The Volunteer Lawyers Network Queer/Trans Community Legal Clinic received nearly 100 requests for appointments just this week. There is a significant need for volunteer lawyers and non-lawyers to help with the large number of legal needs. Please email CB Baga at [email protected] if you are interested, and pass the call for help along to others. New VLN volunteers can register here: https://lnkd.in/g6nXV7MR. Note that you want to volunteer for the LGBT or the queer/trans clinic in the registration.

Like many in our community, we recognize and acknowledge the fears and frustrations felt throughout the country following the most recent election results. We have had robust discussions about the tone and tenor of our upcoming fundraising event considering the election's impacts on both Family Tree Clinic and those in our community.?Now is the time for the LGBTQ+ community to rally together, support each other, and support organizations that will defend our rights, dignity, and joy in the coming days, months and years To that end, MLBA will continue hosting its Drag Bingo fundraiser for Family Tree Clinic at 5:30 p.m. on November 20—in honor of Trans Day of Remembrance. Trans Day of Remembrance honors the memory of the transgender people whose lives are lost in acts of anti-transgender violence. The event will offer space for reflection and remembrance of our transgender community members lost to anti-trans violence. We will also renew our commitment to trans rights by supporting Family Tree Clinic, which partners?with the Minnesota Transgender Health Coalition to provide?affordable access to gender-affirming care and other LGBTQ+ inclusive healthcare.?Entry cost is $10 cash only and all proceeds will be donated to Family Tree Clinic. Please RSVP at https://lnkd.in/gGWpeSR7 if you plan to attend.

Get to know our MLBA Member Spotlight for this month, Taylor Cunningham! Taylor shares this reflection: "I am grateful that Minnesota has such an active (and impressive) LGBTQ+ bar association.??Being part of the Minnesota Lavender Bar Association means having a supportive and empowering network of LGBTQ+ legal professionals who share similar experiences and challenges. It's an opportunity to advocate for equality, foster inclusion within the legal community, and create a space where diverse voices are not only heard but valued. Although my career takes up a lot of my time, outside of the office, I enjoy spending time with my two rescue dogs, Joe and Hillary, and my fabulous group of friends. I also love traveling the world and making new connections."

Don’t forget to register for MLBA’s Fall Social, happening next Thursday, September 19! Hope to see you there!

Get to know our MLBA Member Spotlight for this month, Janis Douglass, Compensation Attorney Principal & Deputy Court Administrator at the Minnesota Workers’ Compensation Court of Appeals and new MLBA board member! Janis shares this reflection: "The existence of a community of LGBTQ+ lawyers as embodied by MLBA continues to be a source of amazement and joy for me.?It is a gathering place in our profession where members of our community are not just seen but recognized, not only tolerated, but valued.?A place where we don’t have to limit, define, explain or justify who we are, and can engage our talents freely toward a mutual goal of community professional and personal support and nurturance.? ? I graduated from law school in the mid-1980s.?At that time, there wasn’t much of a visible LGBTQ+ legal community, as it was largely necessary in those days for members of our community to stay in “don’t show and don’t tell” mode to have a legal career.?For someone who was secretly transgender, that was doubly true.?I had spent most of my life and of my legal career hiding behind a nominally male cardboard cutout just to survive and to practice my profession.?Eventually, the day came when continuing to hide my authentic self was unsustainable.?Like so many who have had to defer coming out to later in life, I was plagued by fears of non-acceptance and from “imposter syndrome,” but my identity was embraced and my right to claim solidarity with my community was immediately and unreservedly validated by my peers at MLBA.?Now that I am finally genuinely present in the world, I want to transform the lingering remnants of the pain I felt through all those wasted years into action towards making sure that the rising generations of our community need not experience the same kind of isolation, fear, and diminished opportunity.?MLBA is the kind of venue that makes this work possible.?I am honored to be a part of that effort.?? After work, I look forward to those Friday or Saturday nights when I can find an opportunity to get out on the dance floor and move to the music at a favorite night spot.?During breaks in the dancing, I love to join fascinating conversations with the others who frequent the same venue and who represent a broad variety of ages, backgrounds, and identities.?For similar reasons, I appreciate the cross-generational connections I experience serving as a Queerspace mentor.?I like history, science fiction, lots of kinds of music, and thinking about the different ways different cultures have viewed the world and organized their social rules.?I also collect and study early paper dolls, dating from 100 to more than 200 years ago.?I also try to participate in moments of activism in support of human rights and economic justice."?

A great highlight of our new board member, Dawn Dudley!

Don’t forget to register for MLBA’s Pride Social, happening this Thursday!

Get to know our MLBA Member Spotlight for this month, m boulette, who will soon begin service as Hennepin County Bar Association's President! m shares this reflection: "Coming out in my late 30’s wasn’t easy. And one of my (many) worries was what it would mean for the career I’d spent 14 years building. ?Being a part of MLBA helped me talk back to those fears, provided a community of support and understanding, and access to many colleagues (from all walks of life) modeling how to live authentically as queer, trans lawyer even in a world where the very reality of who I am is a political issue. When I get away from all my various adult responsibilities, I love low-stakes, self-care: leisurely jogs (you couldn’t call them runs); manicures; recreational eating; and slightly smutty fantasy novels. Or, more seriously, dedicating time to my meditation practice whether through daily sits or longer, silent retreats."

The Commission on Judicial Selection has opened the application process for THREE vacancies in the Second Judicial District (Ramsey County District Court)! Individuals seeking MLBA's endorsement for a position should refer to MLBA's website: https://lnkd.in/gZciqTSX. If you are interested in connecting with a judicial officer to discuss the role, feel free to contact [email protected] or [email protected].