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MWL Member Spotlight: The MWL Northeastern Chapter By
Terry Trogdon Duluth, Grand Rapids, Cloquet, Two Harbors and Virginia. These are some of the towns and cities of Minnesota in which women lawyers live, work, and play who are members of the newest MWL chapter, Northeast Minnesota. Living in smaller cities and towns has its advantages in the practical aspects of work life, such as adequate parking at offices as well as courthouses. For most of us, the commute to work is measured in minutes, not in hours or fractions thereof. Duluth has a rush forty minutes, not a rush hour or hours. The majority of the women lawyers are in Duluth and our offices are within walking distance of each other. Our chapter meetings will usually be held in a restaurant located almost across the street from the Duluth courthouse and most members can walk there in less than 5 minutes. For those who must drive, there are a selection of parking options within a block. Unlike the metro area, there are significantly more men than women lawyers in the region. This become apparent when one leafs through the attorney section in the local yellow pages. It has been a long struggle for women to be recognized by men as equals in the profession. Progress is being made and there has been an increase in the number of younger women lawyers coming to the area and staying. We have 13 judges in St. Louis County, the county in which Duluth is located and includes Virginia and Hibbing. Of the thirteen, only two are women. Note that the ratio of men to women in the region is not 13 to 2. When the discussions began contemplating an MWL chapter in the region, the question was raised as to how many women lawyers are in the judicial district. Most guessed that there are about forty to fifty women lawyers in northeast Minnesota. When names of women lawyers were collected, the number was actually nearer to one hundred. Not only were we amazed that there were so many women lawyers, we were also amazed that few had any idea the number was so high. Now that we are getting to know each other, we recognize other women attorneys in many places, a great benefit to each of us and to our various communities. The chapter first met at an informational meeting during which Mary Stumo and Mary Vasaly came to Duluth after issuing an invitation to women lawyers in the area to attend a luncheon to determine the level of interest in starting a new chapter for area women lawyers. At the meeting, attendees broke into small groups to discuss what kinds of activities in which they would be interested. There was an overwhelming interest in networking and socializing. In fact, lunches and wine and cheese events were at the top of the list! Coming in a close second was coffee meetings. On a more serious note, the group as a whole was interested in initiating a service project. During the summer, MWL executive director, Deb Pexa, came to Duluth and met with a smaller group of interested women at which time the terms of the charter were discussed and a consensus was reached that we would be the Northeast Minnesota Chapter and would meet in August to sign the charter agreement. The signing of the charter was on August 30, 2007 and it was sent to the MWL Board of Directors for approval on September 27, 2007. The women lawyers of this region have many of the same interests and challenges as women lawyers in the the rest of Minnesota. But there are some differences as well. We have additional weather challenges, from extreme cold in the winter, to damp cold and very hot temperatures during the summer. As this was written, the temperature was 62 degrees in the downtown area and 82 just 3 miles away where most of the residential areas are located. This is an interesting challenge in choosing clothing for the day. Dressing in clothing that is comfortable for home can mean shivering while walking to and from the car or the courthouse. St. Louis County has three courthouses and the courthouses in the neighboring counties are often many miles away. This means that many of us are on the road just to make court appearances. This makes it difficult to manage issues at the office or attend daytime meetings. Also, Duluth is a border city, just across the bridge from Superior, Wisconsin. Both Duluth and Superior are their respective county seats and locations for the courthouse. This gives rise to some special challenges in addressing differences in the laws in the two states, but many case have multi-jurisdictional aspects. Some lawyers practice in only one of the states, while others practice in both. This has opened doors for women lawyers in both states to discuss the differences, but more importantly to rely on each other for referrals and discuss changes in one state's laws that may effect the other state. Women lawyers in northeast Minnesota have some different challenges in our daily lives, too. Rather than shooing away errant teens who loiter in the evening, we shoo away bears and raccoons, even if we live in town. If we hear loud rustling in the night, it is likely not a prowler, but a 9 point buck in the trees of our back yard. Our gardens? We choose cherry tomatoes and herbs, knowing full well that bell peppers and full size tomatoes may not have enough time or heat to ripen. However, we can hike and kayak within minutes of our homes, and many of us can walk along Lake Superior at lunchtime. We are excited to be a part of MWL and the newest chapter. We are looking forward to getting to know MWL members from our own region and other parts of the state, too. We are anxious for other chapters and members to share there resources and wisdom with us, and we are pleased to be able to offer to do the same.
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