Experience & Advice from Non-Binary Attorneys - 1 hour MCLE

1 hour MCLE on 3/31/22 at 12pm via Zoom

Join the Transgender Legal Professionals Committee to celebrate International Trans Day of Visibility for a panel of non-binary attorneys discussing their experiences in the practice of law while living as their authentic selves.  This event is aimed at new practitioners, law students, & other non-binary and trans/gender-non-conforming/questioning folks in the legal profession to hear from more experienced attorneys in an open and honest discussion about their journeys and challenges.

March 31, 2022

Where: Zoom (instructions will be emailed to registrants before event)

Time: 12-1pm

1 hour credit of MCLE for Elimination of Bias will be provided.

REGISTRATION

• LGBTQ+ Lawyers Assoc. of LA Members: FREE (membership is FREE for students and 1st year attorneys; discounted for non-profit, judicial officers, & government)
• Affiliate LGBTQ+ Lawyers Assoc. of LA (Multicultural Bar): FREE
• Non-Members: $10 (it pays to become a member!)

PANELISTS:

Rafael Langer-Osuna (they/them). Mx. Langer-Osuna is a commercial litigator who tries cases. They focus on trying disputes that touch on the internet: including data breach, data disclosure, data privacy, online copyright, online defamation and software licensing matters.  Other attorneys frequently seek them out for advice on handling the attorney-client privilege and class action procedure.  Mx. Langer-Osuna also has significant experience litigating matters that turn on international relations and involve the foreign relations law of the US. In addition, Mx. Langer-Osuna maintains an active pro bono practice assisting the Transgender Law Center’s asylum efforts, working for environmental groups (including serving as the Vice President of the Western Cave Conservancy), winning cases for local charitable organizations, and helping to improve gender equity.  Mx. Langer-Osuna is an active advocate for the LGBTQ community including by serving on the board of BALIF, advising NALP’s Non-Binary Taskforce, facilitating a non-binary support group at the Pacific Center, and speaking about the trans and non-binary issues facing lawyers and law students to anyone who will listen.

Onyx Starrett (they/ellx). Mx. Onyx Starrett (they/ellx) has been the specialist in criminal-immigration law at the Ventura County Public Defender’s Office for nearly three years, where they started the county’s first program to provide immigration advice to defense attorneys and file post-conviction relief motions. Prior to coming to Ventura, they practiced in New York for six years at public defender offices and the New York Immigration Court and one year in Los Angeles fighting to reunite deported veterans with their families.

Whit Washington (they/them). Whit Washington (they/them) is a Black, non-binary, and queer attorney and lecturer based in Washington, DC. In their legal work, Whit advocates for the rights of our trans folks in prison custody. Whit’s scholarly work addresses the socio-legal history of criminal law and the US prison system with a special focus on its relationship to anti-Black racism and transphobia.

Nisha Parekh (she/they). Nisha Parekh (she/they) is a trial attorney who fights to enforce worker’s rights through her job at a federal agency.  Nisha graduated from UCLA with a dual JD and master’s in public policy. While at UCLA School of Law, she completed the Public Interest Law Program and specialized in Critical Race Studies. Prior to law school, Nisha completed a Fulbright Scholarship in Brazil where she studied the connection between race inequality and labor law, studied access to publicly-funded mental health care for monolingual Spanish-speakers at MALDEF, built and taught at school and community gardens, and helped produce documentary film GMO OMG. Nisha currently serves on the LA County Bar Association Barristers’ Executive Committee and Law Student Outreach Committee and is on the board of the Los Angeles Community Garden Council.

Samson Spiegelman (he/him) (moderating). Samson represents employees in all aspects of employment-related litigation as an associate with Helmer Friedman LLP.  Samson is a graduate of UCLA School of Law’s Critical Race Studies program, and holds a Bachelor’s degree from Tulane University in both Political Science and Gender and Sexuality Studies.  Samson also serves as the Transgender Legal Professionals Committee Chair for the Los Angeles LGBTQ+ Lawyers Association of LA.