Women judges and lawyers toast two milestones

The National Association of Women Judges hosted a reception during its annual conference to celebrate its 40th anniversary as well as the Women Lawyers Association of Los Angeles' 100th anniversary.

The celebration featured a performance by the Los Angeles Big Band of Barristers, conducted by attorney Gary S. Greene.

"Looking Back, Looking Forward: A Century of Women's Progress" was the conference theme and a few of the speakers were California Chief Justice Tani G. Cantil-Sakauye, UC Berkeley School of Law Dean Erwin Chemerinsky and Piper Kerman, who authored the memoir "Orange is the New Black: My Year in a Women's Prison," which was later adapted into the Emmy Award-winning Netflix series.

Topics such as DNA testing, immigration policy, elder abuse, homelessness, restorative justice, human trafficking, conviction integrity and ethics were discussed during the conference from Oct. 15-19 in Los Angeles.

The National Association of Women Judges said its mission is protecting individuals' rights through diverse judicial leadership as well as through fairness and equality in the courts.

-- Alexandra Applegate