Outten & Golden LLP is proud to announce that the American Bar Association Commission on Women in the Profession bestowed its Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award on our esteemed partner Wendi S. Lazar.
The Brent Award is considered one of the most prestigious awards the ABA confers. Past Brent Award honorees include the late U.S. Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg and U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton.
Wendi is highly regarded for representing senior women in employment negotiations, partnership agreements, pay equity, and discrimination issues. She has advised women in all phases of their careers and is a trusted counselor to many female law partners. She also represents teams of executives, founders, and partners during mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and other corporate transactions.
As a leader on the ABA’s Commission on Women, Wendi chaired the Sexual Harassment and Gender Based Bullying Committee, drove adoption of a model ethics rule to prohibit discrimination and harassment in the profession, and is Editor in Chief of “Zero Tolerance: Best Practices for Combating Sex-Based Harassment in the Legal Profession.” Locally, Wendi sits on the Executive Committee of the New York State Bar Association’s Labor & Employment Section, and previously served as Diversity and Inclusion Co-Chair.
About the Margaret Brent Women Lawyers of Achievement Award
Established in 1991, the Margaret Brent Award recognizes outstanding women lawyers who have achieved professional excellence in their area of specialty and actively paved the way to success for others. Wendi is one of five recipients for 2020. The others are:
- Ruthe Catolico Ashley, Executive Director Emeritus of California LAW
- Anna Blackburne-Rigsby, Chief Judge of the DC Court of Appeals
- Deborah Epstein, Professor of Law and Co-Director of the Georgetown University Law Center’s Domestic Violence Clinic
- Regina Montoya, CEO of Regina T. Montoya, PLLC
Wendi and her fellow honorees recently received their Brent Awards at a virtual ceremony hosted by Stephanie Scharf, current Chair of the ABA Commission on Women in the Profession, incoming Commission Chair Maureen Mulligan, 2019-20 ABA President Judy Perry Martinez, and 2020-21 ABA President Patricia Lee Refo. You can view the award ceremony program book here.
