Meet Lambda Legal Attorneys at Lavender Law 2014

If you are attending the National LGBT Bar Assocation's 2014 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair this week, join Lambda Legal's attorneys at the Sheraton New York - Times Square.

Thursday August 21st, 2014

TRANSGENDER LAW INSTITUTE
Attendance at the Transgender Law Institute is by application only. The application is available here. Lambda Legal Board member Dr. Jillian Weiss is the chair of the Transgender Law Institute Planning Committee.

11:00am - 12:00pm

Transgender Health Law
Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur will be part of a facilitated discussion about cutting-edge issues in transgender health litigation and policy.

EMPLOYMENT LAW INSTITUTE
Attendance at the Employment Law Institute is by application only. The application is available here. Lambda Legal Board member Laura Maechtlen is co-chair of the Employment Law Institute.

9:15am - 10:15am

Hobby Lobby and Religious Exemptions: Implications for LGBT Employees and Employers
Lambda Legal Law and Public Policy Project Director Jenny Pizer will be presenting on a panel providing an overview of the Hobby Lobby decision and the implications of its ruling, including on the Employment Non-Discrimination Act and in employment law more broadly. 

10:30am - 11:15am

Discrimination and Retaliation Claims
Lambda Legal Counsel and Workplace Fairness Program Strategist Greg Nevins will be presenting on a pnael discussing: (a) pushing Title VII versus ENDA; (b) the EEOC’s Strategic Enforcement Plan and the agency’s position on claims and coverage of LGBT employees; and (c) claims raised under Title VII and other employment-related decisions/issues of note.

Friday, August 22nd, 2014

9:00am - 10:30am

Religious Freedom or a License to Discriminate?
Metropolitan East Large
Lambda Legal Law and Policy Project Director Jenny Pizer will be a featured presenter at this plenary session. It will be discussing the increasing efforts being advanced to allow discrimination in the name of religious freedom. Speakers will address the so-called “religious freedom” legislation introduced in 2014, including Arizona’s now infamous HB 1062, and the issue and prospects for opposing such efforts in the future. They will also address pending cases involving claims under state and federal Religious Freedom Restoration Acts, including discussing what impact the Hobby Lobby decision will have on claims of entitlement to discriminate against LGBT people in the name of religion.

2:00pm - 3:30pm

“Student Privacy: A Multiple Choice Test”
Riverside Ballroom
Lambda Legal Deputy Legal Director Hayley Gorenberg will be presenting on a panel of practitioners from across the profession that will discuss emerging trends in student privacy protections. The panel will examine the federal statutory framework (COPPA, FERPA) and new state laws, including anti-bullying protections. They’ll also provide a litigation update/forecast.

3:45pm - 5:15pm

After Windsor: The Implications for Litigators, the Aging Network, and LGBT Older Adults
Empire Ballroom East
Lambda Legal Senior Attorney Karen Loewy will be presenting on a panel discussing the Windsor decision and what the impact the decision has had on LGBT older adults. Did discriminatory policies change at the drop of a dime? If not, why not? What challenges remain? And what legal and policy advocacy must still be pursued in Windsor‘s aftermath? In other words, how can we pair litigation and policy advocacy to improve the lives of those who long fought to improve our lives?

Vindicating the Rights of People Living with HIV – Lessons from Litigation
Conference Room D
Lambda Legal HIV Project Director Scott Schoettes will be presenting on a panel discussing the unfair treatment and discrimination that HIV-positive individuals face in society. As a result of the still-rampant ignorance and prejudice surrounding the disease and its transmission, people living with HIV often must seek out skilled advocates to vindicate their rights in court. From employment discrimination to reproductive health rights to privacy and more, people living with HIV face unique challenges in the courts. A better understanding of the cases and trends in HIV litigation is essential to promoting the effective representation of people living with HIV by current and future litigators.

Selection Bias and LGBT Jurors
Conference Room L
Lambda Legal Staff Attorney Omar Gonzalez-Pagan will be presenting on a panel discussing the landmark case between GlaxoSmithKline and Abbott Labs, in which San Francisco’s Ninth Circuit Court ruled that individuals cannot be removed from a jury due solely to their sexual orientation or gender identity. This panel will discuss the Ninth Circuit ruling in addition to general issues surrounding LGBT-related voir dire, peremptory strikes based on LGBT prejudice, and detecting implicit bias against LGBT jurors. Speakers will present an analysis of the case, a perspective from the judiciary and information about how to best select and communicate with a jury.

Saturday, August 23, 2014

10:45am - 12:15pm

LGBT Healthcare: Challenges, Protections & Resources
Conference Room D
Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur and Lambda Legal HIV Project Director Scott Schoettes will be presenting on a panel on LGBT Health at the National LGBT Bar Association’s Lavender Law Conference. This workshop will highlight the particular healthcare challenges faced by LGBT patients, with special attention to transgender patients. The panel will discuss legal and regulatory protections for transgender and LGB patients, as well as resources for healthcare facilities seeking to provide them with equitable, welcoming care. Panelists will specifically discuss the ramifications of the Affordable Care Act and its implementing regulations, Joint Commission and other requirements related to LGBT care, and best policies, practices, and resources for transgender and LGB care.

1:30pm - 3:00pm

Cutting Edge Issues in Transgender Law
Empire Ballroom East
Lambda Legal Transgender Rights Project Director Dru Levasseur will be presenting on a panel with local and national policy experts who will discuss the legal and policy issues of the day for the transgender community, including medical coverage in sex segregated facilities, medical access for genderqueer youth, equal access to school facilities, and family law issues for transgender people. The workshop will provide a national perspective from advocates in policy organizations, private practice, government practice, and the medical field.

The Impact of Criminalization of Sex Work on LGBT Sex Workers, Trafficking Survivors, and People Living with HIV
Conference Room F
Lambda Legal Counsel and Government Misconduct Program Strategist Thomas W. Ude, Jr. will present on a panel that will discuss the how much of the public debate does not adequately address the needs and issues of LGBT individuals. LGBT sex workers have been at the forefront of movements for LGBT equality, but are not always recognized. LGBT youth comprise 40% of the runaway and homeless youth population and are therefore often in circumstances where sex work is the only option for survival. Male youth and adults who may not identify as gay or bisexual engage in commercial sex with men, and may be especially invisible in policy debates. And many in law enforcement create approaches that punish sex workers for trying to protect themselves against HIV – for example, using condoms as evidence that an arrestee engages in sex work. Much of the trafficking debate has focused on young cisgender girls, to the exclusion of other populations, and this panel will seek to examine and identify the intersecting legal issues facing people who are LGBT, sex workers, survivors of trafficking, and people looking to address HIV transmission. This panel includes attorneys who have examined these issues in different contexts, and a member of the sex-work activist community.