Explore the history, current challenges, and strategies for increasing women's representation in the legal field, especially in litigation and alternative dispute resolution.
Jennifer Herscovici, Esq., and Sara Wyn Kane, Esq., will discuss the history of women in law and the impediments, statistics, and recommended solutions for the advancement of women in authoritative roles in the legal field. Topics will also include data from recent reports on equality in the legal field and the pandemic’s impact on women.
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The NYS Academy of Trial Lawyers is the largest statewide trial bar in the US with 5,700+ lawyer and judge members. We are committed to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system. Our highly acclaimed CLE programming features extraordinary presenters covering the most timely and important topics.
Mediator/Arbitrator at NAM (National Arbitration and Mediation)
A former Senior Counsel and Negotiator for the New York City Law Department's Tort Division, Jennifer Herscovici, Esq. has settled thousands of cases in actions involving claims of various types of negligence, labor law, defamation, and civil rights violations. As a neutral for NAM, she draws from her significant experience handling complex negotiations and is recognized by her peers as an authority in negotiation and settlement. In 2023, for the fourth year in a row, Ms. Herscovici was recognized by the legal community by being voted a Top Ten Mediator in the New York Law Journal "Best Of" survey. She is a committed advocate for women's rights, diversity, and inclusion, and is the Women's Committee Chair for the New York City Law Department.
Partner at Valli Kane & Vagnini
Sara has devoted over 20 years of her legal career to fighting for her clients’ civil rights and against all varieties of employment discrimination (race, gender, age, disability, national origin, sexual orientation, and religion), sexual harassment/hostile work environment claims, wage and hour disputes, and qui tam/whistleblower claims. Sara’s approach to the practice of law is to guide clients toward expedited resolutions. However, when that is not feasible, she utilizes her extensive litigation experience to zealously fight for her clients' rights. Sara honed her litigation skills while working as an Assistant Corporation Counsel in the Manhattan Trial Unit for the City of New York. While defending the City’s employees and the City itself, she conducted and defended hundreds of depositions, participated in extensive motion practice, and engaged in pre-trial and trial work. Since co-founding Valli Kane & Vagnini, Sara has focused her practice on negotiation, mediation, and litigation of individual, as well as complex mass and class actions. She has been appointed lead or co-lead counsel in a variety of mass and class cases throughout the country, often working in tandem with some of the most well-respected plaintiffs’ discrimination and wage-and-hour firms in the nation. Awards/Memberships: Selected as a Super Lawyer in 2018, 2019, 2020, and 2021; National Trial Lawyers: Top 100 Trial Lawyers; Who’s Who Top Professionals 2020; Recipient of Hofstra Law’s Center for Children, Families and the Law’s Outstanding Women in the Law Award (2016); Recipient of the Long Island Business News Leadership in the Law Award (2016); Member of the National Association of Professional Women, Nassau County & American Bar Associations, National Employment Lawyers Association, and other professional organizations; Additionally, the firm was honored in 2014 with Texas Lawyer’s award for the highest verdict in employment discrimination and in 2017 with the NAACP Legacy Award.
