The Wayne State University Law School is pleased to announce that Paula Ettelbrick will deliver the 21st annual I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy on Thursday, March 24, 3 p.m., in the Spencer M. Partrich Auditorium at the law school.
Ettelbrick is a nationally known lesbian and gay civil rights lawyer who is credited with shaping much of the litigation and legislative strategy on issues affecting the community.
Her lecture, "More Than a Trial: Gay and Lesbian Legal Advocacy," will focus on the need for gay rights lawyers to consider not only legal developments when presenting a case, but also the political and cultural ramifications of the presentation.
A 1984 graduate of the WSU Law School, Ettelbrick is the executive director of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission, a US-based global organization that engages in and supports global sexual and gender rights advocacy. She also is an adjunct professor of law at New York University School of Law and a lecturer at Barnard College. She has written and lectured widely on constitutional and civil rights issues.
Ettelbrick was the first staff attorney at the Lambda Legal Defense and Education Fund in 1986. As Lambda\'s legal director, she was at the forefront of gay civil rights developments involving gay parenting, domestic partnership, military service, employment discrimination, criminal law reform, and the legal backlash against persons with HIV/AIDS. After seven years with Lambda, she joined the Empire State Pride Agenda in New York as legislative counsel; she also worked as the family policy director of the Policy Institute of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force.
The I. Goodman Cohen Lecture in Trial Advocacy was established by the family of the late Mr. Cohen, a prominent Michigan trial attorney, who was active in the Detroit Trial Lawyers Association.
The lecture and reception following are free and open to the public. The school is located on Palmer Street between Anthony Wayne Drive and Cass Avenue. Parking is available for $3.50 in structure #1, directly across Palmer from the Law School.
Note: Reporters who wish to interview Paula Ettelbrick should contact Heidi Christein at (313) 577-4834 or h.christein@wayne.edu.