Through Her Clerks’ Eyes II: The Barrier-Breaking Career of Judge Baker Motley, and Her Honor’s Living Legacy Empowering the Next Generation of Practitioners (Presented by the Federal Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee)

Natalie Ellis
Lajuana M. Counts
Laura Taylor Swain
Natalie Ellis | Riley, Safer, Holmes, Cancila, LLP
Lajuana M. Counts | Western District of Missouri
Laura Taylor Swain | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Live Video-Broadcast: February 28, 2025

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Program Summary

In celebration of Black History Month and Women’s History Month and to kick off the fourth edition of The Hon. Constance Baker Motley Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Essay Competition, please join the Federal Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, the FBA Southern District of New York Chapter, the FBA Young Professionals, the FBA Minnesota Chapter, and the DC Chapter, along with those interested in, curious about, or committed to the values personified by Judge Baker Motley at a webinar honoring Her Honor’s trailblazing legacy.

The February 28th webinar will feature Judge Baker Motley’s former law clerk, Chief Judge Swain, who will discuss Her Honor's life and career, as well as offer a rare glimpse behind the curtain and into the chambers of one of our nation’s most accomplished advocates, jurists, and public servants. The panel will also discuss Judge Baker Motley’s impact and the opportunities that her work has created for all to advance within the legal profession. This webinar will also serve to kick off the fourth edition of the FBA's Hon. Constance Baker Motley Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Essay Competition, which invites law students and those who have been in practice for ten years or less to submit short essays that address strategies to promote, achieve and sustain, diversity, equity and inclusion in federal practice. To learn more or to participate in the essay contest, follow this link.

Presented by the Federal Bar Association Diversity and Inclusion Standing Committee

This course is co-sponsored with myLawCLE.

Key topics to be discussed:

  • Chief Judge Swain, who will discuss Her Honor's life and career
  • Behind the curtain and into the chambers of one of our nation’s most accomplished advocates, jurists, and public servants
  • The panel will discuss Judge Baker Motley’s impact and the opportunities that her work has created for all to advance within the legal profession

Date / Time: February 28, 2025 

  • 2:00 pm – 3:00 pm Eastern
  • 1:00 pm – 2:00 pm Central
  • 12:00 pm – 1:00 pm Mountain
  • 11:00 am – 12:00 pm Pacific

Closed-captioning available

Speakers

speaker_Natalie EllisModerator, Natalie Ellis, Associate Attorney | Riley, Safer, Holmes, Cancila, LLP

A dedicated and fearless advocate with experience in all stages of litigation, Natalie Ellis defends clients in complex cases, primarily product liability and mass tort claims, in state and federal courts. She provides creative solutions and strategies rooted in a deep appreciation of her clients’ business needs and objectives, putting them in the best position to succeed when litigation arises. Natalie is highly valued for her ability to grasp the technical nuances of her clients’ products and develop legal analyses specific to the unique considerations of each matter. Clients appreciate that she goes above and beyond to provide the most efficient and effective solutions. Prior to joining RSHC, Natalie practiced medical malpractice at a Chicago-based law firm where she defended hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other health care staff.

 

The Hon. Lajuana M. Counts, Magistrate Judge | Western District of Missouri

Judge Counts is the first African-American woman to serve as a magistrate judge in the Western District of Missouri, where she sits in Kansas City. Judge Counts was born in Jackson, Tennessee, and grew up in St. Charles, Missouri. After receiving an undergraduate degree in business administration from the University of Missouri at Columbia in 1982, she moved to Kansas City to work at the Federal Reserve Bank. She then attended the University of MissouriKansas City School of Law and received her law degree in 1988. Judge Counts began her legal career as a law clerk for The Hon. Fernando J. Gaitan Jr., who then served on the Missouri Court of Appeals. In 1989, Judge Counts joined the U.S. Attorney’s Office in the Western District of Missouri. As an Assistant U.S. Attorney, she served in the General Crimes Unit and in the Narcotics Unit. Judge Counts later helped establish the office’s Appellate Unit and served as its Chief. With the Appellate Unit, where she worked most recently before her appointment to the bench, Judge Counts briefed or argued more than 400 cases before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eighth Circuit. She was also appointed to serve on the Department of Justice’s Appellate Chiefs Working Group.

 

The Hon. Laura Taylor Swain, Chief Judge | United States District Court for the Southern District of New York

Laura Taylor Swain was appointed to the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York on July 11, 2000, and entered on duty on August 31, 2000. She became Chief Judge of the Court on April 10, 2021. A native New Yorker, Chief Judge Swain graduated from Radcliffe College of Harvard University, cum laude, and from the Harvard Law School. She served as a law clerk to the Honorable Constance Baker Motley from 1982 to 1983. She practiced law with a private firm in New York until 1996. Judge Swain was also the first woman, and first person of color, to serve as a member of the New York State Board of Law Examiners, and served as such for 10 years prior to taking the bench. She served as a United States Bankruptcy Judge for the Eastern District of New York from November 1996 until August 2000. Judge Swain chaired the Advisory Committee of the Judicial Conference of the United States on the Federal Rules of Bankruptcy Procedure from 2007 to 2010. Judge Swain has served the judiciary and the community through committee and board membership of numerous organizations, and has received numerous awards as well as honorary degrees. Since May 2017, Judge Swain has presided, by designation of the Chief Justice of the United States pursuant to the federal PROMESA statute, over the PROMESA debt restructuring proceedings for Puerto Rico.

Agenda

I. Chief Judge Swain, who will discuss Her Honor’s life and career | 2:00pm – 2:20pm

II. Behind the curtain and into the chambers of one of our nation’s most accomplished advocates, jurists, and public servants | 2:20pm – 2:40pm

III. The panel will discuss Judge Baker Motley’s impact and the opportunities that her work has created for all to advance within the legal profession | 2:40pm – 3:00pm

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