The mission of Oregon Women Lawyers is to transform the legal profession by pursuing equitable access to the legal system and equity for women and communities who are systemically oppressed.
To achieve this goal, we provide and support programming that includes attention to issues of gender, gender identity, gender expression, race, ethnicity, national origin or ancestry, age, pregnancy or lactation status, parental status, marital status, sexual orientation, military or veteran status, disability, and other identities that are historically underrepresented. We strive to make meaningful connections with other affinity bar associations in Oregon and to partner with them to provide support for all marginalized, oppressed, and underrepresented groups in our profession.
OWLS is dedicated to ensuring that our events and gatherings, whether held in person or remotely, are an inclusive, respectful, and harassment-free experience for everyone. This policy is intended to create a mechanism for reporting specific incidents and concerns related to OWLS events when a participant would like OWLS to take action as set forth in this policy. OWLS continues to welcome feedback to promote insight in our community and to improve our organizational culture and the legal profession through whatever means you are comfortable.
By participating in an OWLS-sponsored event, all participants, including attendees, speakers, sponsors, volunteers, OWLS staff, and venue staff agree to abide by this code of conduct (“Code of Conduct”). OWLS reserves the exclusive and sole right to enforce its code of conduct.
EXPECTED BEHAVIOR
In order to support an environment that builds community and positive connections, all participants shall behave with common courtesy and civility, conduct themselves in an ethical and appropriate manner, exercise consideration and respect in speech and actions, act in good faith, comply with all laws and regulations, and be personally accountable for individual actions.
All attorney participants shall also comply with any and all Rules of Professional Conduct, Codes of Professional Responsibility, or like regulations whether issued by the Oregon State Bar or any other jurisdiction in which the attorney is licensed.
It is expected that participants will review and comply with any event specific expectations.
UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR
Physical and verbal intimidation, harassment, bullying, or other actions that interfere with any other participant’s experience or participation are unacceptable behaviors. OWLS reserves the right in its sole discretion to determine what constitutes unacceptable behavior and what actions it will take to address incidents that occur.
Further reading on bias and harassment issues can be found here: https://oregonwomenlawyers.org/resources/articles/
HOW TO REPORT UNACCEPTABLE BEHAVIOR.
If you have concerns about safety for yourself or another at an event, please contact event security or local law enforcement.
If you experience or witness any unacceptable behaviors or you have other concerns, please report the incident as soon as possible. If you need immediate assistance at an event, contact an on-site event organizer or onsite OWLS Leadership. Any participant asked to stop unacceptable behavior is expected to immediately comply. OWLS may take any action the organization deems appropriate in regard to unacceptable behavior. There may be situations where an individual or OWLS has a reporting obligation to third parties outside of OWLS regarding the unacceptable behavior or information related to the reported incident.
All other reports may be made by contacting your chapter leadership or completing our incident report form HERE.
PERIODIC REVIEW
The OWLS Board of Directors will conduct an annual review of the Code of Conduct to ensure that it continues to align with organizational goals and address the needs of our community. OWLS will offer annual training on reporting procedures for OWLS members, volunteers, and leadership.
OWLS welcomes feedback from its members. All feedback should be submitted by email to the OWLS President.