WWBA Nov 2023 Newsletter - M

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An Interview with Karen J. Walsh
Susan L. Pollet
Chair of the Archive and
Historian Committee
Q: When and why did you
become involved in the
WWBA?
A: I became involved in the
WWBA a few years after I
started working in
Westchester. I had been
working at a large NYC
firm - then had two children
in a row and was going to
take a break, but one partner
in a Bronxville firm was
persistently asking me to
work part-time at their firm;
they needed a trusts & estates
attorney. The parttime
quickly became
fulltime, but two years later
I had my third child. I realized
I was going to become
immersed in working in
Westchester and wanted to
meet more of the legal
community. I was already
an ABA member and a
NYSBA member but was
looking for more local involvement.
I joined the
WCBA and was told about
the WWBA, and that the
Trusts & Estates Section
chairs, Rita Gilbert and
Donald Klein, had periodic
meetings at Rita’s office with
Chinese takeout for which
everyone contributed. It
was open for general discussions
and occasionally
a presentation on a particular
topic. I joined the
WWBA and started going
to those meetings that I
could attend. At that time,
in the early 1990s, the
WWBA was the most welcoming
group for women
attorneys starting to practice
in Westchester; I believe
it still is.
“It’s very scary no longer being a student
and actually doing work that can
substantively affect peoples’ lives.
Keep breathing - don’t doubt that you can
do it - but know what you don’t know. My
mentor used to say that no matter how
smart you are and how much you know,
don’t get so cocky that you can no longer
see what you don’t know.”
Q: Which activities and positions
of the WWBA have you
participated in?
A: I’ve been a co-chair of the
Trusts & Estates Section for
years and have spoken at
both CLE programs and non-
CLE programs. Our firm has
sponsored/supported the
Holiday parties and the
WWBA Foundation.
Q: What would you like to
see the WWBA accomplish in
the future?
A: I think the WWBA has gone
a long way towards helping
women narrow the gap that
existed in the legal and many
professional fields between
opportunities for women and
opportunities for men. It has
also been a welcoming organization
for men as well as
women. I would like to see
the WWBA continue to be
welcoming for women and
for all attorneys trying to start
out in the profession and continue
to address some of the
issues for members who are
balancing a career and a
family. I would like to see additional
efforts to create avenues
for members to get to
know each other and exchange
ideas and support
each other. We did try to organize
some means for
members of the Trusts & Estates
section to create discussion
groups. When starting to
practice, it is very helpful to
create a discussion group of
colleagues with similar experience
levels who can have a
place to talk out various issues
and can grow in ability
together. When I started practicing
in NYC, my mentor and
his colleagues helped me
and other new associates to
form a discussion group and
I am still meeting with some
of those attorneys 40 years
later. We also helped some
associates start a group of
their peers years ago when
they started at our firm, and I
started hosting at our office
years ago another group of
colleagues in the WWBA T&E
Section, which we have continued
as Zoom meetings
through the pandemic. The
peer discussion groups are
helpful on a continuing basis
so that no one person in the
group feels responsible for
teaching the others in the
group. I would also like to see
more periodic non-CLE
meetings of the section colleagues
with various levels of
experience to discuss different
topics in the field of practice,
similar to the meetings
Rita and Don had at Rita’s
Karen J. Walsh
office, although I realize
that was pre-CLE, and it is
more difficult with Covid
and large discussion
groups are not always easy
on zoom. We did start
having breakfast or lunch
meetings that were open
discussions around a particular
topic several years
ago. Of course, it is always
difficult to try fitting the
CLE requirements and non-
CLE extra time into your
work and family schedule.
I truly admire the women
in the WWBA who take
leadership roles in the organization
and devote that
additional time to the
WWBA.
Q: Please tell us about your
legal career.
A: I graduated from
Fordham Law School, and
started at a large firm in
NYC, where I had the opportunity
to rotate through
three different departments
and determine which area
of practice I wanted to focus
on. I was very lucky
because I wanted to be in
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Westchester Women’s Bar Association News