Lambda Law, an LGBT group at the University of Pennsylvania Law School, will host its first-ever symposium exploring the LGBT legal landscape next month. The symposium, titled “Beyond Legal Equality,” will be held from 10:30 a.m.-7 p.m. Feb. 1 at the school, 3501 Sansom St. “I think Penn Law has always been a leader in the LGBT community and this conference is a great way for us to build on that,” said the group’s co-political chair Hannah Fishman. The areas of focus will include LGBT youth and anti-bullying, employment discrimination and the next steps after the repeal of “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.” Various firms in the area, as well as the National LGBT Bar Association and Penn’s LGBT Center, are sponsoring the event. Fishman said planning for the inaugural symposium started last summer. The event is open to the public, and Lambda Law president Phil Shecter said he hopes it will attract a diverse crowd. “We’re looking to have a mix of attendees from students to members of the community to those in academics,” Shecter said. Fishman said the symposium will also present viewpoints from people in a range of positions. “There are teachers and students participating,” she said. “We have individuals from various businesses and representatives from the Military Veterans Affiliation. We designed it that way on purpose because we wanted everyone to participate.” The keynote speaker for the event will be Allyson Robinson, deputy director for employee programs at the Human Rights Campaign Foundation. Shecter heard Robinson speak at a prior event, which led to her nomination for the keynote role at the symposium. “She is an amazing speaker,” Shecter said. “She is also a transgender woman so she will come into this with a lot of personal and professional experience.” Other speakers will include former Congressman Patrick Murphy, National Gay and Lesbian Task Force transgender civil-rights project director Lisa Mottet and OutServe-SLDN legal director David McKean, along with other professionals in the legal field. Shecter said the group is especially excited for the anti-bullying panel, in which a representative of The Attic Youth Center will speak from a youth perspective. As of presstime, 55 people had RSVPed for the symposium. “We just started sign-ups and we are excited that we have that many people signed up already,” Fishman said. Lambda Law hopes to engage the campus community and beyond in LGBT topics that don’t get enough in-depth discussion. “One of the things I am most interested in seeing is the start of a conversation about LGBT rights that includes a number of topics,” said co-political chair Heather Crimmins. “By engaging people in conversations, you can let them know what changes they can make.” Shecter said he expects the symposium to empower attendees to take what they learn back to the LGBT-rights movement. “We want to challenge attendees to learn from experiences in a very different way and see how we can continue to change,” he said. The event is free; however, those who will attend to receive Continuing Legal Education credit will have to pay a separate fee of $55, or $25 for public-interest attorneys. For more information, visit www.pennlawlambda.com.
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