January 27, 2009
NEW YORK
ATTORNEY MARISSA C. WESELY RECEIVES 2009 KAY CRAWFORD MURRAYAWARD
Pioneering banking attorney honored
for commitment to increasing diversity in law firms and promoting
work/life balance
NEW YORK
—The New York State Bar
Association will honor Marissa C. Wesely of New
York(Simpson Thacher &
Bartlett LLP) with the 2009 Kay Crawford Murray Award. The award,
sponsored by the Committee on Women in the Law, honors a member who
recognizes the value of diversity in the legal profession and who has
dedicated his or her time to advancing the professional development of
women attorneys. Wesely will receive the award today at the
Association’s Annual Meeting in New
York.
“Since she began her law career, Marissa C.
Wesely has worked diligently to not only increase the diversity within
her law firm, but also to provide female and minority attorneys with
guidance and insight into what it takes it to become a great
attorney,” said Committee on Women in the Law Chair Taa R. Grays
of New York(MetLife). “Her dynamic leadership and commitment to
mentoring are a testament to Kay Crawford Murray’s lasting example
of women helping other women.”
A magna cum laude graduate
of Williams College and cum laude graduate of Harvard Law School, Ms. Wesely is a senior banking partner of Simpson Thacher
& Bartlett LLP where she was the fifth female attorney to make
partner in the firm. She currently chairs the firm’s Women’s
Committee. Among her achievements as chair were her firm’s
adoption of a revised Flexible Work Arrangements Policy and a
substantial increase in the amount of paid maternity
leave.
Ms. Wesely has served on her firm’s Recruiting
Committee for 16 years, including six years as chair. Under her
leadership, nearly 30 percent of summer associates were of color and 50
percent were women. In some years, the percentage of minority students
was as high as 46 percent and women outnumbered men. She co-chaired her
firm’s Diversity Task Force in 2007.
Ms. Wesely also is one of the co-founders of the Kate
Stoneman Project, a leadership group for the women partners at the Big
10 New York-headquartered private law firms.
The award is named for past Committee on Women in the
Law Chair Kay Crawford Murray. During Ms. Murray’s tenure as chair
of the Committee on Women in the Law, she raised awareness of
women’s issues, spearheading a report that urged the Association
to propose a model policy for childbirth and parenting as a guideline
for law firms. She received the inaugural award in 2008.
The 76,000-member New York State Bar Association is
the official statewide organization of lawyers in New
Yorkand the largest
voluntary state bar association in the nation. Founded in 1876, State Bar programs and activities have
continuously served the public and improved the justice system for more
than 130 years.
###
| 
News Center
