GAYLAW, founded in 1990, is an independent, non-partisan bar association serving gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender (GLBT) lawyers, law students, and legal professionals in the national capital area.

GAYLAW works to advance the interests of the GLBT community, to be their voice within the legal community, and to improve their professional lives. GAYLAW’s advocacy and activities on behalf of the GLBT community include:

• Raising issues of concern with officers and directors of the American Bar Association, the D.C. Bar and other state and voluntary bars.
• Sponsoring a Mentor-Mentee Program.
• Recruiting and training volunteers to provide pro bono legal services for people living with HIV/AIDS through the Whitman-Walker Clinic.
• Responding to discrimination against GLBT attorneys and litigants in the legal system by authoring briefs, joining coalitions, lobbying legislators, etc.
• Sponsoring the D.C. Bar Candidates Forum and endorsing candidates for local bar offices and the judiciary.
• Operating an attorney referral service that annually matches hundreds of individuals with lawyers who are sensitive to and knowledgeable about the legal issues affecting GLBT people.
• Hosting continuing legal education programs, social activities and other membership networking events.
• Sponsoring public forums on legal issues of concern to the GLBT community.
• Drafting, analyzing, and advocating legislation to advance the legal rights of GLBT people.

GAYLAW also provides networking opportunities for its members and has had great success with its monthly happy hour networking events. The keys to the success of these events has been setting a consistent schedule for their occurrence, the second Thursday of every month, varying the location each month, and posting the locations for the entire year at the beginning of each calendar year. In addition, GAYLAW holds an annual winter ice skating social, summer pool party, membership appreciation party and drive, and Holiday party to coincide with its annual meeting.

In 2009, GAYLAW welcomed four new board members for two-year terms and elected a new male co-president to join its female co-president on the executive committee. The new board members and executive committee have brought additional vigor to the already energized board. Some of the challenges that the GAYLAW board hopes to conquer in 2009 include rededicating ourselves to service to the GLBT community, increasing women’s and people of color’s participation, and increasing general and referral service membership.