When you join the NCAWA and CWB, you can expect a networking forum for business development, access to professional programs, mentoring and leadership opportunities, rewarding work on our committees, and more.  Our vision is to build a strong community of women lawyers who make a difference in the profession and in society at large.  Our goals are to increase the effective participation by women in the justice system, in public office, and within the legal profession; to promote the rights of women under the law; and to promote the welfare of the women attorneys of North Carolina. The benefits of CWB membership include:

 An Instant Network:  Membership opens doors.  Through your involvement, you have the opportunity to network with over 500 members, both women and men, from the judiciary, law firms, corporations, non-profits, and the government, including more than 150 in the Charlotte area.  Members support each other by providing business referrals, developing mentoring relationships, serving as role models, and creating opportunities for one another.  In 2010, the NCAWA also launched an online job bank accessible only to members.

Recognition and Visibility: We all know it’s awkward to toot your own horn.  Let the NCAWA and CWB promote your accomplishments and achievements in our newsletters and e-blasts, and on our website.  In addition, NCAWA maintains an online member directory, which puts the entire NCAWA membership at your fingertips, making networking easier than ever.  On a local level, CWB nominates its members for various professional accolades, including, among others, Charlotte’s 50 Most Influential Women and Charlotte Business Journal’s Forty under 40, and guides its members through the associated applications.

First-Class Events:  Each year, the NCAWA hosts an annual conference that provides members an opportunity to meet and hear from prominent individuals in the profession.  In addition, CWB hosts quarterly lunch seminars, which focus on the advancement of women attorneys in both private and public employment with topics that include substantive legal issues, practice development, career development, and matters of general concern to all women.   CWB’s programs, which typically offer CLE credit, feature experts, authors, dignitaries, and government officials.  CWB also hosts quarterly socials, which encourage its members to broaden their local network.

Leadership Development.  Members have the opportunity to join one or more NCAWA and CWB committees to gain invaluable experience and to establish a great foundation for further leadership positions.