December Co-Chair Letter

To our NTBA community,
 

How is it December already?

Should we be grateful that this challenging year is nearing its end? Will the tide of
anti-trans political activity recede in 2024? Regardless of what happens, we will
continue on with the support of our community. We are each doing our part to
be visible and to move forward other aspects of trans-inclusivity in the legal
profession and public life.

We are tired and we are also strong. Even as the onslaught continues, we
continue to strengthen as a community by creating more space for trans people in
public life. Through resisting together, our bonds have become even stronger.
Our solidarity continues to bring us closer regardless of our differences – and we
are community that is diverse in every sense. We all stand together in defense of
our trans siblings. Thus, though we are tired, we are by no means exhausted,
much less defeated.

This Wednesday, twelve members of the NTBA will stand proudly before the nine
Justices of the Supreme Court and be sworn in as members of the Supreme Court
bar. Through our visibility, we continue the work of improving our legal profession
and advocating for the equal rights of transgender people under state and federal
law.

Continuing to stand together, the night before the swearing in ceremony we will
gather for our NTBA Fall Social at the Washington, DC office of Squire Patton
Boggs [RSVP Here]. This is a chance for us to reinforce the bonds in our community. We will also hear from and speak with Congressperson Robert Garcia. We hope those of you in DC can join us as we deepen our connections with each other and with the broader LGBTQ community. It is these bonds that give us strength.

It is this strength that will shine through each of us who are being admitted to the
SCOTUS bar this week. We will stand there, before the very Justices who have
already and who may again be soon called upon to decide cases that will have
significant impacts on our community, and we will stand tall. We will represent
our humanity and we will do so with dignity.

So let them see us. As people. As fellow attorneys. As people who just want to
live and work with everyone else.

Your NTBA board members and co-chairs have been busy in the last couple of
months. We have been speaking to the judiciary, law schools, and other bar
associations about what is happening to our community. And we have been
working with all of the above to make incremental changes for more inclusivity of
our community. We are pleased to say that there has been significant receptivity,
even if, at times, it becomes clear that there is still much work to be done.
Our many board committees have grown over the past year. They are now
poised to begin taking further action on social, mentoring, educational, and
amicus activities in 2024.

We are grateful for this community. Find your community spaces this season and
resist with joy and love (do not hesitate to reach out to us if you find yourselves
somehow disconnected during this season – we’ll connect you with someone)!
We wish you all as much peace and cheer as this holiday season has available.
 

In Solidarity,
Rafael and D, your NTBA Co-Chairs