For Immediate Release
March 10, 2006

Contact:
Kara Tershel, (202) 662-9500

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Georgetown University Law Center recently honored the achievements of five of its highly accomplished female graduates at its annual Women’s Forum, which took place on March 8.  This year's focus was "Maximizing Your Leadership Potential."

Caryl Bernstein (L'67), Ramona Ortiz Brown (F'89, L'94), Theresa Gillis (L'74), Barbara Moulton (L'89), and Leigh Ryan (L'80) received Georgetown University Law Center Alumnae Awards for their contributions to the legal profession, their communities, and the Law Center.  Each has enjoyed distinguished legal careers.  Ellen Fitzsimmons (L'86), the senior vice president of law and public affairs, general counsel, and corporate secretary for CSX Corporation, provided the luncheon keynote address.

 

Caryl Bernstein (L'67)

Bernstein is a member of the Bernstein Law Firm, PLLC, where she represents clients in general business and employment matters.  She spent 12 years at Fannie Mae, where she served as executive vice president, general counsel, and secretary.  Prior to joining Fannie Mae, she was vice president for insurance and assistant general counsel for the Overseas Private Investment Corporation.  She is a member of the Georgetown University Law Center board of visitors and the advisory board of the corporate counsel institute and a former member of Georgetown University’s board of directors and board of regents.  Bernstein chairs the board of House of Ruth and is a member of the board of directors of the National Symphony Orchestra.

 

 

Ramona Ortiz Brown (F'89, L'94)

Ortiz Brown is a member of the law department of ExxonMobil Pipeline Company, where her practice focuses on administrative law.  Since joining Exxon 12 years ago, she has handled bankruptcy and tort litigation, franchise and regulatory issues, and merger related divestments.  She received both her undergraduate and law degrees from Georgetown and serves her alma mater as a member of the national law alumni board.  She is a director of the African-American lawyers section of the State Bar of Texas, the Houston Lawyers Association, and Spaulding for Children, an adoption agency for special needs children.  She is a member of the United Way of Texas Gulf Coast Young Leaders Council.

 

 

 

Theresa Gillis (L'74)

Gillis is a partner at Jones Day where she specializes in intellectual property law.  Her practice also includes transactional matters relating to intellectual property, including technology development and transfer agreements, licenses, mergers, acquisitions, and initial public offerings.  She has been recognized as one of America’s “leading lawyers for business” in Chambers USA and as one of the “best lawyers in New York” by New York Magazine.  A recipient of Georgetown University Law Center’s Paul R. Dean Alumni Award, she is a member of the Georgetown University board of regents and the Georgetown University Law Center board of visitors.  She is a member of the board of the Legal Advisory Council for the Sanctuary of Families.

 

 

Barbara Moulton (L'89)

Moulton is the assistant dean for public interest programs at Georgetown University Law Center.  Since joining Georgetown, she has directed the Office of Public Interest and Community Service (OPICS), which celebrates its 10th anniversary this year.  The office provides advice to students pursuing public interest legal careers and coordinates the Law Center’s extensive pro bono programs.  Prior to her work at Georgetown, she was a staff attorney at the Alliance for Justice, where she advocated for increased access to the legal system for disenfranchised groups and individuals.  She also served as an associate in the litigation department of Ropes & Gray in Boston.

 

 

 

Leigh Ryan (L'80)

Ryan is a partner in the law firm of Paul, Hastings, Janofsky & Walker, LLP and heads the corporate department in the firm's San Diego office.  She concentrates her practice in corporate finance, securities, and mergers and acquisitions and has substantial transactional experience in the telecommunications, media, technology, apparel, and aircraft industries.  She writes and speaks frequently on securities law, corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and other corporate matters.  Ryan is a member of the Georgetown University Law Center national law alumni board and the advisory board of the corporate counsel institute.  She is a member of the board of directors of the LaJolla, California Music Society.

 

 

The Georgetown University Law Center Women's Forum, which grew out of discussions with law alumnae about the special issues, opportunities, and constraints faced by women law professionals, is designed to develop networks of Law Center alumnae and foster mentoring relationships between alumnae and students.

About Georgetown Law

Georgetown University Law Center is one of the world's leading law schools. It has the largest full-time faculty in the nation and is pre-eminent in several areas, including constitutional, international, tax and clinical law. Drawing on its Jesuit heritage, it has a strong tradition of public service and is dedicated to the principle that law is but a means, justice is the end. With this principle in mind, Georgetown Law has built an environment that cultivates an exchange of ideas and the pursuit of academic excellence. It brings together an extraordinarily varied group of teachers, scholars and practitioners, as well as an outstanding student body.

--End--