CELEBRATING

Diversity Dinner Speaker Champions Reform of the Criminal Legal System 

We are proud to host our Diversity Dinner, a 21-year tradition that celebrates our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion. At the dinner, leading figures in arenas such as politics, academia, or civil rights share their insights and encouragement.  

This year, we were delighted to hear from Terrica Redfield Ganzy, the executive director of the Southern Center for Human Rights. Terrica guides SCHR in its mission to transform the criminal legal system through direct representation, impact litigation, policy advocacy, and public education.  

“I think my main advice to young lawyers is to lean into who you are. I have been successful because I identified my values and where I wanted to use my talents early on,” Terrica said. 

A native of rural Mississippi, Terrica was inspired at an early age by her socially minded educator parents. Terrica’s grandmother also proved a source of inspiration, although it was not until Terrica was in college that she learned about her grandmother’s pioneering history as one of the first Black people to vote in her Mississippi community.   

“As a kid, I was smart. And in my community, the smart kids aspired to be lawyers, doctors, teachers, scientists,” Terrica recalled. “I asked my dad, ‘What do you think I should be? A doctor? A lawyer? A singer?’ He said, ‘Terrica, you can be anything ... but you cannot be a singer.’ I could not sing.” 

Terrica attended Tougaloo College as an undergraduate and then enrolled at the University of Virginia, where she pursued medical studies for a short time before learning that she did not like the labs. Quickly, she pivoted to the law.  

“My family has always been about social justice, and when I thought about people leading social justice, I thought of lawyers.” 

Early in her career, Terrica volunteered for a court system in Virginia, where she read transcripts of death row cases to “find the issues.” “I really got really engaged in the idea that someone’s life was on the line and mistakes had been made .... It was different from being in law school, to sit in a witness’s house, to see confusion in the eyes of jurors. It solidified for me that if I was to use the talent that God gave me, I was going to use it this way,” she said. 

A prestigious fellowship followed, and eventually, Terrica landed at SCHR – “the place to be” for someone interested in challenging the death penalty. SCHR is the nation’s pre-eminent organization dedicated to tackling the death penalty, prison conditions, mass incarceration, and racial injustice in the criminal justice system. 

Terrica’s leadership and contributions extend beyond SCHR: She is board vice-president of the Center for Death Penalty Litigation; vice-president of the Georgia Association of Black Women Attorneys; vice-president of the State Bar of Georgia’s Professionalism Committee; a member of the State Bar’s Seeking Equal Justice and Addressing Racism and Racial Bias Committee; and a member of the Judicial Council of Georgia’s Access to Justice Committee.

A force for change in the South for almost 46 years, SCHR strives today to be intentional about understanding the needs of and being partners with communities, Terrica said. “We’re used to working in an environment that’s not welcoming to our issues. There are opportunities. Criminal justice reform is on the mouths of lots of people in the White House in ways it wasn’t when I started.” 

Terrica pointed to SCHR’s recent successes, such as helping write legislation that ended citizens’ arrests in Georgia after the murder of Ahmaud Arbery. She remains optimistic that SCHR can compel Georgia to eliminate the death penalty. 

Lawyers can support SCHR in many ways, even if they are not in the South, Terrica said. For example, SCHR often needs lawyers to take on individual cases emerging from class action litigation. Public advocacy work – writing to a lawmaker, an opinion piece, or even a blog – presents another way to become involved.  

“Terrica is really taking the reins at a critical time,” said Partner David DeBruin, an SCHR board member who moderated the discussion. “It’s an exciting time for her, but with challenges. In every case I have done with the Southern Center, I have learned, and the results I have gotten have been because of the work they do.”  

 David urged all of those attending this dinner to look for opportunities and to support organizations like this. “It makes and defines a career,” he emphasized. 

Women Lawyers Find Inspiration, Connections, and Strategies at Women’s Forum Summit 

The firm’s Chicago office and the Chicagoland community hosted more than 70 women lawyers from every Jenner & Block office at the Women’s Forum Summit in mid-July. 

One of 10 affinity groups at Jenner & Block, the Women’s Forum fosters opportunities for professional, social, and personal growth of the firm’s women lawyers. Partners Jessie Amunson, Elizabeth Edmondson, Amy Gallegos, Rebekah Goodheart, Anne Cortina Perry, Megan Poetzel, Melissa Root, Lizzie Shimmin, and AnnaMarie Van Hoesen serve as co-chairs of the active group. 

The summit featured everything from comfortable conversations in a relaxation room to small group discussions where participants learned more about each other. At a lightning round session on best practices, participants shared their insights on wide-ranging topics from organizational skills to time management to firm technology. Attendees also joined an evening program dedicated to the 50th anniversary of Title IX. 

Special guests infused the summit with diverse, outside voices. Author Rebecca Sive facilitated a workshop on the importance of journaling civic and pro bono stories and leaders from the consulting firm GrowthPlay led a business strategy session. 

The summit built in time for participants to get outside and enjoy Chicago in the summer. There was a reception at the Chicago Architecture Center, and participants were encouraged to explore the city by strolling along the Chicago Riverwalk or taking a morning run or bike ride along the lakefront.  

And, in the spirit of Jenner & Block’s values, a service project for Lincoln Park Community Services offered participants the opportunity to give back to the community by packing 95 health care kits for those experiencing homelessness. 

“The summit was two days of collaboration and activities that primed each of us for growth. By the time the summit closed, we all felt more connected to each other,” said Lizzie, a partner in the London office. “And I think we returned to our respective offices feeling even more proud that we work at Jenner & Block, because this firm values women, our contributions, and our careers.”