All Rise: Rise Up, Speak Up and Lift Every Voice Alumnae Panel

All Rise’s two-part alumnae panel discussion titled Rise Up, Speak Up and Lift Every Voice, held in November 2020 and March 2021 will explore solutions and efforts to advance racial and gender equity and justice in the legal profession. Our first discussion on November 18th will feature Suffolk Law Black alumnae – trailblazers and leaders – who will highlight the collective and individual actions we can all take to build a more inclusive industry and profession.

All Rise is a mantra of Suffolk University Law Alumnae calling women attorneys to stand together in sisterhood and support and uplift each other. Through our panel discussion, we will discuss and share solutions that will address racial and gender disparity in our field and beyond.

Our All Rise November 18th  panel will feature the experience of Suffolk Law Black alumnae making change happen in the fields of academia, practice of law, business, and public service.

  • Tamela Bailey JD’04, Commercial Legal Senior Counsel, National Grid
  • The Honorable Stacey J. Fortes JD’90, First Justice of Lowell District Court
  • Nina Mitchell Wells JD’76, Former Secretary of State for NJ and former Director of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)

Moderator

  • Loletta Darden JD’91, Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School and Director of Suffolk’s Intellectual Property & Entrepreneurship Clinic

 

About Our Panelists:

Tamela E. Bailey JD’04

Tamela E. Bailey is Senior Counsel I on the Commercial Legal team at National Grid. As a seasoned commercial lawyer, she leads high profile projects and executes complex transactions across a wide variety of organizational landscapes to reach positive outcomes.

Attorney Bailey began her career in the financial industry at State Street Corporation where she received a series of promotions. Her work at this firm included: managing multi-million dollar corporate institutional relationships, providing outstanding customer service and relationship management, and successfully building, managing, and contributing to high performing teams. After working at State Street for 12 years, Attorney Bailey began her current tenure at National Grid.

Attorney Bailey earned her BA from Tufts University and her JD from Suffolk University Law School and is licensed to practice law in Massachusetts and Rhode Island. She volunteers at Suffolk Law as a member of the SULS Alumni Board of Directors and on the Career Development and Strategic Advancement subcommittees. She also participates in the mentoring program at SULS and National Grid, playing an active role in the Suffolk University Black Alumni Network (SUBAN). Attorney Bailey is a 2020 recipient of the Suffolk University Law School Racial Equity Champion Alumni Award.

Loletta Darden JD’91 (Moderator)

Professor Darden is a registered Patent Attorney, an Associate Clinical Professor of Law at Suffolk University Law School, and Director of the Law School’s Intellectual Property and Entrepreneurship Clinic (“IPEC”), our multi-disciplinary clinic for new and emerging businesses. Prior to joining Suffolk, Professor Darden was a partner at Sachnoff & Weaver, Ltd. (Chicago) and manager of the patent prosecution group. She has counseled emerging technology businesses on all aspects of IP protection, including rights in patents, trademarks, and copyrights. She also served as in-house Chief IP Counsel for Duracraft Corporation, where she worked closely with marketing and product development teams and managed all IP litigation and IP protection programs. During her career, Professor Darden has had the opportunity to participate in several precedent setting patent and trademark cases, including Atlantic Thermoplastics v. Faytex Corp., Micron Separations, Inc. v. Pall Corporation — the companion case to Markman v. Westview Instruments, and Curtin v. United Trademark Holdings.

Professor Darden earned her J.D from Suffolk University Law School with honors, where she was a member of the law review and voted by faculty as the most outstanding student of her class. After graduating from Suffolk Law School, Professor Darden served as a Judicial Law Clerk to the Honorable Francis J. Boyle, Chief Judge, United States District Court for the District of Rhode Island.

The Honorable Stacey J. Fortes JD’90

The Honorable Stacey J. Fortes is the first Black female Justice of the Lowell District Court. Judge Fortes was appointed as an Associate Justice of the district court in 2006. Judge Fortes is also the Regional Administrative Judge for Region 4 (Middlesex and Essex Counties). She is the chair of the District Court Committee on Race and Ethnic Fairness, a member of the District Court Committee on Criminal Proceedings, Administrative Committee of the District Court, SJC Advisory Committee on Criminal Proceedings, and Massachusetts Sentencing Commission Committee. Prior to her appointment to the bench, Judge Fortes served as a Suffolk County Assistant District Attorney and Chief of District Court Prosecution.

Nina Wells JD’76

Nina Mitchell Wells served as New Jersey Secretary of State from 2006 to 2010 under Governor Jon Corzine. During her tenure, she was responsible for promoting travel and tourism, history, arts and cultural organizations, in addition to acting as the State’s chief elections official. From 2012 until 2018, having been appointed by President Barack Obama, she served as Director of the Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA). Previously, she served as President of the Schering-Plough Foundation, and Vice President of Public Affairs for Schering-Plough Corporation. She practiced corporate law for major corporations, including New Jersey Bell Telephone Company, Bell Communications Research, Inc. and the CIT Group, Inc.  As a corporate attorney she specialized in real estate, land use and contracts.

Attorney Wells currently serves on the boards of the New Jersey Institute for Social Justice, The New Jersey Performing Arts Center and the Saint Barnabas Medical Center.  She is a cum laude graduate of Newton College of the Sacred Heart (now Boston College) and she holds a JD from Suffolk University Law School. She was a Woodrow Wilson Corporate Visiting Fellow and is a graduate of the NYU Stern School of Business, Executive Management Program.  She has received Honorary Degrees from the College of St. Elizabeth and from Drew University in New Jersey.