Snell & Wilmer Attorneys Trish Refo and Steffi Hafen Present at Inaugural ABA Women's Conference

 
ORANGE COUNTY, Calif. - Nov. 17, 2014 - PRLog -- Snell & Wilmer is pleased to announce that Phoenix partner Patricia Lee Refo (http://www.swlaw.com/attorneys/trish_refo)and Orange County associate Steffi Gascón Hafen (http://www.swlaw.com/attorneys/steffi_gascon)presented at the inaugural American Bar Association (ABA) Women of the Section of Litigation Conference. The event, attended by 350 women litigators, took place November 5-7, 2014 at the Palmer House Hilton in Chicago, Illinois.

Refo served as a panelist amongst other ligation partners and the Honorable Nancy Friedman Atlas, Senior U.S. District Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Texas. Their topic, “How Are We Doing? Women at Trial as Lead Counsel: How, Why, and When We Can Make It Work,” touched upon how women have made great strides in litigation and more and more women seek first chair opportunities. They presented new ABA research about roles played by men and women in the courtroom, and discussed how women can advance in firms and in the eyes of clients for selection as lead counsel on major matters.

Hafen presented during a roundtable discussion entitled, “Law Firm Models: Improving Gender Equity and Performance.” The session visited the notion that something is amiss with the culture of law firms when those identified in research as the “best” have equity tiers with only 15 to 20 percent women. It covered how it is time to think about diversity and inclusion as an integral piece in improving a law firm’s culture, organizational stability, client loyalty and revenue generation.

As a partner in Snell & Wilmer’s Phoenix office, Refo concentrates her practice in complex commercial litigation and internal investigations, with extensive experience in financial institutions litigation, professional malpractice defense, class actions, trade secret litigation, and commercial and business torts. She chairs the firm's Professional Liability Litigation group. Refo recently received the President’s Award at the annual State Bar of Arizona Convention. She presently serves as chair of the House of Delegates of the ABA, is former Chair of the ABA Section of Litigation and a former member of the Evidence Rules Advisory Committee of the United States Judicial Conference.

As an associate in Snell & Wilmer’s Orange County office, Hafen’s practice is concentrated in estate planning and taxation matters, with an emphasis in advanced estate planning techniques. She also has experience in trust and probate litigation and administration, state and local taxation, including audit representation and succession planning for closely held businesses.

About Snell & Wilmer.

Founded in 1938, Snell & Wilmer is a full-service business law firm with more than 400 attorneys practicing in nine locations throughout the western United States and in Mexico, including Phoenix and Tucson, Arizona; Orange County and Los Angeles, California; Denver, Colorado; Las Vegas and Reno, Nevada; Salt Lake City, Utah; and Los Cabos, Mexico. The firm represents clients ranging from large, publicly traded corporations to small businesses, individuals and entrepreneurs and celebrates 25 years in Southern California. For more information, visit www.swlaw.com.

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