New York, NY
Otis Felder (Partner-Los Angeles), cochair of Wilson Elser’s LGBTQIA+ Employee Resource Group, will join the distinguished panel “The Path to Practice” at the 2025 Lavender Law® Conference & Career Fair, hosted by The LGBTQ+ Bar in New York, NY, on July 28-30, 2025. The panel will address law student attendees on the benefits of multijurisdictional practice, developing a practice area, and provide an insider’s view into big firm practice. Otis will describe his career path to becoming a national maritime law specialist and weigh in on which law school passions and skills translate well into the practice of law, particularly at a national firm. He also plans to discuss his capstone project at Harvard that examined ways of encouraging grit in developing professional development among SOGI youth. Other panelists comprising LGBTQ+ practitioners from diverse practice areas – government, nonprofit, solo/small firm, etc. – will relay their personal journeys. This annual event, the largest LGBTQ+ legal conference in the nation, attracts over 1700 attendees, including attorneys, judges, and law students, and serves as a cornerstone for dialogue and advocacy on LGBTQ+ legal issues, professional development, and institutional reform. Wilson Elser will again co-sponsor the event and facilitate others’ attendance.