Women lawyers to gather in Kansas City

Megan Belcher, chief counsel and a vice president at ConAgra in Omaha, kept seeing that more women than men were earning law degrees, but she wasn’t seeing many women leading law firms or holding top corporate counsel jobs.

So, she decided to encourage a little more career building in the legal profession and last year founded Drinks Among Friends, a networking and education group for women lawyers.

“I started the organization because I think we need to get women thinking about their career paths, gaining financial acumen, and learning about relationships, resources and opportunities to advance,” Belcher said Monday.

On May 21 in Kansas City, the first chapter of Drinks Among Friends outside Omaha will debut in Kansas City. It’s mission is to give women lawyers a periodic forum to meet, share professional concerns and learn from each other.

Belcher will be joined in Kansas City by Mandy Ketchum, managing director of the Dysart Taylor law firm, as moderators of the inaugural event. The evening will include panelists Nancy Mellard, general counsel at CBIZ; Heather Humphrey, general counsel at KCP&L; Jovita Foster, partner at Armstrong Teasdale, and Cynthia Cordes, partner at Husch Blackwell.

The fledgling Kansas City group, billed as “judgment and obligation free,” has no budget, board or infrastructure, but it does have blog and Facebook pages. The cost is $50 for the dinner meeting at the Grand Street Event Space. More local information is available from Ketchum at aketchum@dysarttaylor.com.

This story was originally published April 27, 2015 at 1:12 PM with the headline "Women lawyers to gather in Kansas City."