Meriden – The Connecticut Bar Association (CBA) Women in the Law Section and the CBA Young Lawyers Section (YLS) Women in the Law Committee presented the 2026 Ladder Award to Attorney Nancy Kennedy at this year’s Pathways to Leadership for Women Lawyers event on March 5 at the Aqua Turf Club in Plantsville. The Ladder Award was created by the YLS Women in the Law Committee in 2007 to honor a woman attorney who has “left the ladder down” for women to follow in her footsteps and values the importance of leadership development, mentoring, and supporting junior lawyers in their journeys to success.
Attorney Kennedy, a Member (Partner) of Stites & Harbison based in the firm’s West Hartford office, delivered remarks after accepting her award, reflecting on her path to the legal profession. Attorney Kennedy spoke about her personal journey to a career in the law. She shared that she entered UConn School of Law in her thirties after spending a decade as an outdoor guide teaching rock climbing, kayaking, and camping. After graduating and beginning her legal career, she remained actively involved with the university and now serves as an adjunct professor, where she continues to teach and mentor law students.
“I think of mentorship as sort of a catchall. We get coffee together or we talk about advice and planning on what we should do,” stated Attorney Kennedy. “But really, being a mentor also calls upon you to be kind of a sponsor or a gatekeeper. A mentor can give you advice, but a gatekeeper gives you a docket, something to do. A mentor can talk to you, but a sponsor talks about you, even when you’re not in the room.”