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(From L to R) YLS Women in the Law Committee Co-Chair Audrey E. Trace, CBA President James T. (Tim) Shearin, 2025 Ladder Award Winner Kimberly Jacobsen, YLS Women in the Law Committee Co-Chair Kara A. Newell, CBA President-Elect Emily A. Gianquinto, and Keynote Speaker Nina Pirrotti
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The CBA Women in the Law Section, in association with the CBA Young Lawyers Section (YLS) Women in the Law Committee, presented the 2025 Ladder Award to Attorney Kimberly Jacobsen at this year’s Pathways to Leadership for Women Lawyers event on March 6 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 Jacobsen joins a prestigious group of past awardees that includes Hon. Anne C. Dranginis, Rosemary E. Giuliano, Kathleen L. Brandt, Margaret A. Deluca, Hon. Elizabeth J. Stewart, Maureen Danehy Cox, Hon. Nada K. Sizemore, Diane W. Whitney, Tanya A. Bovée, Hon. Maria A. Khan, Deirdre M. Daly, Hon. Lynda B. Munro, Elaine S. Amendola, Elizabeth A. Alquist, Tanyee Cheung, and Hon. Evelyn M. Daly.
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(From L to R) 2025 Ladder Award Winner Kimberly Jacobsen and CBA Women in the Law Section Chair Michelle M. Napoli
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Women in the Law Section Chair Michelle M. Napoli initiated this year’s event with welcome remarks and an introduction for the evening’s keynote speaker, Nina T. Pirrotti. Attorney Pirrotti spoke of her personal experiences and challenges as a woman in the legal field and how years ago she faced sexual harassment from a partner at the law firm she worked at. After leaving this law firm, she noted how she later developed professional relationships with several positive role models in the profession, all of whom were men. “I think my experience is a product of the era of my formative years as a lawyer, where there was no sexual harassment training, there was no recognition of the value of work/life balance, and the opportunities for women to rise to the top were rare and when there were it was only when she was willing to be one of the boys,” stated Attorney Pirrotti. “Look where we are now… It is a balm for the soul to reflect upon how far we have come in the empowerment of women.” She further emphasized that some of the most remarkable women today are the survivors of sexual harassment and assaults who have empowered others through their disclosure of workplace abuses that previously went largely unreported and unaddressed.
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Attorney Nina Pirrotti provided the evening’s keynote speech.
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Following the keynote speech, Young Lawyers Section Women in the Law Committee Co-Chairs Kara A. Newell and Audrey E. Trace introduced and presented the Ladder Award to Attorney Jacobsen. In her remarks, Attorney Jacobsen conveyed her personal journey as an attorney living with Parkinson’s Disease. She explained that after graduating with a bachelor’s degree in sociology in 1991, she decided to enter law school due to a downturn in employment opportunities at the time. She began her career at Statewide Legal Services, where she gained appreciation for the work of helping those in need find justice in the legal system, which led her to later join the Commission on Human Rights and Opportunities (CHRO).
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(From L to R) YLS Women in the Law Committee Co-Chair Audrey E. Trace, 2025 Ladder Award Winner Kimberly Jacobsen, CBA Executive Director Lina Lee,
and YLS Women in the Law Committee Co-Chair Kara A. Newell
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Today Attorney Jacobsen continues to serve as the Managing Director and Commission Attorney of Employment Litigation at CHRO. She noted the importance that she has placed on mentoring others at the organization, stating, “Mentoring is the greatest, I always get more than I put into those situations. If I take someone under my wing, I’m always learning more from them.” Towards the conclusion of her remarks, she explained that she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s Disease in 2019. “I’m lucky, I had amazing colleagues who really felt really close at the time and the support and love I got was overwhelming,” stated Attorney Jacobsen. “So, I decided I’m a Lawyer, and what I am going to do is some kind of awareness regarding this kind of disease. She continued by describing how over the past several years she has continued working professionally, while also produced YouTube videos, social media posts, and publications about living well with Parkinson’s to raise public awareness of the disease.
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| Attorney Jacobsen provided remarks after receiving the 2025 Ladder Award. |