The University of Mississippi School of Law will host attorney, Ellen Krug, Tuesday, February 6th for a visit to both the law school and the Ole Miss campus. She will host a reception for up to 20 people prior to her main talk. Food will be provided!
Ellen (Ellie) Krug became the first Iowa attorney to transition genders “on the job.” As a civil trial
attorney leading her own firm, her 2009 transition from male to female became quite the
conversation topic within the Iowa Bar. The fact that she won a jury trial as her “true” self just
two months after transitioning cemented even more the idea that yes, maybe all of this would
work.
But it was not to be. Fairly quickly, Ellie’s major clients—railroads and trucking companies—cut
their ties, forcing Ellie to close her firm.
In 2010, Ellie moved to Minneapolis to start a legal nonprofit that eventually won an American
Bar Association award for increasing legal access. Now, she speaks and trains across the
country and in Canada on what it means to be transgender and “other” in the legal profession.
What does it mean to be an out “trans” person, particularly when you’re a lawyer? What can
others do to make trans people feel welcomed and accepted? What actions or words should
they avoid? How does “passing” or not “passing” or the absence of legal rights in many states
play into a transgender person’s daily life? (Trans people have legal rights in only 20 states and
D.C.) And what about the idea this is simply a “choice”?
Join national speaker, diversity consultant, radio host and author Ellie Krug as she shares what
it means to be transgender and offers tips and advice on how to be inclusive toward anyone
who identifies as trans or “non-binary.” The talk will include some brief sharing of Ellie’s
personal story and many basics about pronouns, “passing,” and other trans-related inclusivity
issues, particularly for legal professionals.