Philadelphia, PA -- (ReleaseWire) -- 10/18/2006 --White and Williams LLP will present the First Annual Virginia Barton Wallace Award at a special luncheon in Center City Philadelphia to NBC10 News anchor Renee Chenault-Fattah on Wednesday, October 25, 2006.

The award includes a ten thousand dollar check, which will be presented to a charity of Chenault-Fattah’s choice. White and Williams has established this award to honor Virginia “Ginny” Barton Wallace, their first female partner, and to honor women in the legal profession. In memory of “Ginny” this will be a women only attended event.

“Ginny Wallace was a true pioneer among female attorneys,” said Gale White, a partner in the Commercial Litigation Department at White and Williams. After earning her undergraduate degree from Wellesley College, she took an intern position at the Saturday Evening Post in Philadelphia. During World War II, Wallace earned the rank of 1st Lieutenant, while serving with the Women’s Army Air Corps. At the end of the war, she entered the University of Wyoming with plans to become a legal secretary. Instead, when a business law professor told her she should be a lawyer, she transferred to the University of Pennsylvania where she received her law degree in 1950. After graduation, Wallace joined White and Williams. In 1961, she became one of White and Williams first female partners.

“Wallace was well known in the field of Trusts and Estates, and was highly regarded in the prestigious Orphans’ Court of Philadelphia,” said White. “Even though she retired from White and Williams in 1980, she continued to consult for the firm until she was in her 90s. Sadly, Ginny passed away in 2002 so now we honor her memory and contribution to women in law.”

White and Williams will present the First Annual Award in Wallace’s memory to Renee Chenault-Fattah, news anchor for NBC-10 News since 1995. Chenault-Fattah is a rarity among her Philadelphia television colleagues: she is both an attorney and broadcast journalist. From 1982 to 1986, she practiced law in New York City and remains a member of the New York Bar. Like Wallace, she received her law degree from the University of Pennsylvania, and exemplifies the same spirit with which Wallace pursued her careers in journalism and law.

The grand event will take place at the Four Seasons Hotel located at 18th Street and the Ben Franklin Parkway. The program will begin with a brief seminar presented by Stacy West Clark, Esq. of Stacy Clark Marketing LLC and Nancy Conrad, Esq. of White and Williams on the “Ethics of Media Relations and Presentation Skills for Professional Women.” The luncheon and award ceremony will follow.

White and Williams LLP is one of the largest law firms in the Philadelphia region. The firm represents a large, diverse client base including banks, bank-holding companies, product manufacturers, insurance companies, colleges and universities, service and distribution companies, health care institutions, real estate developers, retailers, title insurance companies and brokerage firms.

White and Williams attorneys are proud of the century-old heritage of excellence, innovation and integrity left to them by their predecessors. Every day, they dedicate themselves to maintaining their reputation, case by case, client by client. Their focus remains on their clients, whose goals and objectives they strive to understand and serve. For more Information, visit www.whiteandwilliams.com