Dialogues around reproductive health and the law are usually refracted through the lens of the male/female gender binary. Join OUTLaw and HLSA in welcoming Callie Butcher and Elissa Wev to discuss the ways in which LGBT individuals who challenge the gender binary are often left out of the conversation and how the issues they face go overlooked.

Hosted by OUTLaw and HLSA.  Burritos from Tacos Y Mas for all who RSVP!

Callie Butcher (she/her) is a senior managing associate in Sidley Austin’s Dallas office, where she focuses her practice on complex patent litigation and patent licensing. Callie was recognized in the 2021 and 2022 editions of The Best Lawyers as one of the “Ones to Watch in America” and “Women In the Law: Ones To Watch” for intellectual property litigation, and was named a 2022 “Top Women Lawyer” by Texas Diversity Council. Her litigation practice focuses on a variety of technologies, such as wireless communications, semiconductor manufacturing, and consumer electronics. Callie also has expertise assisting clients in connection with IP acquisitions, patent cross-licensing investigation and negotiation, and IP due diligence, as well as trademark, trade secret, and unfair competition claims. Callie is the president of the Dallas LGBT Bar Association, and she also serves on the Board of Directors of the Dallas Association of Young Lawyers and the Dallas Bar Association.

Elissa Wev (she/her/ella) began her legal career as a bilingual Public Defender in Dallas County, where she provided criminal defense to individuals from low income situations and fought to overcome poverty-biased procedures and punishments. Her advocacy and views on criminal justice are rooted in that work. 

Elissa joined the Dallas County District Attorney’s Office in 2016 to offer a more balanced perspective to criminal prosecution.  She spent several years in the Family Violence Division, prosecuting strangulations, aggravated assaults, and murders that occur in intimate partner relationships.  In 2019, Elissa was promoted to the Public Integrity Division, where she responded to and presented officer-involved shootings and deaths in custody to the Grand Jury, and prosecuted public service misconduct offenses.  Seeking to make a further reaching community impact, Elissa ran for judge of a county criminal court  as the first openly-queer Latina to do so in Dallas County.  She now works as a criminal defense attorney and community advocate.

A lifetime Longhorn, Elissa earned her undergraduate degrees from The University of Texas at Austin and her J.D. from The University of Texas School of Law.  The first in her Mexican immigrant family to attend college, Elissa is dedicated to advancing greater equity and representation in the legal profession.  Elissa participated in the Dallas County District Attorney's LGBTQ+ Task Force, helping advise members of the office on Queer related issues impacting prosecution.  She currently serves as the Secretary and VP of Membership for the Dallas LGBT Bar Association.