2026 Twentieth Annual Banquet
October 19, 2026
MAMA Seattle’s Twentieth Annual Banquet will be held on October 19, 2026 at the Four Seasons Hotel in Seattle. Each year at the Annual Banquet, MAMA Seattle presents its Betty Binns Fletcher Leadership and Justice Award to an individual who has paved the way to success for, and has served as an inspiration to, other women attorneys striving to excel in their legal careers while balancing family demands.
MAMA Seattle is pleased to announce Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud is the 2026 Betty Binns Fletcher Leadership and Justice Award recipient.
Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud
Justice Sheryl Gordon McCloud was first elected to the Washington Supreme Court in 2012 after more than 25 years as an accomplished lawyer serving clients across the state. The people of Washington have reelected her twice since then.
As a Supreme Court Justice, she co-chairs the Court’s Gender & Justice Commission. She also serves as the Court’s liaison to the Washington State Bar’s Council on Public Defense. And she is a long time member of the Court’s Rules Committee, responsible for rules – such as rules targeting race discrimination in jury selection – governing courts throughout Washington. She also speaks regularly at legal and community events on topics ranging from the importance of independent judges to current noteworthy cases. Her dedication and expertise as a Justice have been recognized by groups ranging from Washington Women Lawyers to the Cardozo Society.
Justice McCloud has participated in all the cases that the Court has considered for over 13 years—and her decisions reflect careful attention to constitutional and individual rights. She authored the Court’s 2017 opinion in State v. Arlene’s Flowers; it recognized that Washington law bars stores that provide goods and services to the public from discriminating against gay couples. She also authored the dissent from the Court’s 2023 decision in State v. Quinn, on Washington’s newly enacted capital gains tax; she emphasized the importance of our state constitution’s language, history, and protections.
Justice McCloud’s judicial independence was foreshadowed by her long career as a lawyer. She always made time to serve indigent clients, often in the most difficult contests with the government. She received the Washington Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers’ highest award for “extraordinary courage” in taking on such cases. Justice McCloud was an invited member of the American Association of Appellate Lawyers and a founding member of the Washington Appellate Lawyers Association, both of which limit membership to the most accomplished appellate lawyers. She also taught at Seattle University School of Law.