WHITNEY HARWOOD MENNING ADAMS
WHITNEY HARWOOD MENNING ADAMS (61), General Counsel and Senior Vice President for Business Development of Cricket Technologies, died Sunday, September 23, 2007, after a long and bravely fought battle against breast cancer. Services will be on October 6, 2007, at 11 a.m., at St. Albans Parish Church, 3001 Wisconsin Avenue NW, Washington, DC. A reception at the Parish Church will follow the services. Whitney was a pioneer in the modern women's rights movement. Early in her career, she was a member of the Board of Directors of the National Organization for Women. In that role, she challenged discrimination against women in television broadcasting and at major private employers. Throughout her life she remained a champion of women's rights. Born in Decatur, Illinois, Whitney grew up in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, where her parents, Jack and Dorothy Menning, were professors at the University of Alabama. She received a B.A. from Randolph Macon Woman's College (Lynchburg Virginia) (Magna cum Laude, Phi Beta Kappa), an M.A. from the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill (East European History), and a J.D. from George Washington University (Cum Laude), where she was Van Vleck Moot Court Champion. While attending law school she worked at the Federal Reserve Board, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights, and the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. Following her graduation from law school, she served for six years as an Assistant United States Attorney, where she handled complex criminal and civil litigation. She then served as Assistant General Counsel for Litigation at the Securities and Exchange Commission and Deputy General Counsel for Litigation at the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Beginning in 1987, she practiced as a litigator in her own firm and with major law firms, including four years with Rogers & Wells (now Clifford Chance), where she handled large, complex civil litigation. In 2001, she co-founded Cricket Technologies, a company specializing in forensic electronic discovery. She served as the first woman Chair of the American Bar Association's White Collar Crime Committee, a Vice Chair of the ABA's Criminal Law Section, and a Barrister of the Edward Bennett Williams Inn of Court. She was the first woman Chair of the Washington Federal Court's lawyer disciplinary committee. A frequent commentator on CNBC, MSNBC, and Fox News regarding legal issues, she served on the Virginia State Treasury Board, the Virginia State Council for Higher Education, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Labor Policy Committee, the Northern Virginia Technology Council, and the Board of Directors of the Greater Washington Boys and Girls Clubs. She was a member of the Sedona Group, the nation's leading organization on electronic discovery in litigation. In 1998, she was a candidate for the Virginia legislature. Her family and friends will remember her as an uncompromising advocate for women's rights, a tenacious litigator, a strong-willed person who motivated others to perform at their highest level, a creative entrepreneur, and a loving mother. Survivors include two sons, Taylor and McLean Copus, a brother, Colby Menning, a nephew, Preston Menning, and loving friend, Chuck Smith. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests contributions be made to Susan G. Komen for the Cure, to fight breast cancer. Donations can be made in remembrance of Whitney to: Susan G. Komen for the Cure, 5005 LBJ Freeway, Suite 250, Dallas Texas 75244. - See more at: http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/washingtonpost/obituary.aspx?page=notice&pid=95305880#fbLoggedOut
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