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Foundation Facts
April 2010
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Nebraska State Bar Foundation
635 S. 14th Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
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Dear Foundation Fellows:
Like many of you, I'm so glad spring has arrived! It energizes me, and I look forward
to the upcoming LRE events!
Cordiallly,
Doris
Doris Huffman
Executive Director
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22nd Annual Fellows Dinner
New Fellows Inducted, Honors Bestowed
Judge Beam Accepts Lifetime Achievement Award |
A great time was had
by all at the Fellows Dinner, which was held in Omaha on Friday, May 12,
2010. Mother Nature even cooperated and
we had no blizzards!
The Irish band, Cherish
the Ladies, entertained the new class of Fellows, award recipients Patrick J.
Borchers, Robert H. Berkshire, and The Honorable C. Arlen Beam, as well as family and
many friends of the Foundation.
Foundation Fellows Dinner Photos
Fellows Dinner News Release
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Law Day Essay Contest
Celebration and Program on May 4
Professor Raymond T. Nimmer | The Foundation had a 38% increase in essays received this year. We are looking forward to
congratulating the winners at the Law Day luncheon, which will be held May 4th
at the Governor's Residence.
We will be awarding a scholarship
to one high school student to attend the National Student Leadership Conference
this summer. The Foundation is grateful
to McGrath North Mullin and Kratz law firm for most generously providing funding for this scholarship.
The guest speaker at the Law
Day luncheon, Professor Raymond T. Nimmer of the University of Houston Law Center, will be addressing the topic of democracy and technology. Nimmer will present "Star Wars: Clash of Law,
Digital Technology, and the Internet." The Bar Foundation is appreciative of the
financial support given by West, a Thomson Reuters business, to sponsor the
presentation.
Professor Nimmer will also interact with some students in Greater Nebraska classrooms via distance learning equipment recently donated for use at the Capitol. Related Distance Learning Story The Essay Contest is jointly sponsored by the Foundation and the Nebraska Supreme Court. To view the question addressed by this year's essayists and to learn more about the the program, visit the Foundation's Law Day Essay Contest web page. |
Law Day Job Shadowing
400 Fifth Graders to Observe Careers in the Law
Fifth graders are eagerly awaiting this
event. They really enjoy learning about
the courthouse, drug dogs and, of course, the jail! The comments we receive on their surveys
always indicate many of them have career aspirations in law-related fields.
New this year are Job Shadowing Orientation Podcasts created for both students and teachers. PEOPLE Committee Co-Chair Tom Keefestars in these online instructional videos. The videos were created in the studio of Educational Service Unit (ESU) 10 in Kearney, with technical assistance from videographer William Bolen.
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New Voters' Guide - Judicial Retention
Now Posted on Judicial Branch Web Site
The Foundation's PEOPLE (Public
Education Outreach Promoting the Law & Equity) Media subcommittee has been
busy with the approval of a new voter-education Web page for the Judicial
Branch Web site. This page will provide the public with detailed
information about Nebraska's judicial retention elections.
Topics include why Nebraska chose the merit selection, resources for voters to
evaluate judges and ways in which courts are accountable to the public. Additionally,
difficult questions are addressed regarding unpopular court decisions and the
personal views of a judge.
The Committee continues to encourage judges to upload their Judicial Profiles
to the judicial website to give voters a broader picture of the background and
work of our judiciary.
Review
the information: Judicial Branch Web Site
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PEOPLE Committee Promotes
Student Journalism Education
Court of Appeals Judge William Cassel and
Supreme Court Law Clerk Robin Hadfield recently teamed up to teach University of Nebraska journalism students about Nebraska courts.
Working with Professor Joe Weber and his news writing students, Cassel and Hadfield led a session at the Capitol in which they discussed the structure of the court system, showed the students court filiings, and reviewed functions of the trial court as well as the role of the appellate courts.
Guided by Hadfield, the students chose appellate level cases to "cover" after observing oral arguments in the courtroom.
The relationship with the University School of Journalism was originally
cultivated by Judges Tom Otepka and Todd Hutton of the PEOPLE Committee as a
means to train up-and-coming court news reporters.
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Reaching the Age of Majority
Newly Revised Booklet Now Being Printed
Thanks to the hard work and dedication of Lincoln attorneys Marc Pierce and Keith
Peters, who chaired the revision of this booklet, the final copy is being
formatted now. Twenty-one additional lawyers, judges, and professors contributed to the publication.
In addition to the existing 19 chapters, there will
be several new chapters in the booklet including Sexting, Internet Safety, and Search and Seizure.
If your firm would like to fund the printing of this educational booklet
that has a distribution of over 10,000 copies annually, please contact me.
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Distance Learning Equipment Donated to Capitol
Justice Wright Accepts on Behalf of Court
Justice John Wright
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Examples of such enrichment activities include the recent
Constitution Day program with Ben Franklin re-enactor, Christopher Lowell,
which was transmitted to seven classes in the Kearney area in September
2009. The upcoming Law Day keynote
address on May 4 will also involve students in Western Nebraska who will
interact with Professor Raymond T. Nimmer following his presentation at the
Capitol.
Gordon Rothemeyer,Director of Distance Education for the
Educational Service Units Coordinating Council, was instrumental in obtaining
the gift of distance learning equipment for the Capitol. John Stritt and other staff members at
Educational Service Unit 10 in Kearney have been generous in providing
technical assistance to the Court and the Foundation for developing and delivering
law-related education content.
Press Conference News Release & Photos
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Endowment Management Committee (EMC)
New Committee Member Welcomed
The EMC is scheduled to meet again in May. We are delighted to welcome Allen Overcash with Woods & Aitken to the committee. He will be an excellent addition to this dedicated group of individuals.
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About the Foundation's Programs
If you have questions about the Foundation's Law-Related Education program for the pubic, please contact me by email: Doris Huffman. You may reach me by phone at 1-800-773-5396 or 402-475-1042.
Nebraska State Bar Foundation
635 S. 14th Street, Suite 120
Lincoln, Nebraska 68508
Nebraska State Bar Foundation
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Fellows Spotlight
"Excelling in all of his endeavors, including student,
Army officer, businessman, lawyer, judge, and family man, Judge Arlen Beam
embodies the qualities for which the Foundation's Lifetime Achievement Award
was created to recognize."
-Chief Judge William Jay Riley, Eighth Circuit Court of Appeals
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