Weekly Newsletter        |          March 20, 2013
Message from BALIF Co-Chairs 

Greetings!

 

Wow...what a party!  This past Friday, BALIF hosted our 33rd Annual Dinner and Awards Gala at the Bentley Reserve.  Nearly 700 attended, including BALIF's 2013 sponsors, judges, elected officials, BALIF members and our community allies. Congratulations again to BALIF's 2013 Awardees: the Gay & Lesbian Victory Fund (Community Service Award), AIDS Legal Referral Panel (Legal Service Award), and Stanford Law School's OUTlaw (Law Student Association of the Year).  
  
After the Gala, the celebration continued with more than 100 people at the BALIF After Party at the Lookout.  Thank you to BALIF's Gala Co-Chairs, Jamie Dupree and John Unruh, the Gala Committee, and BALIF's administrator, Katie Carlson, for their considerable hard work in making this year's Gala Simply Fabulous! And thank you to everyone who joined us to celebrate.  You looked amazing!  See photos from BALIF's Red Carpet, the VIP reception and the Gala here! 

Did you have a great time at the Gala?  Then consider joining the BALIF Board that makes the magic happen. 
BALIF will be electing new Board members at our annual meeting on April 16, 2013 at the Sausage Factory.  Nominations are due by March 29, 2013.  Complete details regarding BALIF elections can be found below, or feel free to contact BALIF's Secretary, Laura Maechtlen with any questions.  

 

We look forward to seeing you all again very soon!
 

Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu

BALIF Co-Chairs


ChelseaHN

 

Calling All Potential BALIF Board Members -- Submit Your Nominations For The BALIF Board of Directors Now!

BALIF will be electing new Board members on April 16, 2013 for   

the 2013-2015 term, and invite our members to nominate candidates for consideration. Each Director holds office for two years, and we invite third-party and self-nominations for open director positions. To nominate someone for a director position, please send a candidate statement of 250 words or less to [email protected] and [email protected] by Friday, March 29, 2013 at 5:30 p.m.

 

Elections will be online, and there will be an opportunity for individuals to vote in person at the General Membership Meeting on Tuesday, April 16, 2013 at the Sausage Factory from 6 - 8:30 pm. The results will be announced at the end of the General Membership Meeting.

 

Questions about the Board?  Visit this link, or contact

 [email protected].       

Need  a Job? Time for a New One?career1

 

JOBS. JOBS. JOBS. It's the biggest need of our young lawyers and law students.  In response, BALIF has put together our very first CAREER & NETWORKING EXPO.  Join BALIF attorneys and legal hiring experts for this unprecedented BALIF event to help you nail down that job.

 

Saturday, April 6, 2013

1 pm - 5 pm

Golden Gate  University   School of Law

536 Mission Street

San Francisco,  CA   94105-2968

 

  • Latest update -- six employers (and counting) will be hiring at the Expo. 
  • 25+ Tables staffed by BALIF attorneys to give you the insider perspective on a spectrum of practice areas. Click here for an updated list. 
  • One-on-one mock interview sessions.
  • Individual resume counseling provided by Robert Half Legal.
  • "Power Networking" Panel.  Let BALIF members who found their jobs through networking show you how to do it. 
  • Navigating the Legal Spectrum" Panel.  Haven't decided what area of law you want to pursue?  Come sample a bit of everything to help you decide.
  • Networking Mixer at RN74 to put to practice, the skills you've learned all day, sponsored by Sedgwick. 
  • Event staffed by diversity and recruiting directors from a number of Bay Area law firms.

 

New firms added daily. Click here to see the full list. 

 

If you're on the job hunt, this event is your wisest investment.   RSVP now!

 

If your firm is interested in staffing a table, please contact On Lu at [email protected].

 

Co-sponsored by Golden Gate School of Law and Sedgwick LLP.  

FREE Tickets to the AABA Annual Dinner
BALIF Members, we have some free tickets to the AABA Annual Dinner this Thursday March 21, 2013!  Please email [email protected] if you are interested.  First come, first serve basis.  

BALIF Table for Six Singles
March 26th at 7:00 pm
 
Let's go on a classic San Francisco adventure in search of great food (at a great price). Throw in some great people and some thoughtful conversation; and we have the perfect week day evening.  And who knows . . . you just might meet that special someone.  A table for the gentlemen. A table for the ladies.
RSVP to [email protected]. Your favorite restaurant suggestions are welcome. 
Join the BALIF Listserv!

Have a job or need one? Civil procedure question? Need a

referral? Have something important to ask ... or news to tell? Want to get to our members quickly? Join our Listserv!

 

Over the next few weeks, we will be sending out requests ONLY to BALIF members to join our newly-created Listserv. You must proactively respond to the request in order to be added to our Listserv (we will try to send out reminders to those of you who did not have the chance to respond). If you don't get a request by the end of April, please let us know. And, if you want to be added sooner than we can send out requests, shoot an email to [email protected] or [email protected].

Congratulations to BALIF Member 
David Tsai

Perkins Coie's David Tsai has been recognized by the Daily

Journal as one of the top "Five Associates to Watch" in California. David's profile, which appeared in the February 27 special section that included the Top 20 Under 40 attorneys in California, focused on his intellectual property experience and his work in the Taipei office. DtsaiColor

 

David is a great asset to the Perkins Coie San Francisco office and we are extremely pleased that his hard work, dedication to community service and extraordinary business development skills have been recognized.

 
Please join Perkins Coie in congratulating David on this prestigious and well deserved recognition!
 
The OUTreach Committee Needs You!
The OUTreach Committee is looking for a few good men and women to help out.  To learn more about OUTreach, please check out our committee description here.  Specifically, we are looking for Balif members to help coordinate and act as a liaison with other LGBT groups, minority bar associations, and LGBT Volunteer Groups.  Please send an email to [email protected] if you are interested.
Announcing Reed Smith's 
2013 Diverse Scholars Program
The National LGBT Bar Association is pleased to present Reed Smith's 2013 Diverse Scholars Program. Reed Smith has a strong commitment to diversity which has resulted in a firm in which diversity and inclusion permeate the culture. Rewarding young future leaders for their efforts in the area of diversity and introducing them to the Reed Smith culture are two important goals of this program.

Click here for more details.
Increasing Diversity in the Legal Profession: Expanding the Community College Pipeline

What: 

Increasing Diversity in the Legal Profession - A conference for minority and other diverse community college students, high school and community college faculty.

 

When:

Friday, March 22, 2013 - 9:00 am - 5:00 pm

 

Where:

Chabot College, 25555 Hesperian Blvd., Hayward, CA

Event Center, Room 722

 

Registration is Free. To register or for more information, contact William Hanson: [email protected]; (510) 723-2614 

 

View flyer here! 

ALRP Free Winter 2013 MCLE Training

 

Introduction to Trusts for LGBTQ Clients

  • Wednesday, March 27, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Bill Ambrunn, Esq., Law Offices of Bill Ambrunn
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

 

Click here for more details!

U.S. Supreme Court Schedules 
Oral Argument Dates for 
Prop 8 and DOMA Cases

The Supreme Court announced that it will hear oral argument in Hollingsworth v. Perry, the federal constitutional challenge to California's Proposition 8, on Tuesday, March 26, 2013. The Court also announced that it will hear oral argument in United States v. Windsor, a constitutional challenge to DOMA, on Wednesday, March 27, 2013. The Supreme Court granted certiorari in both cases on December 7, 2012. BALIF looks forward to becoming involved in these cases. Decisions on both these cases are expected by the end of June.  

 

An audio recording of the oral arguments will be released on the Supreme Court website the same day they are heard. 

 

Click here to read the Windsor case (DOMA), a brief that BALIF was invited to join as co-amicus.

 Click here to read the Perry case (Prop 8), a brief that BALIF coordinated as the lead amicus on behalf of approximately 60 other organizations.
Lesbian Businesswomen Social
You are invited to a wine and hors d' oeuvres social!

April 18, 2013
5:00-7:00 pm

Monty White LLP
1000 Fourth Street, Suite 425
San Rafael, CA

Hosted by:
Barbara Monty
Attorney/Mediator

Lenore O'Connor
Chartered Financial Consultant

 

Please RSVP by April 10th to [email protected].

Zamperini / Burchell Scholarship
20th Anniversary Reception
The Queer Law Student Association (QLSA) at Golden Gate University invites you to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Zamperini/Burchell Endowed Scholarship. QLSA will be holding a reception in honor of Professor Michael Zamperini and his partner Clay Burchell for twenty years of dedication to LGBT students at GGU.  The scholarship is awarded annually to a 3L gay or lesbian law student based on overall academic achievement and academic performance in Writing & Research courses.  

The event will be held on Wednesday, March 27, 2013 from 5:30 to 8 PM at Coblentz Patch Duffy & Bass LLP, One Ferry Building, Suite 200, San Francisco, CA 94111-4213 , please RSVP here: http://ggulawzamperini.eventbrite.com/
Queen's Bench Invites You to a Panel Discussion

Thursday, April 18, 2013
6:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. 

 

International Women's Rights
An informative discussion of the challenges women face
in their quest for equal rights around the world

Panelists:

  • Judge Farjana Yesmin
  • Judge Ruth Astle
  • Judge Mary Kasango
  • Nancy J. Newman

Golden Gate University School of Law, 536 Mission Street, San Francisco 

 

Admission free for QB members and students.  

To register, contact [email protected] or 415-249-9280.

See  flyer for more details.

$10 for non-members. Click here to purchase ticket.

LGBT Parentage
"LGBT Parentage- How LGBT people create children, and when and why it matters to be a legal parent"

Thursday, April 18, 2013 
11:30 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Lunch (provided)
12:00 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. Learning Session

This presentation will survey the different methods of creating family, including adoption, fost-adopt, surrogacy, and assisted reproduction technology. The panelists will explain the difference between a bio and non-bio parent, a natural parent under California law, second-parent and step-parent adoption, and presumed parentage for married and domestically partnered couples. Most important for financial planners and other professionals, will be tools to understand the relative costs in terms of time and money to your clients, the effect on your clients of various legal statuses, and what to suggest when things go wrong.

To RSVP, please contact Jenna Heath via email or call 415.398.2333 x115.
 
Northern Trust 
580 California Street, 18th Floor  
San Francisco, CA 
4th Annual California 
Diversity & Leadership Conference

Thursday, April 18 - Friday, April 19, 2013

 

Click here for more information and to register!

 

We are very fortunate to have Former Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm as our Keynote Speaker for the Awards Breakfast on April 18, and CNN Morning Anchor Soledad O'Brien will be giving the closing Keynote Address on Friday, April 19! 

 

Location:

Hilton Concord

1970 Diamond Blvd

Concord, CA 94520

http://www.concordhilton.com/

 

Please call 1-800-826-2644 and ask for reservation and then ask for the California Diversity & Leadership Conference.

BALIF Member-Endorsed Events

 

BALIF member Enrique A. Monagas serves on the Board of Directors of the New ConservatoryTheatre Center and gives two-thumbs up to "A Benefit Concert to End Bullying."  The concert benefits the New ConservatoryTheatre Center's Youth Aware program that combats homophobia. 

 

New Conservatory Theatre Center

A Benefit Concert to End Bullying

Featuring the Yale Whiffenpoofs
with Special Guest Star Taye Diggs

 

Saturday April 20, 2013 at 8:00 pm
Palace of Fine Arts Theatre
San Francisco, CA

Click here to buy tickets!

Click here for more information!
 
**Do you have an event or activity that you'd like to publicize to BALIF members? Send details to [email protected] 
BASF's Mind the Gap Program: 
Mentors Needed!

This new exciting initiative called "Mind the Gap" (MTG) is to provide recent law school graduates and young attorneys who are unemployed or underemployed with training, work experience, mentorship connections and debt reduction information. BASF is looking for attorneys to serve as mentors to MTG participants. A mentorship Listserv consisting of MTG participants and interested mentors will be created where mentees can post questions and mentors can respond with answers and general advice. 

 

If you are interested in becoming an MTG mentor, please email [email protected]

 

For more information, please visit www.sfbar.org/mind-the-gap.

We Want Your BALIFBuzz

We all love that section in our alumni newsletters that talks about who's doing what.

 

Well, we're introducing the BALIFBuzz to show-off all the great things that our members are doing.  BALIFBuzz will be appearing in the weekly BALIF newsletter.   

 

New job?

New client?

Promotion?

Court victory?

Significant settlement?

Baby on the way?

Recently married or engaged?

Speaking engagement?

Award, recognition, certification, or degree?  

Or anything else you're excited about...

 

Keep it to one or two lines.  Please send to [email protected].

 

Can't wait to hear your great news!

 

Lauri Bertolacci

BALIF Membership Chair


Job Postings Now on BALIF Website

All job postings can be found here!  

 

BALIF membership is required to view the job postings. Simply log into the BALIF website with your membership ID and password, and select the JOBS from the menu on the left.


Upcoming Events
April 6- BALIF's First Career Fair
May 7- BALIF Comedy Night
In This Issue
BALIF Board of Directors
Chelsea HaleyNelson & On Lu,  
BALIF Board 
  
Laura Maechtlen, Secretary 
 
John Robert Unruh, Treasurer  

 

Susan Bluer, Judiciary Committee Chair

 

Michael Wolchansky, 
StateBar/Conference of Delegates Committee Chair 

John Robert Unruh & 
Jamie Dupree,  Gala Co-Chairs 

Michael Wolchansky & Peter Catalanotti, Outreach/Current Events Committee Co-Chairs 

Laurie Bertolacci, Membership Committee Chair

Elizabeth Pritzker, Young Lawyers & Law Student Programs 

Lilah Sutphen & Nick Clements, Programs Committee Co-Chairs

David Sims, Social Committee Chair  

 

Mario M. Choi,  Communications & Public Relations Chair 

Nick Kacprowski, Amicus Committee

Nathan Bewley, Aditi Fruitwala & 
Milo Beitman,  Law Student Representatives
 
Katie Carlson, Administrator
Our 2013 Sponsors
Partner Level

A&P
Fenwick
HB Logo

Kilpatrick
Mofo
Sedgwick2
Seyfarth
ub
Wilson


Advocate Level

 

A.L. Nella & Company, CPAs

Bingham McCutcheon LLP

Cooley LLP

Farella Braun + Martel LLP

Huron Legal

Jones Day

Kirkland & Ellis LLP

Latham & Watkins LLP

Morgan, Lewis & Bockius LLP

Nixon Peabody LLP

O'Melveny & Meyers LLP

Orrick

Perkins Cole LLP

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP

Santa Clara University School of Law

Sheppard Mullin
Shook, Hardy & Bacon LLP

 

Benefactor Level

 

AT&T Legal Department

Clarence, Dyer & Cohen LLP / Swanson & McNamara LLP

Futterman Dupree Dodd Croley Maier LLP

Gibson Dunn

Jackson Lewis LLP

JAMS

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP

Littler Mendelson 

Mount, Spelman & Fingerman

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP

Neilson & MacRitchie Investigators

Office of the California Attorney General

Jennifer & Meredith Orthwein 

Paul Hastings

Pritzker Law

Reed Smith LLP

Robert Half Legal

Roeca Hass Hager LLP

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld

San Francisco City Attorney's Office

San Francisco District Attorney's Office

Schiff Hardin LLP

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP

Special Counsel

Stein & Lubin LLP

Turner Boyd

University of San Francsico School of Law

Wald & Thorndal P.C.

Wells Fargo

 

Individual Sponsors

 

Peter C. Catalanotti, Manning & Kass, Ellrod, Ramirez, Trester LLP

Michael Colantuono, Colantuono & Levin, P.C.

Todd Norris, Bullivant Houser Bailey

Debra R. Schoenberg, Schoenberg Family Law Group, P.C.

Cheryl Sena, Sena Family Law

Jonathan Shapiro, Wilmer Hale

Hon. James L. Warren (Ret.), JAMS


Follow BALIF
youtube
 
BALIF | | [email protected] | http://www.balif.org
1800 Market St.
Box 47
San Francisco, CA 94102

BALIF|  balif.org


Copyright © 20XX. All Rights Reserved.