Weekly Newsletter        |         March 25, 2014
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board
 
Greetings! 
 

 

Happy Spring! We at BALIF have been actively planning a number of events to keep your social and professional calendars full. Here are two happening this week.

 

This Thursday, March 27, from 6:00 to 8:00, join us for our March Happy Hour at Fusion Lounge (124 Ellis Street), graciously hosted by Courtroom Sciences. Have a drink, some good eats, and mingle with friends. And stay for the drag show that starts immediately after the Happy Hour!

 

For those of you looking for a job or a career change, bring your resume and join us this Saturday, March 29, from 12:30 to 6:00, for BALIF's Second Annual CAREER & NETWORKING EXPO. Details, including registration info, are below, but with over 40 organizations presenting, a number of employers hiring, resume reviews, and panels that will teach you the skills necessary to land that job, you cannot miss this opportunity! And, join us for our post-Expo reception 111 Minna Art Gallery, from 6:00 to 7:30, generously sponsored by Robert Half Legal, to put those skills to work!

 

Don't miss these events!

 

 

Cheers,

 

Mario Choi

BALIF Board Young Lawyers & 

Law Student Programs Committee Chair

 

BALIF Career & Networking Expo
List of Confirmed Organizations

 

As of today, we have over 40 employers who will be at the Expo. Here's a list:

 

Futterman Dupree Dodd Croley Maier LLP

Law Offices of Linda M. Scaparotti*

Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi LLP- Oakland office*

Laughlin, Falbo, Levy & Moresi  LLP- San Francisco office

NovaBay Pharmaceutical, Inc.

San Francisco District Attorney's Office

Cooley LLP

Callaway & Wolf

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP*

 National Center for Lesbian Rights

Perkins Coie LLP

Mediation Law Offices of Barbara S. Bryant

Edward P. Joy, Attorney at Law

AIDS Legal Referral Panel

Johnston Kinney and Zulaica LLP*

Kaplan Fox & Kilsheimer LLP

US District Court for the Northern District of California

Pritzker | Law*

Dickson Geesman LLP

Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C.

Farella Braun + Martel

San Francisco City Attorney's Office 

Rosen Bien Galvan & Grunfeld LLP

Fenwick & West LLP*

Service Employees International Union Local 1000*

Manning & Kass Ellroad Ramirez Trester LLP

San Francisco Superior Court

Sanford Heisler*

Allysyn Overton Law*

 Law Office of Okan Sengun, PC*

Department of Health and Human Services, Office for Civil Rights

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe*

Reed Smith LLP*

Lewis, Brisbois, Bisgaard and Smith

La Casa De Las Madres

Bullivant Houser Bailey PC

Transgender Law Center

Sally Morin Professional Corporation*

Seyfarth Shaw

Rudy, Exelrod, Zieff & Lowe, LLP

Novak Druce Connolly Bove + Quigg LLP*

Littler Mendelson P.C.*

 

 

* - Organizations that are accepting resumes.

 

 

Click here to see the list! And make sure you register!

BALIF's Second Annual 
Career & Networking Expo 
 

 

What continues to be the biggest need for our young lawyers and law students? Jobs!

 

BALIF's Second Annual CAREER & NETWORKING EXPO

Saturday, March 29, 2014

12:30 pm - 6 pm

Golden Gate University School of Law

536 Mission Street

San Francisco, CA 94105-2968

  • Latest Update: Over 40 firms, non-profits, government agencies, and recruiters will be on hand to give you the insider perspective on a spectrum of practice areas and organizations!
  • One-on-one mock interview sessions.
  • Individual resume counseling.
  • "Power Prepping" Panel. Let us share our experiences with the job hunt and what you can do while looking for that perfect job.
  • "Power Networking" Panel. Let BALIF members who found their jobs through networking (including through last year's Expo!) show you how to do it!
  • "Power Interviewing" Panel. Let the pros show you how to bring it all together and nail that job offer!
  • Networking Mixer at 111 Minna Gallery, from 6:00- 7:30pm, to put to practice the skills you've learned all day! Sponsored by Robert Half Legal

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

 

Co-sponsored by Robert Half Legal & Golden Gate School of Law.

 

 

 

 

Join the BALIF Board of Directors!

 

A great way to serve the LGBT legal community and become more involved in BALIF is to join BALIF's Board of Directors. BALIF's Directors are elected by the BALIF membership, and each Director holds office for two years. Any BALIF member is welcome to run for the Board or nominate another BALIF member. BALIF's bylaws reflect the Board's commitment to "equality, parity, and diversity," and we specifically encourage people of color, women, and transgender and/or gender non-conforming individuals to run for the Board. All Directors must attend BALIF's Board Retreat the evening of Friday, May 9 and all day Saturday, May 10, 2014.

 

To run for the Board or nominate someone else, please send a candidate statement of up to 250 words to Julie Wilensky (secretary@balif.org) and BALIF's Administrator, Katie Carlson (balif@balif.org) by April 3, 2014 at 5:30 pm. BALIF's bylaws require gender parity on the Board, with a certain number of positions allocated to Directors who identify as male, female, and gender non-conforming. So if you are seeking a position, please indicate the category with which you identify.

 

Elections will be online starting on April 10, and there will be an opportunity to vote in person at BALIF's annual general membership meeting on Tuesday, April 24, 2014 from 6 - 8:30 p.m. The results will be announced at the end of the meeting.

 

Questions about the Board? Thinking about seeking a position? Feel free to contact Julie Wilensky at secretary@balif.org.

BALIF March Happy Hour

 

Please join us for the BALIF March Happy Hour!

Sponsored by Jinah Conroy of Courtroom Sciences

 

When: Thursday, March 27, 6-8 p.m. 

Where:Infusion Lounge

124 Ellis Street (between Mason and Powell)

San Francisco, CA

Golden Gate School of Law 
Zamperini-Burchell Scholarship Reception

Golden Gate University School of Law and Queer Law Student Association are celebrating 21 years of the Zamperini-Burchell Scholarship on March 27, 2014. This is a special event to honor the 2014 scholarship recipient, Dustin Helmer. The event is FREE with light appetizers and beverages served.

 

Date and Time:

March 27, 2014; 5:00 to 6:30 pm

 

Location:

GGU Law, 40 Jesse Street, San Francisco, CA.

6th Floor, Riley Conference Room.

 

Please RSVP here:

http://ggulawzamperinireception2014.eventbrite.com

BALIF East Bay Family Friendly Social
When: Saturday, April 5, 2014, 4:00 pm to 6:00 pm
Where: Lake Chalet - 1520 Lakeside Dr, Oakland, CA 94612
What: East Bay BALIF Family Social
Cost: Free for BALIF members and their families

Please join BALIF at our East Bay social for BALIF members (past, present, future) and their families.  Kids of all ages welcome. Kid friendly snacks and drinks will be provided; alcoholic beverages will be provided for current BALIF member adults. A face painter and balloon artist will be onhand to entertain the kids. This will be a great opportunity for BALIF parents to get to know one another.  

 

Not currently a BALIF member?  It's easy to join. Simply follow this link, and sign up on line.

BALIF Mixer with CAOC & MBC - 
4/10 RSVP Required

 

BALIF Mixer with the Consumer Attorneys of California and members of the Minority Bar Coalition.  Hosted bar and appetizers. 

When: Thursday, April 10th
, 5:30-7:30
Where: Otis Lounge, 25 Maiden Lane, San Francisco
 
BALIF / SF La Raza Summer Fellowship
BALIF / SF La Raza $5000 Summer Fellowship

Applications are due April 25, 2014.


BALIF Files Amicus Brief in Utah & Oklahoma Marriage Equality Cases

 

BALIF filed an amicus curiae brief last week with the Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals supporting the right of same-sex couples in Utah and Oklahoma to marry. A three-judge panel from the court will

hear Kitchen v. Herbert, on appeal from the District of Utah, an Bishop v. Smith, on appeal from the Northern District of Oklahoma, in April. The press release can be found here.

 

"These two cases are particularly important, because without judicial intervention it is unlikely that marriage equality will come to states like Utah or Oklahoma any time soon," said Nickolas Kacprowski, partner at Kirkland & Ellis in San Francisco and chair of BALIF's Amicus Committee.

 

The brief argues that because the sole purpose and effect of the Utah and Oklahoma bans on same-sex marriage is to impose inequality on same-sex couples, the bans are unconstitutional in the wake of the Supreme Court's decision in United States v. Windsor. Further, because Windsor opened the door to federal recognition of same-sex marriage, the tangible benefits associated with same-sex marriage and denied to same-sex couples by the bans are substantial.

 

The brief was filed with pro bono support from the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen. Jerome C. Roth and Nicole S. Phillis of Munger Tolles led the effort. Another great effort by Munger Tolles and the Amicus Committee!

 

Click here for the Amicus Brief.

LGBT Legal & 
Political Developments in Israel

 

The legal and political landscape for LGBT residents of Israel is changing rapidly, with emerging issues involving surrogacy for gay male couples, co-parenting arrangements, accommodation for transgender people, and the lack of civil marriage. Elinor Sidi is the director of Jerusalem Open House, a central location for social support, political activism and legal advocacy for the LGBT community. Sidi has also been involved in numerous social and political engagements regarding the role of Orthodox religion in LGBT affairs, and the concerns of gay Palestinians living in Israel . Come hear Sidi discuss the recent legal and political developments that affect the gay community in Israel. Thursday, April 17, 2014, 4:30 p.m. at the Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, San Francisco.  

 

This event is co-sponsored with the Bar Association of San Francisco's LGBT Equality Committee & International Human Rights Committee.

 

Attendees must RSVP by emailing Fred@Frederickhertz.com

Pride Law Fund
Upcoming Events
Celebrate the 35th Anniversary with Pride Law Fund in 2014.  

Save the date for our third annual Boat Cruise around the Bay on May 31, 2014 and keep an eye out for details about the first annual Pride Law Fund Wine Bus Adventure in Napa in the fall. 

You can donate on our website  at
http://www.pridelawfund.org/donate.php or send checks to Pride Law Fund, P.O. Box 2602, San Francisco, CA 94126-2602)
Seeking Women & Minority Arbitrators 
for Kaiser Permanente Panel

 

The Office of the Independent Administrator (OIA) is seeking qualified individuals who want to join its pool of possible arbitrators. There is no fee to do so and the OIA receives no money from the neutral arbitrators.

 

The OIA administers the arbitration system between Kaiser Permanente Health Plan, Inc., and its six million members in California. We administer about 650 cases a year and have approximately 275 neutral arbitrators on the panel. The panels are divided by region; Northern California, Southern California, and San Diego. The parties select their neutral arbitrator by striking and ranking 12 randomly generated names supplied by the OIA, or by jointly selecting any neutral arbitrator upon whom they can agree.   Neutrals set their own fees and are paid by the parties.

 

Among other requirements, neutral arbitrators must either be lawyers with either ten years of substantial litigation and/or arbitration experience; retired state or federal judges; or lawyers with specifically designed arbitration training.   Medical malpractice experience is not required. You must agree to follow the OIA Rules and ensure that the deadlines set forth in the Rules are met.

 

If interested, please go to the OIA at www.oia-kaiserarb.com. You may complete the application on line. You may also obtain copies by emailing oia@oia-kaiserarb.com or by calling 213-637-9847. The qualifications and a copy of the application are attached.

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples:
Is it Over Yet?

Marriage for Same-Sex Couples: Is it Over Yet?

Lecture by Professor Matthew Coles

Wednesday, March 26, 2014 from 3:30 - 4:30pm

Room B at UC Hastings

 

It looks like the question of whether the U.S. Constitution says states must marry same-sex couples is headed back to the Supreme Court. Is that a good thing? Would a win mean that the LGBT movement is mostly over? Stop in for some speculation on the next big moment in the legal movement for LGBT rights. Matthew Coles is the Deputy National Legal Director of the ACLU and Director of the ACLU's Equality Center.

 

For more information, visit here! 

2014 Lavender Law Conference & 
Career Fair Student Awards

The National LGBT Bar Association is now accepting submissions for the Student Leadership Award, the Michael Greenberg Writing Competition and the International Association of LGBT Judges Writing Competition

 

Student Leadership Award

The National LGBT Bar Association's Student Leadership Award is the organization's highest honor for law students. The award will recognize a law student who has demonstrated leadership within their school and in the surrounding community, especially in the area of LGBT equality.

 

Michael Greenberg Student Writing Competition

Established in memory of Michael Greenberg, a former National LGBT Bar Association board member and Philadelphia attorney who died in 1996 from complications with AIDS, this exciting competition is dedicated to encouraging and recognizing outstanding law student scholarship on the legal issues affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) persons.

 

International Association of LGBT Judges Student Writing Competition

The International Association of LGBT Judges sponsors a writing competition for all law students attending the 2014 Lavender Law Conference & Career Fair. This is an exciting opportunity for law students who wish to pursue their career as a member of the United States judiciary.

 

Timeline

All three student awards will follow the same final submission date of Friday, May 16, 2014 at 5:00pm ET. Late entries will not be considered. Students are able to enter all competitions, but only if they turn in different works for each submission.

Click here for full competition details. Should you have any questions, please send them to info@LGBTbar.org.

Follow BALIF on Twitter!

 

BALIF's twitter feed is up and running.  Follow us to see BALIF news, event info, #ThrowbackThursday posts, and more.  Just click the Twitter button at the bottom of the newsletter or here.

 

Uber Discount for BALIF Members
Request a ride with the push of a button! Uber is offering new users $20 off your first ride. Text BALIF to 827-222. You can also sign up at uber.com/go/BALIF and download the app for Android, Blackberry, or iPhone. Then sit back and enjoy the magic of Uber, everyone's private driver. (Valid for new users only, TAXI excluded).
Are you an expert in your field? Get your name in BALIF's new Expert Directory and get quoted!

 

BALIF members are experts in almost every legal specialization from antitrust to family law and we want to leverage our extensive media contacts list to raise the profiles of our experts. When a journalist needs an expert on securities law, prison law, employment law, or whatever your specialization is, she'll call you for that quote. 

 

If you want to be included in the BALIF Expert Directory,

please send a short email with the following to PR@balif.org:

 

Name, title and place of business

 

Fields and/or sub-fields you are an expert in (E.g., Employment and ERISA)

 

No more than 500 words on what makes you an expert: specific work experience, length of experience, published articles or books, and speaking appearances related to your topic.

Please reply only if you can truly be considered an expert in your field; general guidelines are at least 7-10 years of practice and/or additional qualifications that separate you from other attorneys.

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!

 

BALIF members should have received our invitation to join our newly-created Listserv. You must proactively respond to the request in order to be added to our Listserv. If you didn't get a request, please let us know by emailing technology@balif.org or balif@balif.org.

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 membership@balif.org.

 

Can't wait to hear your great news!

 

Meaghan Zore 

BALIF Membership Chair

 

Job Postings Now on BALIF Website

All job postings can be found here!  

 

BALIF membership must be current 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
March 27- Happy Hour Sponsored by Courtroom Sciences
March 29- BALIF Career Fair
April 5- BALIF East Bay Family Friendly Social
April 10- BALIF Mixer with CAOC & MBC
April 17- LGBT Legal & Political Developments in Israel
April 24- BALIF Board Election Night
BALIF Board of Directors
On Lu & Jamie Dupree
  
John Robert Unruh
Treasurer

Elizabeth Pritzker & Andrew Vu  
Judiciary Co-Chairs

John Robert Unruh & 
Lilah Sutphen
Gala Co-Chairs  
 
Meaghan Zore 

Nick Kacprowski
Amicus Chair   

 

Jennifer Orthwein
Communications Chair 

Leah Nutting  

Peter Catalanotti
Outreach Chair


Jessica Bogo
Social Action Chair 


Nick Clements  
Denise Bergin
Dustin Helmer & Midori Hirai
Katie Carlson
BALIF Administrator
Our 2014 Sponsors
Senior Partner Level
 
 
Partner Level

A&P


Fenwick
HB Logo
Kilpatrick

Mofo
Sedgwick2
Seyfarth


Wilson

Advocate Level

 

A.L. Nella & Company, CPAs 

AT&T 

Bingham McCutchen  

Farella Braun + Martel LLP 

Jones Day 

Mintz, Levin, Cohn, Ferris, Glovsky and Popeo, P.C. 

Nixon Peabody LLP 

O'Melveny & Meyers LLP 

Orrick, Herrington & Sutcliffe LLP 

Perkins Cole LLP 

Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP 

Santa Clara University School of Law 

Sheppard Mullin Richter & Hampton 

Shook Hardy & Bacon LLP 

 

Benefactor Level

 

Clarence, Dyer & Cohen LLP / Swanson & McNamara LLP 

Cooley Godward Kronish LLP 

FTI Consulting 

Futterman Dupree Dodd Croley Maier LLP 

Gibson Dunn & Crutcher 

Golden Gate University 

HaleyNelson & Heilbrun LLP 

Heath Newton LLP 

HendricksMurry, P.C. 

Jackson Lewis LLP 

JAMS 

Latham & Watkins LLP 

Lewis, Feinberg, Lee, Renaker & Jackson, P.C. 

Lieff Cabraser Heimann & Bernstein, LLP 

Littler Mendelson 

Munger, Tolles & Olson LLP 

Paul Hastings LLP 

Pritzker Law 

Reed Smith LLP 

Roeca Hass Hager LLP 

San Francisco City Attorney's Office

San Francisco District Attorney's Office 

Schiff Hardin LLP 

Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP 

Special Counsel 

Stein & Lubin LLP 

 

Individual Sponsors

 

Altep, Inc.  

Todd Norris, Bullivant Houser Bailey 

Michael Colantuono, Colantuono & Levin, P.C. 

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

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

 Cheryl Sena, Sena Family Law 

Judge Vaughn Walker ADR/Law Office Vaughn R Walker 

Hon. James L. Warren (Ret.), JAMS  

Wilmer Cutler Pickering Hale and Dorr LLP 
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Box 47
San Francisco, CA 94102

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