Weekly Newsletter        |         May 6, 2014
In This Issue
Message from the BALIF Board 
 
Greetings! 
 
 

Please join me in congratulating the BALIF members who were recently elected (or re-elected) to the BALIF Board of Directors:

 

Denise Bergin

Pete Catalanotti

Nick Clements

Brandon Lawrence

Felicia Medina

Dmitri Pikman

Meaghan Zore

 

Law student representatives:

Midori Hirai

Joseph Rocha

 

Thanks to all those who ran for the Director positions. We had a great turnout this year for the online elections, and it was great to see many familiar and new faces at the BALIF annual meeting and election happy hour on April 24. Looking forward to seeing everyone at the next BALIF event!

   

 

Julie Wilensky

BALIF Board Secretary & CCBA Committee Chair

 

 

MBC "Celebrating Diversity" Mixer- 
RSVP Required 

Thursday, May 8, 2014 at Sedgwick in San Francisco!

We expect a wonderful turnout for the upcoming Spring "Celebrating Diversity" Mixer!  There are 16 co-sponsoring organizations!   Free food and refreshments provided.  View the flyer here!

 

Spring "Celebrating Diversity" Mixer

 

Sedgwick's San Francisco Office

333 Bush Street, 30th Floor

San Francisco, CA 

 

RSVP here!!

 

*RSVP is required! 

BALIFBuzz
Barbara Bryant

Barbara Bryant has joined the Board of Equal Rights Advocates, a 40-year old SF organization advocating for the full empowerment of all women and girls.  ERA was the original home of the Lesbian Rights Project, later to become the National Center for Lesbian Rights.

David Owens
 
Congratulations to BALIF Member, David Owens, AirBnB's new Regional Head of Public Policy.
ALRP Major Donor Party
ALRP Major Donor Party, 5:30- 7:30 pm on May 21, 2014 at Sinbad's Pier 2 Restaurant, 141 The Embarcadero, SF (next to the Ferry Building). 

ALRP is honoring Karl Christiansen of Wells Fargo Bank with the ALRP 2014 James C. Hormel Philanthropist Award and the Eviction Defense Collaborative (EDC) with the ALRP 2014 Community Partner Award. Take in the fabulous Bay Bridge views, savor delicious food and wine (cash bar available) and network with friends and colleagues. Suggested minimum donation is $500. If you already made a $500+ gift to the ALRP Attorneys From the Heart Campaign this year, please RSVP as our guest. 
 
If you haven't contributed yet, you can do so online by at www.alrp.org or simply donate at the door. RSVP to Jim McBride at jim@alrp.org or (415) 701-1200 ext. 301. 
We hope to see you there!

AABA 27th Annual
Summer Law Clerk Reception
RECOGNIZING SUMMER ASSOCIATES AND LAW CLERKS

IN THE S.F. BAY AREA AND HONORING AABA'S 2014 SUMMER GRANT RECIPIENTS FOR THEIR DEDICATION TO COMMUNITY SERVICE AND CLIENT ADVOCACY.

 

Wednesday, June 18, 2014

6:00 - 8:30 PM

 

Sens Restaurant

4 Embarcadero Center - Promenade Level

San Francisco, CA 94111

 

We hope you can join us!

To RSVP please email:

 

aaba.bayarea@gmail.com 

LGBT Family Law Program in Israel

 

LGBT families in Israel have significant legal protections, yet marriage equality and surrogacy for gay men don't exist. Exploring the complexities of LGBT family law offers a wonderful opportunity for lawyers in the US to experience a unique dimension of Israeli society and to meet some of the true pioneers in LGBT advocacy. The tour will be hosted by Frederick Hertz and Elizabeth Schwartz, and will include a series of pre-tour classes and a week of meetings in February 2015 with Israeli lawyers, advocates, and scholars. Participants will be responsible for their own airfare ($1,100-$1,350) and hotel/food expenses (approximately $2,000), with discounted rooms at The Brown Hotel in Tel Aviv and Arthur Hotel in Jerusalem. There will be no charge for the educational programs, and continuing educational credits will be provided.

 

 For further information contact Frederick Hertz (fred@Frederickhertz.com) or Elizabeth Schwartz (eschwartz@sobelaw.com)

ALRP Free Spring 2014 MCLE Trainings
ALRP
 

Social Security and Overpayments

  • Tuesday, May 6, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Amy Orgain, Esq., and John Fasesky,Esq., Staff Attorneys at ALRP
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

Foreclosures

  • Tuesday, May 8, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Lisa Sitkin, Esq., Managing Attorney at Housing and Economic Rights Advocate
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

The Nuts and Bolts of Handling Motor Vehicle Accident Cases

  • Tuesday, May 13, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Michelle Mandel, Esq., Law Offices of Michael and Michelle Mandel
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

Bankruptcy Law

  • Wednesday, May 28, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Martha Simon, Esq. and Pat McMahon, Esq.
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

Disability Discrimination in the Workplace

  • Thursday, June 5, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Noah Lebowitz, Esq.
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

$60k Dilemma: Special Needs Trusts or Spend Downs?

  • Tuesday, June 10, 5:30-7:00pm
  • Presented by Steve Dane
  • Bar Association of San Francisco, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, Board Room, San Francisco, CA 94111
  • 1.5 General CLE Credits

To RSVP

Email: mcle@alrp.org or

Call: 415-701-1200 ext. 303

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.

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.

ACBA - Judicial Mentoring Project
ACBA - Judicial Mentoring Project:  Thinking about applying for a judicial appointment. Diverse applicants needed.  Rolling application process through July 2014.  Please consider applying.   For more information: https://www.acbanet.org/Committees/EastBayDiversityBarCoalition.aspx
State Bar of California-
2015 JNE Commission
State Bar of California - 2015 JNE Commission:  Diverse applicants/commissioners needed.  Deadline to apply is June 2, 2014.  15 openings anticipated.  Please consider applying.   For more information:  http://cc.calbar.ca.gov/CommitteesCommissions/OtherEntityAppointments/JudicialNomineesEvaluation.aspx
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
May 8 - MBC "Celebrating Diversity" Mixer- RSVP Required
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 Coie 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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San Francisco, CA 94119

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