In This Issue

 

 

When: Thursday, August 7, 2014

Where: Lookout, 3600 16th Street, San Francisco

Time: 6:00pm-9:00pm

 

Come out to our Monthly Happy Hour! This month it will be at the Lookout. Come mix and mingle with not only BALIF members, but also other LGBT professionals in the Bay Area. This is also a special event as it will be the first Happy Hour after the bar exam! Come out and congratulate all those recent bar exam takers who will need lots of words of encouragement as they wait for their results.

 

Are you energetic, outgoing, organized, reliable, and creative-and do you want to make a difference in the legal profession?  Then put your talents to great use by becoming an MBC Director. And help take MBC to the next level!

 

Please apply by sending your current resume and an outline for two projects (e.g. networking mixer, MCLE, mentoring event, community service, etc.) that you would be willing to design, lead, and manage for MBC to ms@alchemyip.com by 5 pm on Friday, August 15, 2014.

BALIF filed an amicus curiae brief yesterday in the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals in the consolidated cases Baskin v. Bogan, Fujii v. Commissioner of the Indiana State Dept. of Revenue, Lee v. Abbott, and Walker v. Wolf, supporting the right of same-sex couples in Indiana and Wisconsin to marry and to have out-of-state marriages recognized. The press release can be viewed here.

 

The brief argues that the marriage bans of Indiana and Wisconsin are unconstitutional and that the tangible legal and economic harm inflicted by the bans, including the denial of substantial benefits and the perpetuation of stigma and discrimination, cannot be remedied by the availability of domestic partnerships or civil unions.

 

"We applaud the decisions out of the 4th and 10th Circuits striking down similar bans," said Leah Nutting, BALIF's Amicus Committee chair, noting recent cases where BALIF has also submitted amicus briefs. "And we are heartened by the 7th Circuit's emergency order requiring Indiana to recognize the out-of-state marriage of a set of plaintiffs in this case, where one spouse is suffering from a terminal illness. The case illustrates the very real and irreparable harm suffered by same-sex couples while waiting for the marriage bans to work their way through the courts."

 

Fourteen other civil rights groups joined BALIF on the brief. The brief was filed with pro bono support from Jerome C. Roth and Nicole S. Phillis of the law firm of Munger, Tolles & Olsen.

 

Click here to read the amicus brief.

BALIF filed an amicus curiae brief on Friday, July 25, with the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in Latta v. Otter supporting the right of same-sex couples in Idaho to marry and same-sex couples who have been married out-of-state to have their marriages recognized in Idaho. The Court will hear Latta, on appeal from the District of Idaho, in September. Sevcik v. Sandoval, the Nevada marriage equality case on appeal from the District of Nevada, for which BALIF filed an amicus brief last October, is also scheduled to be heard by the court in September.

 

BALIF's Connections mentorship program is seeking mentors and mentees for 2014-2015. For more information, see the program guidelines and description on the BALIF website. If you are a law student, recent law school graduate, or newer attorney seeking a mentor, or if you are an experienced attorney interested in serving as a mentor, please contact Julie Wilensky, jwilensky@lewisfeinberg.com. Mentor/mentee pairs will be assigned on a rolling basis from July-September.

Sharon Alkire

Congratulations to BALIF member, Sharon Alkire, who opened The Law Office of Sharon Alkire, a family law practice serving Alameda and Contra Costa Counties.  

Bisexual and Bi-Allied BALIF Members,

We're holding the inaugural BiLaw caucus at Lavender Law in NYC this year and we'd love to see you there! See below for details and let me know if you have any questions!

 

BiLaw Caucus

3:45pm - 5:15pm on Friday, August 22

Room TBA

 

The inaugural BiLaw caucus will be held in New York as part of the National LGBT Bar Association's 2014 Lavender Law Conference and Career Fair.

 

BiLaw is a currently informal group of bisexual-identified and bi-allied attorneys, academics, and law students. This inaugural caucus is an opportunity to network with other bi-identified lawyers and discuss areas of the law relevant to bisexual people. All bi-identified and bi-allied attorneys are encouraged to attend.

The organizers will provide some structured discussion after a meet-and-greet.

 

If you would like to join the group in advance of the Caucus to join in our discussions, please click here: https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/bilaw

 

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 in the right hand column of the newsletter or here.

 

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).

 

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 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

 

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 JOBS from the menu on the left.

August 7 - BALIF August Happy Hour

August 17 - PLF Sunset Bay Cruise

August 26 - BALIF Volunteer Day 

September 4 - "Connections" Mentorship Happy Hour