In This Issue

The rush of the end of summer is upon us, and that fresh crisp in the air is the sound of fall and the academic year beginning. It's a time to cherish our fond memories and dive back in to work! But even if you're caught up in work, I hope everyone remembers to take time out of their schedule to focus on growing their career-especially by finding a mentor!

 

BALIF's "Connections" Mentorship program is in full swing, and mentor/mentee pairs are being assigned on a rolling basis right now. Both young lawyers and law students are welcome to apply to have a mentor. The first Mentor/Mentee event will be a kick off happy hour on September 4, 2014, so make sure you get your applications in soon so you have a mentor to greet when you get there! For more information, read on below or contact Julie Wilensky at jwilensky@lewisfeinberg.com.

 

As summer comes to a close, I want to pay special respects to the new 1Ls who have just started or are soon starting their law school career! Congratulations on making it this far, and please remember that we're here for you!

Midori Hirai

BALIF Board Law Student Representative

BALIF filed an amicus curiae brief 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 26 - BALIF Volunteer Day & Happy Hour at Sugar Lounge

September 4 - "Connections" Mentorship Happy Hour